World Geography Final Exam Study Guide
Basic Geography
What are some of the different types of landforms? (Fjord, valley, mountain, etc.)
Define the term culture. Culture has to do with the way people carry out their lives in a society with such things as dress,
religion, customs, traditions, roles of men and women, etc.
Name the 7 continents. Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America
Weather and Climate- What affects them? Many things effect weather and climate such as wind patterns, ocean currents,
latitude, location, etc.
Relation between the sun and earth- this affects climates as well. It also determines day and night on the planet, ocean
currents, and also determines the season we experience.
The Earth spins on its axis at 23.5 degrees tilt. The Earth spins in what is called a rotation in orbit around the sun which is called a
revolution.
What are some of the things that affect erosion? Erosion can occur due to several factors including wind, water,
overgrazing, etc.
Be able to understand the high, mid, and low latitudes of the planet. Think of these things in terms of numbers. At the
equator it is zero degrees latitude and the numbers increase as you move away from the equator. So, as you move North
toward the Tropic of Cancer and South from the equator toward the Tropic of Capricorn, at 23.5 degrees in both directions, this
consists of your low latitudes. The numbers are lower here and the temperature is warmer because they experience more direct
sunlight. This area is typically tropical and warm all year long. As you move North and South from the two tropic lines all the way up
the Arctic and Antarctic circles, you experience the mid latitudes that generally have more temperate or moderate climates. (this is
where we live). These areas usually experience all four seasons. Anything North or South of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles would
be considered high latitudes, corresponding to the high latitudinal numbers, and would experience extremely cold climates lasting
much of the year.
Elevation- elevation is another aspect that affects climate. The higher up you go, the colder is tends to be. The country of
Ecuador in South America has a city with a mountain that experiences snow at the top, even though the country sits
directly on the equator.
Ocean currents- The currents in the ocean are affected by several things. The rotation of the Earth affects them, differing
temperatures within the water affect currents, and wind of moving air above the ocean also affects the currents.
Rainfall- Regions such as deserts receive less than 10 inches of rainfall per year while places in the rainforest might
experience more than 100 inches of rainfall per year.
Africa
Apartheid- This was a system of black suppression of separateness that existed in South America. The system began after
years of colonial rule where whites tried to hold and keep political power. The system can viewed as similar to what was
experienced by African Americans in the U.S. before the Civil Rights movement.
Religion in Africa- Africa is very large with a long history. Many people have come to live in Africa and their religion went
with them. You have many Christians, Jews, and Muslims all live in Africa. Although you have small minorities of other
religions, traditional tribal religions still exceed those and are practiced widely.
Desertification- The spreading of desert conditions. Remember you made the mock Power Point on paper where you had
to describe what this was, what caused it, and what could be done to prevent it. You found that many things can cause
desertification such as drought, erosion, overgrazing, improper use of the land such as with agriculture, mismanagement of the land.
The Sahara is the world’ s largest desert surrounded by the semi-arid region of the Sahel. The Sahara is getting larger due to
desertification where the Sahel is experiencing this tragedy.
Rivers- such as the Nile in Egypt provide many things such as food, transportation, water for irrigation, drinking water, and
when floods occur minerals are deposited on the nearby land that act as good fertilizer for soil.
Rainforests- Remember there are rainforests in Africa as well as Brazil.
Mediterranean Sea- this region experiences warm weather all year long and is known for producing things such as citrus
fruits, grapes, and olives. The summers are hot and dry while the winters are wet. This climate is a Mediterranean climate and
is experienced in California as well. Some of the countries within this region are Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Italy,
Greece.
Sirocco and Mistral Winds- Sirocco winds coming from Africa help to warm the areas of the Mediterranean. Winds from the
North, called Mistral Winds are blocked by the Alps and Pyrenees Mountains above Italy and Spain.
AIDS- Africa experiences the highest percentages of AIDS worldwide. Some places in Africa are plagues by percentages at
one in every four people carrying the virus.
