Unit 1 Geography Vocabulary

What percent of the land do forests cover?

1/3

Desert covers about what percent of the Earth's surface?

1/5

Deserts

a barren region with little or no rainfall, usually sandy and without trees..

Lake

a body of freshwater surrounded by land

biome characterized by warm temperatures, with a dry season and a rainy season, vegetation includes tall grass and scattered trees

tropical glasslands (savannas)

Geographic Information System (GIS)

use of computer technology to collect, evaluate, process and display geographic data

RAdio Detection And Ranging (RADAR)

uses microwaves to map the terrain of an area. enables geographers to create accurate topographic maps. often used in rainforests.

Humans adapt to their environment

wear clothing appropriate for the environment, architects are developing "smart buildings" that can shift against strong winds or shake snow from the roof.

wind erosion

when the wind picks up dirt and dust and moves it from one place to another

Economic region

place where people do particular kinds of work

Main food producers in an ecosystem

plants

flora and fauna

plants and animals

producers

plants that make their own food

The Earth is made up of giant sections called:

plates

North american grasslands

prairie

human systems

processes initiated by people that shape earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems

physical systems

processes occurring in nature that shape the earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems

The biotic parts of an ecosystem can be grouped in three categories:

producers, consumers, decomposers

Desert animal life

reptiles and small animals

African Grassland

savanna

plates

section of the earth's crust that are continually moving

Asthenosphere

semi-solid layer of the earth lying between the top layer and the upper mantle

Political maps

show features created by humans, show boundaries of countries and states

Physical processes take place

slowly

In cold deserts, precipitation falls as

snow

Erosion carries

solids to a different location

hydrosphere

sphere containing all the earth's water—vapor, liquid, and solid

lithosphere

sphere containing the earth's landforms

trade winds

steady winds between about 30° north and south latitude and the equator helped sailors of trading ships reach their destinations quickly.

Freshwater

streams, rivers, lakes, underground, and in the air.

To sustain plant life, the soil must contain

sufficient nutrients

primary source of energy in an ecosystem

sun

Outer core

surrounds inner core; believed to be molten metal; mix of iron and sulfur

biome characterized by deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports many grass species

temperate grasslands

biome

term used to refer to similar ecosystems throughout the world

ecotourism

travel in natural environments that minimizes its environmental impact

Tropical forests

a woodland of tall trees growing in a region of year-round warmth and abundant rainfall

Azimuthal equidistant

accurate areas near poles, more distortion further from poles; useful for planning air routes

Robinson

accurate areas, distance and directions are distorted; provides attractive overall view

Mercator

accurate directions; areas near the poles appear larger than they are; useful for navigation

Interrupted area

accurate display of continents; useful for showing characteristics of regions

physical processes

activities occurring in nature that shape the earth's surface

Cultural region

an area in which a group of people share a similar culture and language

axis

an imaginary line that the earth rotates around

The movement of soil, mud, and rock which is caused by wind, water, gravity, and human activities

erosion

production, decomposition, recycling, and water and air purification, ecosystems

make life on earth possible

related to the sea; existing in or produced by the sea

marine

core

metallic layer at the earth's center; scientists dont know what its made of; includes inner and outer core

physical characteristics

naturally occurring features of the earth

GPS

network of twenty-four satellites used to provide the locations of places on earth

abiotic

nonliving parts of ecosystems

homogeneous

of the same kind or type

Decomposers

organisms that break down dead plants and animals and return nutrients to the soil

harvesting fish to the point that species are depleted and the value of the fishery reduced

overfishing

permafrost

permanently frozen soil beneath the surface in polar and near-polar areas

cartographer

person who creates maps

Temperature drops about ___ for each ___ feet of elevation

3.5F, 1000

Marine covers approximately

3/4 of the Earth's surface

Without the green house effect, the Earth would be about

60F cooler

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Grasslands

A biome dominated by grasses and associated herbaceous plants

decidous forest

A forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn

Topographic

A map that shows the surface human made features of an area.

