Geo 135 Exam #1 (Bauer)

Ecological Footprint

Amount of biologically productive land and water it takes to support a person

Middle Atlantic core

An early settlement area centered on Pennsylvania and New York that was settled by substantial numbers of German, Scots-Irish, Dutch, and Swedish in addition to the dominant English -Mixed Ag -Corn, Livestock -Gave rise to the uniqueness of Appalachia

Example of urban sprawl

Las Vegas 1973 and 2009

What is a low TFR?

Low number of children born to women. A TFR of 2.1 will eventually halt the world's population growth.

Cultural carrying capacity

The maximum number of people who could live in reasonable freedom and comfort indefinitely, without decreasing the ability of the earth to sustain future generations

New England core

The most northern of the American coastal culture cores developed in southern New England where numerous bays and harbors became the focus of maritime trade and fishing -Farming Difficult -A bit poorer -Made up of Dissidents -Enjoyed later success

TFR

Total fertility rate

Environmentalism

A social movement dedicated to protecting life support systems for all species

Pacific Coastlands

A system of mountains and valleys that extends along the western edge of North America -System of Mountains and Valleys -Two interior Mountain ranges -Water erosion = Valleys -Fertile -Flat (Humans)

Population growth=

(births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration)

Advantages of urban sprawl

-Cities are centers of industry, commerce, transportation, innovation, education, technological advances, and jobs. -Urban residents in many parts of the world tend to live longer than do rural residents, and have lower infant mortality and fertility rates. -Cities provide better access to medical care, family planning, education, and social services. -Recycling is more economically feasible. -Concentrating people in cities helps to preserve biodiversity. -Central cities can save energy if residents rely more on energy efficient mass transportation, walking, and bicycling.

Polar/ Subarctic

-Cold, Long Winters -Low Precip -Summer Rain (Canada)

Mediterranean climate

-Cool in Summer -Warm in Winter -Seasonal drought -Winter Storms -E.g. Mudslides -Nearby Ocean limits extreme temps (Southern California)

Dessert

-Dry, Hot Summers -Little Precip -Cacti (Arizona)

What does affluence drive?

-Education -Scientific research -Technological solutions

Affect death rates

-Infant mortality is a measure of a society's quality of life because it reflects the general level of nutrition and health care. A high infant mortality rate can results from insufficient food (undernutrition), poor nutrition (malnutrition), and a high incidence of infectious disease, which is exacerbated by under- or malnutrition. -While infant mortality rates in more-developed and less-developed countries have declined dramatically since 1965, more than 4 million infants die during their first year of life.

Interior lowlands

-Influenced by Glaciation -Thick Ice, scours, flattens land -Meltwater fills in as glacier recedes -Ozarks, Ouachita, Black Hills more resistant -Remain as unique features (Great Plains, Midwest)

How has land ownership and culture influenced development within the eastern U.S.?

-Integration of new cultures into an area, eliminates frontier settlement -East of the Mississippi- privately owned by the individual, managed their own resources -West of the Mississippi- Land owned by the Land Bureau; owned by the people

Disadvantages of urban sprawl

-Most urban areas are unsustainable systems. -The typical city depends on large non-urban areas for huge inputs of matter and energy resources, while it generates large outputs of waste matter and heat. -Most cities lack vegetation. -Destroyed vegetation could have absorbed air pollutants, given off oxygen, provided shade, reduced soil erosion, provided wildlife habitats, and offered aesthetic pleasure. -Many cities have water problems. -Providing water to cities can deprive rural and wild areas of surface water and can deplete underground water supplies. -Cities in arid areas that depend on water withdrawn from rivers and reservoirs behind dams will face increasing problems. -Cities can have flooding problems for several reasons: -Being built on floodplains or near low-lying coastlines. -Covering land with buildings, asphalt, and concrete causes precipitation to run off quickly and overload storm drains. -Destroying or degraded large areas of wetlands that have served as natural sponges to help absorb excess storm water. -Flooding as sea levels rise because of projected climate. -Cities in arid areas that depend on water bodies fed by mountaintop glaciers will face water shortages if global warming melts the glaciers.