Colonialism- The affects of colonialism can still be seen today. Many country boundaries were realigned but did not take
into account the tribal or ethnic groups that lived there. Places such as South Africa, where whites held political power,
experienced power struggles. Civil War and corruption are a legacy of this colonial period where people are still trying to overcome
the changes in political power. Many places in Africa have significant amounts of resources but they are unable to advance
economically due to many of these reasons.
Drought- Africa has experienced severe drought that has caused widespread poverty (because many are farmers) and
malnutrition. Diseases are more difficult to overcome when you are not properly nourished.
Disease- AIDS and Malaria are but two serious diseases that plague Africa. Disease is widespread in Africa due to poor
healthcare. Doctors are few in many places in Africa.
Middle East
Dead Sea- lowest point of elevation on the surface of the land. The salt content is so high, nothing can live in it. Used as
a sort of day spa by many for its mineral content.
Jerusalem- A holy city for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The Wailing Wal l is here which is holy for both Muslims and
Christians. The Dome of the Rock is a holy site for Muslims.
Zionism- The movement to create a homeland for the Jews. This movement has resulted in the misplacement of
thousands upon thousands of Palestinians from what is referred to as Palestine. Many of these Palestinians are currently in
refugee camps. Today there is an ongoing effort to balance the needs of both Jews and Palestinians.
Jordan River- With water scarcity an issue in the Middle East, this river offers valuable fresh water for the people of the
region. The Israelites have made significant technological advances at irrigating this region today. The area west of the Jordan River
is known as the West Bank.
Kurds- Another displaced group. This ethnic group lives in several countries in an area referred to as Kurdistan. The Kurds are a
minority group in significant numbers.
Mesopotamia- One of the world’s first civilizations, this area encompasses that land around the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers. These rivers are an important water source in the Middle East today.
Theocracy- A government in which power is help by religious leaders. Iran has this type of government.
Bedouins- These are like nomads that travel from place to place within the desert.
Saudi Arabia- Oil rich, desert. The southern part of Saudi holds the Rub-al-Khali desert. Researchers recently have
uncovered evidence of an ancient civilization there suggesting that the area has not always been dry.
Iraq- A country in the Middle East where the U.S. is still involved. The former president, Saddam Hussein, was found by U.S.
troops hiding underground. He was tried by his people and hung for the atrocities committed against the Kurds in the 80 ’s where
he ordered the killing of several hundred in the north.
Afghanistan- Another country where the U.S. has been involved with recently. The extreme Muslim group in power there
was the Taliban which was known to have harbored Bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Afghanistan was invaded looking for Bin Laden and the Taliban was overthrown and efforts were made to replace it with a more
democratic government.
Suez Canal- Built in the late 19th century, this canal offers ships a quicker route to the Indian Ocean by bypassing going around
Africa. For the first time, shippers could cut through the Strait of Gibraltar under Spain, go through the Mediterranean Sea, pass
through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and head into the Indian Ocean.
Islam- Muslims follow the 5 Pillars of Faith: 1. Prayer five times a day in the direction of Mecca, 2. A hajj of pilgrimage to
Mecca at least once during ones’ life, 3. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, 4. Acknowledgement that Allah is the one true
god, 5. Alms to the poor. In addition, the Quran is their book of scriptures. Muslims acknowledge Moses and Jesus as prior prophets
believe Muhammad to be the last and greatest of them. This religion originated in 611 AD.
South Asia/India
Physical Geography- The region shows a great diversity with deserts, mountains, plains, forests, and plateaus. The wet
monsoon is a much anticipated event in South Asia as it brings life to the region with as much as 60 days of rain. The great
rivers of the region are the Indus (remember the old Indus River Civilization), the Ganges (a sacred river to Hindus), and the
Brahmaputra. The Himalayas lie to the north and separate South Asia from China. The islands lying of the eastern and western
coasts of India are the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The Indian subcontinent was formed from a breaking away from Africa millions of
years ago and then a collision with the Asian continent forming the tallest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas.
Political Geography- South Asia, once a colonial territory of Great Britain, obtained its independence with the help of
famous individuals such as Gandhi who held non-violent protests against the British occupiers. Territorial dispute still exists
today due to this fact, with Kashmir being disputed between the strictly Muslim Pakistan and the majority Hindu India.
