World Geography
Fall Final Review
Define Geography
• The study of the Earth’s physical and
human features and the interactions of
people, places, and environments.
Human vs. Physical Geography
• Human Geography is culture which
includes government, economics, religion,
language, rituals, customs, etc.
• Physical Geography is the landforms,
bodies of water, climates, vegetation and
weather of the planet.
5 Themes of Geography
• Location
– Absolute: 550 Dulles Avenue
– Relative: down the street from Sonic
• Place
– Physical: The Grand Canyon
– Human: First Colony Mall
• Human Environment Interaction: Pollution
• Movement: Transportation
• Region: See next slide!
Types of Regions
• Functional- a central focal point with
surrounding territories.
– The Houston Metro Area.
• Formal - Has boundaries determined by the
distribution of some uniform characteristic.
– The State of Texas
• Perceptual - Defined by popular feelings and
images rather than by objective data.
– The Heartland
TODALSIGS
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Title – type of map
Orientation – direction of map
Date – when map made
Author – who made the map
Legend – what the symbols mean
Scale – spatial relation of map, distance
Index – where things are found on map
Grid – latitude and longitude of map
Source – where the info for the map came from
Longitude
• Longitude
– Run north to south
– Measured east and west of Prime Meridian
• Prime Meridian is 0° Longitude
• Prime Meridian divides the Eastern and
Western hemispheres
• Lines of Longitude are also known as
meridians they meet at the poles.
Latitude
• Latitude
– Run east to west
– Measured north and south of Equator
• The Equator is at 0° latitude
• Lines of latitude are called parallels
because they never intersect or meet.
Cardinal vs. Intermediate
Directions
• Cardinal: North, South, East, & West
• Intermediate: Northeast, Northwest,
Southeast, Southwest
Maps vs. Globes
• Maps must distort size, shape, direction
and distance
The Tropics
• Tropic of Cancer: 23 ½° N latitude
• Tropic of Capricorn: 23 ½° S latitude
Remember it this way:
Cancer is in the Lungs
The Equator is at the waist
Your kneeCAP is below your waist
The Great circles
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North Pole 90°N
Arctic Circle 66 ½ °N latitude
Tropic of Cancer: 23 ½° N latitude
Equator: 0° latitude
Tropic of Capricorn: 23 ½° S latitude
Antarctic Circle 66 ½ °S Latitude
South Pole 90°S
Weathering vs. Erosion
• Weathering: Breaking down of rock into
smaller pieces
– Chemical: acid rain
– Physical: Wind
• Erosion: The movement of dirt, sand, etc
from one place to another
– Wind
– Water
– Glacial (Ice)
Continental Drift
• The theory that the continents were once
one supercontinent called PANGEA but
then they broke apart and drifted to their
current locations
• We know this because of
– Similar fossils
– “fit” of coastlines
– Similar rocks
The Earth’s Spheres
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Atmosphere: all of the gasses on Earth
Hydrosphere: all of the water on Earth
Lithosphere: the surfaces of the Earth
Biosphere: living things on Earth
Mountains
• Tall landforms with high altitude
Peninsula
• Surrounded by water on 3 sides
Mouth of a River
• The place where a river empties into a
larger body of water
Archipelago
• A group of islands
Source of a river
• The place where a river starts. Usually in
the mountains or inland on a landmass
Isthmus
• A strip of land that joins two larger
landmasses
Atoll
• A ring of islands formed by a volcano
under water with a lagoon in the middle.
Lake
• A large body of water surrounded by land.
Strait
• A narrow body of water that runs between
two landmasses and connects two larger
bodies of water
Sound
• A small body of water that is partially
enclosed by land and opens to the ocean
Ring of Fire
• Ring of volcanic activity surrounding the
Pacific Ocean. Lots of earthquakes and
volcanoes.
Seasons
• The Sun’s rays shine directly on the
following latitudes on these dates
– Dec. 21st (winter solstice): Tropic of Capricorn
– Jun. 21st (summer solstice): Tropic of Cancer
– March 22nd (spring equinox): Equator
– September 22nd (fall equinox): Equator
• Seasons change as the earth revolves
around the sun
• Rotation gives us days and nights
More Seasons
• Southern Hemisphere, position 1
– Summer
• Northern Hemisphere, position 2
– Spring
• During the December solstice, the Tropic of
Capricorn gets the most light because the Earth
is tilted away from the sun
• During the June solstice, the Tropic of Cancer
gets the most light because the Earth is tilted
toward the sun
Weather vs. Climate
• Weather – constantly changing
– Rain, snow, tornadoes, hurricanes
– Cold today, chance of snow
– Cold front moving in
• Climate – ongoing
– Humid, tropical, arid
– Warm wet winters, hot, dry summers
Factors that affect climate
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Latitude – largest influence
Elevation/Altitude (higher=colder)
Precipitation
Ocean currents
Wind currents
Continentiality (middle of continent=more
defined)
• Orographic/Rain-shadow effect (rain on
windward side and desert on leeward side)
• Ultimate source = the sun!