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

Outline maps

A type of political map, provide general representation of an area

Continents where you find most tropical areas

Africa and South America

This biome has permafrost and is found at the top of mountains above the tree line

Alpine tundra

In every continent there is grasslands except

Antartica

Biome that encircles the Earth just south of ice-covered polar seas in the Northern Hemisphere

Arctic tundra

taiga forest

Biome in which the winters are cold but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw

Political region

Can be defined by the type of political system it has adopted. Geography and politics are interrelated

Koppen's Climatic Classification System

Divides the world into 5 main climate regions: tropical, dry, moderate, continental, polar

Why does wind move in a circular pattern?

Earth rotates

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Enables us to gather, store, analyze, manipulate, and share information about our earth.

Earthquake activity is mostly near

Fault lines

What kind of water do most living beings need to survive?

Freshwater

Areas characterized as freshwater have low amounts of salt

Freshwater areas

Broken Bar Graph

Further development of a pictograph, used to compare items and relationships.

Climate maps

Indicated climate zones, temperatures, precipitation, wind, areas of similar weather patterns.

greenhouse effect

Natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases

What is the lithosphere?

Landforms; home to plants and animals that make up the biosphere

Physical processes can be grouped into:

Lithosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere

Five Themes of Geography

Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, Region

Plain

Low, flat area

Middle latitudes

Milder; winters are cool, summers are hot; never experience growth as dense as jungles

Where are middle latitudes found?

Most of North America, Europe, and Asia

Subduction

One plate's crust slides under another plate's crust

Why is the inner core dense and solid even though its so hot?

Other layers push down on it and create massive pressure

South American grasslands

Pampas

Why are ecosystems important?

People are dependent on the earth's ecosystems for life. The water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe, the land on which we live are all part of an ecosystem

Why do hurricanes occur?

Physical processes in the hydrosphere

What is responsible for the earth's physical characteristics?

Physical processes; earthquackes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion

Thematic (special purpose) maps

Show specific information

Doldrums

Since there is little wind in the area surrounding the equator, ships that were powered by sails often got stranded there. Sailors called this area the 'doldrums.'

What slows down the rate of erosion?

Presence of plants in an area

People often build homes in coastal areas. Erosion threatens not only the coast, but these homes as well.

Problem with beach erosion

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Provides location, enables us to pinpoint where we are

Humans depend on their environment

Rain provides the water we need to grow crops for food, forests provide wood to build homes

Road or street maps

Represents different types of roads, highways, railroads etc. Helps with road travel.

Humans change their environment

Reservoirs are created to provide drinking water, irrigation is used to increase crop production, roads are built to connect people and places

Why is erosion important?

Sediment carried to new areas often enriches soils, making them more suitable for agriculture.

Land-use maps

Show land areas and their uses. Show land devoted to farming, grazing, and so forth. Used for city planning.

Physical maps

Show physical features such as elevation, land forms, bodies of water

Population maps

Show population density or size

A large area of flat unforested grassland in southeastern Europe or Siberia.

Steppe

the water cycle

The continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back

Line graph

The most accurate, used for compare increases and decreases.

chemical weathering

The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes

beach erosion

The removal of beach materials into the sea or lakes by the action of waves, tides, or wind

Biology

The study of living things

Harshest climate of all ecosystems

Tundra

Relief maps

Type of drawn physical map, shows size, shape, boundaries of a region. some can be 3d, help understand climatic conditions.

Flow charts

Use symbols and connecting lines to diagram the progressions through a complicated process

Bar Graph

Used to compare different quantities at the same point in time.

Pictograph

Uses pictures to describe information. Used to compare items and relationships.

SOund Navigation And Ranging (SONAR)

Uses sound waves to analyze distance and location underwater. Helps georaphers map underwater Earth.

divergent boundary

When plates pull apart

conversion plate boundary

When the plates move towards each other and collide; move upward and form mountains

transform plate boundary

When two plates slide past one another; make fault lines

Ocean

a large body of salt water that surrounds a continent; Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth.