Population- South Asia is the world’s post poverty afflicted region. It holds only 3 percent of the world’s land area, yet 22
percent of the world’s people. Since more than half of the region’ s people are involved in subsistence farming, economic prospects
are bleak. In addition, health care is low, and malnutrition is high with as many as 50% of girls being malnourished. South Asian’s
have poor education systems as well and low average incomes. The future looks even bleaker as the population of this area tends to
grow still even further.
Economy- constrains by a post- colonial period, poor economic planning, tight government control, state ownership of
inefficient industries, and overpopulation, and poor education systems have left the region extremely poor.
Hinduism- major religion in South Asia. The Hindu religion is based on the Caste system. The Caste system separates
individuals in a Hindu society into fixed layers whose ranks are based on ancestries, family ties, and occupations. A person is born
into a caste based on his or her actions in a previous existence and therefore may not move from a lower caste into a higher one. A
person is prevented from even making contact with a higher social class. Persons of a particular caste can only perform certain jobs,
wear certain clothes, worship in prescribed ways at particular places, and could not eat or play with those of a higher class. In India,
today, there are actually hundreds of castes, the highest of these being the Brahmans. The Brahmans are priests or princes at the
top of the caste system. At the very bottom of the system are the untouchables who perform what is considered “dirty” jobs such as
the caring for the dead, garbage pickup, etc. Efforts have been made in modern times to better the social conditions and
opportunities of those in this class. The majority of the people of India are Hindus yet there is a population of Muslims that totals
those in Pakistan where the majority is Muslim. Bangladesh on the other hand is mostly Buddhist. There is a significant number of
Sikhs as well.
East Asia
Great Wall of China- built to offer China protection from Mongol armies.
Japan- island country with few fresh water sources.
Desalinization- process of removing salt from water.
U.S. Involvement- Japan in WWII, Korea in the Korean War, and Vietnam.
Physical Geography- from the Gobi desert of Mongolia, to the Kunlun and Himalaya Mountains, to its vast rivers such as the
Yellow River, Asia is a region of wide physical diversity.
Hong Kong- Economic regional zone that was a British protection until 1999 when it was officially handed over to China.
Russia and the Republics
Nuclear Lakes- legacy of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. Lake Chagan can be found in Kazakhstan.
Lake Baikal- deepest lake in the world, found in Russia, formed from melting glaciers.
Joseph Stalin- Communist leader of the Soviet Union during WWII.
Czar- the Russian emperor was overthrown in the revolution of Russia.
Revolution of 1917- Following the revolution, a communist government was put in place and Russia formerly became the
Soviet Union or the U.S.S.R.
World War II- after the war was won by the allies, the Soviet Union became a world superpower and the Cold War began with
the power struggles with the west all over the world where the Soviet Union tried to spread communist governments to its colonial
powers and political allies.
Siberia- a vast desert, sparsely populated within the Arctic region.
Russia and the Republics- following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, with the collapse of communism, the region
broke up into Russia and 15 Republics. Ethnic clashes have occurred in many of these areas.
Oceania
United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)- a convention that changed the political and economic
geography of the oceans forever. Established a 12-mile territorial sea (land rights extending from the coastline) for all
countries and a 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) over which a coastal state would have exclusive economic rights.
Antarctic Treaty of 1961- Following several countries claims to areas within Antarctica, these countries as well as others came
together to sign this treaty which ensures scientific collaboration (many research facilities are based in Antarctica), prohibits military
activities, protects the environment, and holds national claims in abeyance.
Australia- home to the world’s marsupials, of those mammals which have their offspring very early and carry them in an
abdominal pouch until maturity. Australia if relatively flat except for the highlands in the east and is widely dry. Australia is
one of the seven continents and lies north of the Southern Ocean. Australia is home to a large Aborigine population, of the native
people of the continent.
Southern Ocean- This ocean, often not labeled on maps, is the ocean that surrounds Antarctica and extends northward
toward Australia and ends at the 40 degree south latitude line where Antarctica icebergs cease to be found.