World Geography - Chapters 5 & 6

Languages, religion, painting, music, literature, motion pictures, and architecture all contribute to American culture and style.

What are some examples of cultural diversity in the United States?

information processing, finance, medicine, transportation, electronics, communications, chemicals, tourism, and education

What is an example of a service industry?

representative democracy

What type of government does the United States have?

It has been settled by people from all over the world.

Why is the United States called a "nation of immigrants"?

multinational

a corporation that engages in business worldwide

metropolitan area

a functional area including a city and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs, linked economically

nomad

a person with no permanent home, who moves according to the seasons in search of food, water, and grazing land

suburb

a political unit or community touching the borders of the central city or touching other suburbs that touch the city

megalopolis

a region in which several large cities and surrounding areas grow together

Great Plains

vast grassland of central North America that is largely treeless and ascends to 4000 feet above sea level

prevailing westerlies

winds that blow from west to east

Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway

11. Which two waterways are linked?

Both focus on providing services rather than making products

How are the service industry and postindustrial economy related?

Its farmland, harbors, and mild climate has made it the most populous state.

How did California become the nation's most populous state?

It significantly increased the size of the United States when the government purchased the vast plains region

How did the Louisiana Purchase change to the United States?

They settled along coastlines and near rivers and streams. They cut down trees for lumber to build houses and for fuel. They plowed the soil of the river valleys and flood plains to plant crops. They dug ditches for irrigation.

How did the earliest inhabitants of the United States and Canada alter the land?

They carved overland trails, used inland waterways, built a network of canals to connect bodies of water, built the St. Lawrence Seaway, built transcontinental railroads, and built national highway systems.

How did the settlers of the United States and Canada overcome the distances across the continent?

The interior lowlands are flat and cover the interior of North America. The Eastern lowlands are flat run along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

How do Eastern Lowlands differ from the Interior Lowlands?

Suburbs are on the outskirts of metropolitan/urban areas

How the terms suburb and metropolitan area related?

The service industry.

In what industry do most Americans work?

Subarctic climate

In what type of climate would you expect to find permafrost?

The Northeast region of the United States - the "BosWash" (Boston & Washington)

In which region is an example of a megalopolis found?

the West

North American region consisting of 13 states, that stretches from the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and includes Alaska to the north and Hawaii in the Pacific

representative democracy

a government in which the people rule through elected representatives

Great Lakes

a group of 5 freshwater lakes of central North America between the United States and Canada, the lakes are Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Erie, and Superior

Beringia

a land bridge thought to have connected what are now Siberia and Alaska

Everglades

a large subtropical swampland in Florida of about 4,000 square miles

Rocky Mountains

a major mountain system of the United States and Canada, extending 3,000 miles from Alaska south to New Mexico

Canadian Shield

a northern part of the interior lowlands that is a rocky, flat region covering nearly 2 million square miles encircling Hudson Bay

export

a product or good that is sold from one economy to another

the South

a region that covers about 1/4 of the land area of the United States and contains more than 1/3 of its population

lock

a section of waterway with closed gates whee water levels are raised and lowered, through which ships pass

postindustrial economy

an economic phase in which manufacturing no longer plays a dominant role

free enterprise

an economic system in which private individuals own most of the resources, technology, and businesses, and can operate them for profit with little control from the government

service industry

any kind of economic activity that produces a service rather than a product

Appalachian Mountains

one of two major mountain chains in the eastern United States & Canada, extending from Newfoundland south to Alabama

permafrost

permanently frozen ground

New England

the 6 northern states in the Northeast United States - Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, & Connecticut

McKenzie River

Canada's longest river, which is part of a river system that flows across the Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean

suburb, megalopolis, metropolitan area

Name terms is associated with urban geography?

St. Lawrence Seaway

North America's most important deepwater ship route, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River

Rocky Mountains

The Great Plains are bounded on one side by which landforms ?

migration

the movement of peoples within a country or region

Canadian Shield

The Hudson Bay is found in which landform?

Plants: tomatoes, sugar cane; Livestock: cattle, sheep Diseases: smallpox, influenza

What are some examples of items in the Columbian Exchange?

Water, land, minerals and fossil fuels

What are the most abundant resources in the United States and Canada?

Interior Plains, Great Plains, Canadian Shield

What are the sub-regions of the Interior Lowlands

Most Northeasterners are now employed in manufacturing and service industries.

What changes have taken place in the industrial base of the Northeast?

the marine west coast

What climate region in North America is influenced by the prevailing westerlies?

available natural resources, a skilled labor force, a stable political system

What factors led to the United States to become a superpower?

Manufacturing and service industries such as petroleum, steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, and electronics.

What industries are found in the South today?

It allows people to make a profit with little control from the government.

What is an advantage of free enterprise?

The line of highest points in the Rocky Mountains that marks the separation between rivers flowing eastward and westward

What is the Continental Divide?

When it engages in business worldwide. It has operations in multiple countries.

What makes a business a multinational corporation?

Air pollution, inadequate water supplies, construction on earthquake-threatened land

What problems arose in Los Angeles with rapid expansion?

The United States is a "nation of immigrants," settled by people from all over the world

What role did migration play in populating the United States?

Its waterways have made the Midwest a trade, transportation, and distribution center.

What role did water play in the development of the Midwest?

Coniferous forests

What type of vegetation covers most of Canada?

Mild, dry, and tropical climates

Which climates are found in the United States and not in Canada?

Appalachian mountains

Which of the mountain chains form a boundary with the Canadian Shield?

the Everglades

Which place is a huge swampland?

Appalachian mountains Rocky mountains Canadian Shield Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway

Which places are found both in the United States and Canada?

Ships are raised and lowered by locks which allows the ships to sail into the industrial heartland of North America.

Why are locks needed in the St. Lawrence Seaway?

The St. Lawrence River connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It is an important deepwater ship route for North America.

Why are the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway important?

Both countries are large and contain some of the most fertile soil in the world which is going to be good for growing crops.

Why are the United States and Canada leading food producers?

It has fertile soil, a favorable climate, and mechanization (use of machines) of the country's farms.

Why is the United States a leader in agricultural production?

frontier

the free, open land in the American West that was available for settlement

Columbian Exchange

the movement of plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western hemispheres during the age of exploration

Louisiana Purchase

the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, that the United States purchased from France in 1803

the Midwest

the region that contains the 12 states of the north central United States