HCC Geo105 Midterm

Approximately what percentage of residents of the U.S. work directly in agriculture or farming today?

1%

A map has a scale of 1:12,000. One inch on this map would equal ________ on the Earth's surface.

12,000 inches

Recent research suggests that investments in energy conservation, alternative energy, and other measures would cost EU economies 1 of their GDP, but that doing nothing about climate change could shrink their GDP by ________%

20%

Between 1960 and 2014, the proportion of Europe's population that is 14 years old and younger went from ____ to _____.

27%, 16%

Approximately how many Europeans are NOT citizens of member states of the EU? (Please note: this number will go up once Britain officially exits the European Union which it is in the process of doing. Since Britain has not yet officially exited, please use the number in your textbook which remains accurate for now.)

40 million

What percentage of Saudi Arabia's water is produced by desalination plants?

70%

In the 150 years following European arrival in Middle and South America, the indigenous population was reduced by approximately:

90%

All of the following statements accurately describe European colonialism, EXCEPT:

A positive aspect of colonialism was that the colonial powers paid relatively higher wages to workers in the colonies than local businesses did.

The physical geography of Europe is best described as:

A series of peninsulas upon peninsulas with complex patterns of lowlands, uplands and mountains.

Soviet military involvement in which country finally stretched the Soviet Union past the breaking point, leading to its eventual collapse?

Afghanistan

A recent trend in European transportation is:

An increasing focus on multimodal transport linking air, rail, water and car transport

Imagine that you just won a trip to Paris! Assuming that you leave BWI Airport and fly east, what ocean will you fly over on your way to Paris?

Atlantic Ocean

All of the following statements describe approaches to water management in the region, EXCEPT:

Because of strong water conservation measures, this region does not face the problem of future water shortages.

In 2014, Crimea seceded from Ukraine and became a part of Russia. The Crimean peninsula is particularly important because of its strategic location on the ________ Sea

Black

The North American Megalopolis includes the city of

Boston

The Spanish colonized most of Middle and South America, but the Portuguese colonized much the land that today makes up ________

Brazil

More than 2/3 of U.S. fruits and nuts are grown in ________

California

The mountainous region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea is called _______

Caucasia

The economic model of central planning utilized in Central Europe after 1945 can be described by all of the following, EXCEPT:

Central planning was largely unsuccessful at alleviating poverty and illiteracy among the masses.

In which climate zone is Moscow located?

Continental, moist all year

Which of the following countries is a member of the EU?

Czech Republic

The large, triangular-shaped plain of sediment that formed where the Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea is called the Nile ________

Delta

All of the following accurately describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, EXCEPT:

Democracy flourished in the Soviet Union under Stalin.

The Mediterranean climate of North America's southern west coast is characterized by:

Dry, warm summers and cool, moist winters

All of the following describe European Russia, EXCEPT:

European Russia is the most sparsely populated area of the entire region

All of the following statements accurately describe the feudal period in European history, EXCEPT:

Feudalism dominated Europe until the early 20th century.

The first European country to establish control over a colony in North Africa was:

France

Which of the following countries is at roughly the same latitude as we are in Maryland?

Greece

Which of the following was NOT one of the achievements of the Soviet style economy?

High quality consumer goods were produced in mass quantities

In 1492, Christopher Columbus established the first Spanish colony on the Caribbean island of ________

Hispaniola

A researcher is at 0o latitude and 0o longitude. The researcher is located ________

In the Atlantic Ocean

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the agricultural sector experienced all of the following changes, EXCEPT:

In the Central Asian states, farming was reorganized to emphasize export crops.

The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) is comprised of all of the following measures, except:

Infant mortality rates

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run through _______ before draining in to the Persian Gulf.

Iraq

The shrinkage of the Aral Sea was caused primarily by:

Irrigation for the production of cotton

North Africa and Southwest Asia is the cultural hearth for which three major monotheistic religions?

Islam, Judaism and Christianity

Which of the following countries is a member of NAFTA?

Mexico

Maquiladoras are found along the

Mexico-U.S. border

Which climate region applies to Hagerstown, Maryland?

Midlatitude, moist all year (C1 climate type)

North America's largest river system is the ________

Mississippi

Which of the following is most likely to grow in tundra?

Mosses and lichens

Which of the following states was dramatically altered by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glaciation?