Appalachian Highlands

-Old -Eroded -Fertile soils fill valleys -Low elevation -Significant Geographic Barrier -Series of rivers/streams

Why do we have environmental problems?

-Population growth. -Unsustainable resource use. -Poverty. -Excluding environmental costs from market prices.

Steppe

-Product of Rain shadow -Dry but wet still for shrubs, and grasses not trees -Cold Winter, Hot Summer (Great Plains)

The three most effective ways to slow or stop population growth are

-Reduce poverty -Elevate the status of women -Encourage family planning and reproductive health care.

Canadian shield

-Shield- Stable, Old, continental nucleus -Raw Minerals -Little soil development = little farming -Mountains form

Affect birth/fertility/TFR rates

-The importance of children as a part of the labor force. -The cost of raising and educating children. -The availability of, or lack of, private and public pension systems. -Urbanization. -The educational and employment opportunities available for women. -The average age at marriage. -The availability of legal abortions. -The availability of reliable birth control methods. -Religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural norms. -Ex. Chinas birth control plan

Marine west coast

-Warm Winter -Cool Summer -Due to Ocean -Rainy, Muggy, Overcast -Orographic Effect (Northern Oregon)

Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain

-Young rock -Low slopes -Poorly drained soils and wetlands -Okefenokee Swamp, Atchafalaya Swamp

Rocky Mountains

-Young, Rugged -Less erosion -Higher -Multiple Mountain Ranges -Breaks allow for passage -Upward pressure -Rock folding

What is the orographic effect?

As air ascends against the windward side of the mountain, , the air cools and condenses, producing precipitation. On the leeward side of the mountain, descending air warms and dries, creating a relatively rainless rain shadow.

What is a continental climate?

Away from the ocean where it regulates the temperature, so when the soil gets cold the temperature stays cold for a long time, but when it gets warm it stays warm for a long time

Southern core

Developing first on the coastal plain southward from Virginia, the region developed a plantation economy featuring export crops (indigo; tobacco; cotton) -Farming easier -Big Cash Crops (tobacco) -Gold/Silver from Spanish -Lacked Middle Class -Few, big plantations -Few cities, mostly ports

GIS

Geographic Information System

What is the major force of change here in the Midwest on a geologic time scale?

Glaciation- flattened it, grounded up soil, made resources

What is a high TFR?

High number of children born to women

Sustainable yield

Highest rate at which a renewable and non-renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply

Natural resources

Materials and energy in nature that are essential to humans

Where do we find a continental climate?

Midwest

What might it mean if you have a really high TFR??

Overpopulation

Example of natural services

Pollination, purification of air and water

Natural services

Processes of nature, such as purification of air and water and pest control, which support life and human economies

Demographic momentum

Rapid population growth in a country that has a large percentage of people younger than 15, and happens when a large number of girls enter their prime reproductive years

Example of pollution

Release of CO2 from factories

Pollution

Release of harmful materials into the environment

Humid subtropical

Spring/Summer -Hot and Humid from Gulf of Mexico Fall/Winter -Cold, dry from North -Little Snow, frequent rain (Southeastern US: the eastern half of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida)

What is Affluence?

State of having a great deal of money or wealth

Ecology

Studies relationships between living organisms, and their interaction with the environment

Geography

Study of location in both space and time

When we measure climate, what do we primarily focus on?

Temperature and precipitation

French Canada core

The area in eastern Canada, primarily along the St. Lawrence River, where settlers of French origin established a long-term presence -Utilized vast forests of Canada Ex. Fur trade -Ag in arable locations Ex. Along rivers

Urban sprawl

The growth of low-density development on the edges of cities and towns; the product of affordable land, automobiles, relatively cheap gasoline, and poor urban planning

Example of natural resources

Water, petroleum oil, minerals, coal