Sea

a large body of salt water, usually connected to an ocean, that is partially or completely surrounded by land

River

a large body of water that usually flows into an ocean or sea

Fault lines

a line on a rock surface or the ground that traces a geological fault.

nonrenewable resource

a resource that cannot be replaced

axis

a vertical (y-axis) or horizontal (x-axis) line used in graphing

only a limited number of animals can live in an ecosystem because

animals depend on plants for food, balance will be destroyed

Consumers

animals that eat producers (plants) or other animals that eat consumers

horse latitudes

are regions of high pressue and gentle winds at about 30 degrees north and south latitude

region

area having a dominant or unifying characteristic

Plateau

area of flat land at high elevations that is higher than the surrounding land

estuaries

areas where freshwater and salt water meet

Polar regions

average temp under 50F; winters are long and harsh; less rainfall

Inner core

believed to be made of solid metal; metal temperature around 12,600 degrees;

Sphere containing earth's plant and animals life; can be found on land, air, water

biosphere

The Earth is in a constant state of _______.

change

The soil is rich in nutrients, Many birds build their nests on the ground, Much has been converted to grow crops.

characteristics of glasslands

hot air rises

cold air sinks

As warm air rises over cooler air, the warm air begins to...

cool

Physical regions

created by physical barriers such as mountains and oceans or borders

When plates pull apart, it causes

crust to collapse, magma rises through the rift

Climate regions

defined by their average temperature and the average precipitation they receive over a long period of time

Relative location

describes where something is using time, distance, or where it is in relationship to other places

Problem with maps

distortion

Winkel Tripel

distortions of distance, area, and direction minimized; useful for mapping entire world

Communities that support life

ecosystems

systems

physical and human processes that shape the earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems

If ecosystems do not remain in balance, they can

fail

Living things (the biosphere) depend on the earth's atmosphere:

for air, to keep the earth's temp steady, to protect from the sun's radiation

Example of physical change

grand canyon

LAtitude areas

grouped according to where they are located

atmospheric circulation

hot air rises, moves, cools and sinks, and is heated again

What characteristics does a place have

human and physical

oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, water vapor

hydrosphere includes

Salt water

in oceans

Mountain

land that rises above the earth's surface that is higher than the surrounding land

How much of earth's surface is covered by freshwater?

less than 1%

the biosphere

living things

The biodiversity, number of species, of the tundra is

low

Valley

low area that usually lies between mountains or hills; Valleys frequently have a river running through them.

Lower and upper mantle

lower is the hottest part of the mantle; both are made of solid rock

Human Characteristics

the actions and ideas of people that change the earth

atmosphere

the air that surrounds the earth

Precipitation

the amount of water that falls on the earth (rain, snow, hail)

Weathering

the breakdown of rocks through exposure to air and water

crust

the earth's outermost layer; forms the lithosphere

Volcanic activity

the eruption of melted rock from the earth's interior

international treaty on climate change signed by more than 160 nations, addresses issues related to pollution

the kyoto protocol

ocean circulation

the large scale movement of waters in the ocean basins. Winds drive surface circulation, and the cooling and sinking of waters in the polar regions drive deep circulation.

biotic

the living parts of an ecosystem

Biodiversity

the number and variety of plants and animals living in an area

deforestation

the process of removing trees from an area

projection

the representation of a three-dimensional object such as the earth onto a two-dimensional plane or map

Anthropology

the study of humans, their culture and history

physics

the study of matter and energy

mathematics

the study of numbers, their operations, and relationships

Geology

the study of the Earth and the processes that formed it

Human Environment Interaction

the study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment

Chemistry

the study of the properties, composition, and changes of matter (physical objects)

Astronomy

the study of the universe

Earthquakes

the sudden movement of the earth's surface

low latitudes

the tropics; have a high average temperature; have rainfall

Erosion

the wearing-away of soil and land by water or wind;

plate tectonics

theory that attributes the earth's physical processes to the movements of the sections of its crust

mantle

thick, hot layer of semi-solid rock in between core and crust; keeps heat in the core

wetlands

transitional area between land and water systems that supports aquatic plants