New York

Which of the following countries has both a Caribbean and a Pacific coast?

Nicaragua

The Aswan High Dam was built in the 1970's, resulting in the formation of Lake Nasser. The dam prevents seasonal flooding from replenishing moisture and nutrients along the ________ River banks.

Nile

Hagerstown, Maryland is located in the ________ hemisphere and the ________ hemisphere

Northern, Western

The ________ is the largest aquifer in North America.

Ogallala

The ________ Ring of Fire is a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanoes resulting from tectonic activity.

Pacific

Prior to the creation of the modern state of Israeli, the place was known as ________

Palestine

Which country is most likely to be described as an "isthmus?"

Panama

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the water situation in Middle and South America?

Privatization of water resources is a positive solution that seems to be working well in Bolivia.

After more than a decade of economic instability following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's economy began to recover, primarily due to:

Profits from oil and gas extraction

The primary language is French in ________

Quebec

The largest non-polar desert in the world is the ________

Sahara Desert

Islam originated in

Saudi Arabia

About 70% of Europeans now work in which sector of the economy?

Services

The Alps extend into all of the following countries EXCEPT:

Spain

In the post-WWII period, U.S. Foreign policy in North Africa and Southwest Asia can best be described as:

Support for undemocratic governments that protected the interests of international energy companies

In South America, the part of the 10,000 mile mountain chain that runs along the western edge of the American continents is called:

The Andes

The combined effect of the cold Peru Current and the rain shadow of the Andes have created which unique landscape?

The Atacama Desert

According to modern plate-tectonic theory, which of the following DID NOT exist 237 million years ago?

The Atlantic Ocean

The sub-region known as North America's breadbasket is:

The Great Plains

Where would you be most likely to encounter an active volcano?

The Kamchatka Peninsula

Where on Earth does the Sun not appear above the horizon or "rise" for weeks during the winter?

The North Pole

The river that carries more traffic than any other in Europe is:

The Rhine

Hagerstown, MD is located in which North American sub-region?

The Rust Belt

All of the following statements accurately describe events in the North Africa/SW Asia region at the end of WWI, EXCEPT:

The State of Israel was created.

The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are connected by ________

The Suez Canal

All of the following statements accurately describe the European Union, EXCEPT:

The countries belonging to the European Union are all at the same level of development

Immigrants to North America generally compete with which social group for jobs?

The lowest paid, least educated workers

The North Atlantic Drift is largely responsible for which of the following climatic conditions in Europe?

The surprisingly mild and wet conditions of Western Europe.

What is primarily responsible for changing seasons on Earth?

The tilt of the Earth's axis affects the amount and angle of incoming solar radiation striking various locations as the Earth revolves.

The climate of the region of North Africa and Southwest Asia is accurately described by all of the following, except:

There are no areas in this region that receive enough rainfall for farming

Which of the following statements best describes the Aztecs at the time of European contact?

They had built a sophisticated urban society that may have had a higher quality of life than European societies at the time.

Which of the following temperature-altitude zones has a spring-like climate year-round and was preferred by many indigenous people and Europeans?

Tierra templada

From 1945 to 2011, the world's population

Tripled

The country in the region of North Africa and Southwest Asia that has the most plentiful water resources is:

Turkey

Which of the following countries has territory in both Europe and Asia?

Turkey

The world's worst nuclear disaster took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in:

Ukraine

The ancient Silk Road passed through current day ________

Uzbekistan

The most important river for transportation in Russia is the ________ River.

Volga

The primary difference between weather and climate

Weather - short term. Climate - long term.

Are the United States and Canada roughly the same size in terms of total land area?

Yes

People began to arrive in North America thousands of years ago. It is believed by the majority of researchers that these early arrivals to North America migrated ________

across the Bering land bridge from Asia

If a Population pyramid is very wide at the base and narrow at the top, the population of that society is likely to

grow rapidly

The Earth's largest remaining expanse of tropical forest is located

in the Amazon Basin

Globalization has transformed economic development in North America, reorienting employment toward ________

knowledge-intensive jobs that require education and training

The distance (in degrees) north or south of the equator is called ________

latitude

The term "remittances" refers to the movement of

money sent back home by immigrants

Orographic precipitation falls ________

on the windward coastal side of mountains

When an El Nino occurs,

unusually heavy rains fall on coastal Peru