The Orographic Effect
• Created the Atacama Desert
Culture
• The beliefs and actions that define a group of
people and their way of life. Some examples of
culture traits are:
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Religion
Language
Government
Economics
Rituals
Customs
Etc.
Diffusion
• The spread of a product, phenomena, disease,
language or idea
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SARS
AIDS
Colombian Drugs
Etc
• Another important concept for understanding
cultural change is acculturation where people
accept the ways of a new culture
Culture Hearth
• The place where a culture emerged and
diffused from
ABCs of Culture
• Don’t worry about them!
Government
• Autocratic: single self-appointed ruler
– North Korea
• Democratic: people choose leader
– USA
Economics
• Command: government controlled
– Cuba
• Free Market: supply and demand, private
businesses
– Mexico
• “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”
Constitutional Monarchy
• A government with a king or queen but
also a government established by a
constitution
– Great Britain
Dictatorship
• A government controlled by a single leader
who took over by force and rules
absolutely
– Cuba
– North Korea
Population Issues
More population means we need:
• More resources
• More education
• More healthcare
• More goods and services
• More environmental concern!
Longer life expectancy (average length of life) is
because of:
• Many diseases are better controlled
Population Growth
• Zero population growth: births=deaths
• Negative population growth: births<deaths
• Slow population growth: slightly more
births than deaths
• Rapid population growth: many more
births than deaths
Increase/Decrease Rates
• Birth rates: number of live babies born
each year per 1000
• Death rates: number of people who die
each year per 1000
Demographics:
The study of human population statistics
including distribution, pop. Density and
trends
Population density
• Number of people within a space
– People per square mile
– People per square kilometer
• Measures how “crowded” a country is
Types of Farming
• Subsistence Agriculture: just growing
enough to support family/village with none
left over for sale
• Commercial Agriculture: growing additional
crops for sale/profit
Revolutions
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Agricultural Revolution
Industrial Revolution
Biological Revolution
Green Revolution
The Green Revolution
• After scientists discovered the hole in the
ozone layer, people focused their
consumer and productive efforts on
cleaning and maintaining the environment
• A response to the greenhouse effect:
gasses trapped in the environment
warming the earth.
Resources
• Renewable: can be regenerated
– Solar power
– Freshwater
• Nonrenewable: can not be regenerated
– Oil
– Gold
Levels of Development
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Developed: Countries that have moved
from a primarily agricultural economy to
an industrial/technological economy
– USA, Mexico, Japan
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Developing (middle income): Countries
that are in the process of industrializing
– India, China, Much of Latin America
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Underdeveloped: Countries that are still
subsistence
– Afghanistan, Much of Africa
Urban vs. Rural
• Urban is cities with buildings, roads,
businesses, solid infrastructure
• Rural is the country
Population Pyramid Questions
• The population is fairly stable
• The largest part of the population is young
adults from about 25-30
US and Canada
• US and Canada are wealthy nations with
many city and suburb dwellers for the
following reasons:
– Democratic governments
– Free market economies (capitalism)
– Abundance of land
– Belief in the individual
– Values that encourage wealth
Megalopolis
• A major city areas linked by smaller cities
– Boston to Washington DC
Most Popular Industry in US
• Most Americans work in the service
industry today
– Doctors
– Lawyers
– Retail
– Food service
Where do most Canadians live?
• In the south and on the coasts
– Close to the US
– Major cities
– Geography…cold, mountainous in the north
The US and Canada
• Shared physical characteristics
– Great Lakes (except Michigan)
– Great Plains
– Rocky Mountains
Capitals:
- US: Washington DC
- Canada: Ottawa
Branches of US Government
• Legislative (makes laws)
– Congress
• Senate
• House of Representatives
• Judicial (interprets laws)
– Supreme Court
– Lower courts
• Executive (enforces laws)
– President
– Cabinet
NAFTA
• North American Free Trade Agreement
• Mexico, US and Canada
• Eliminate or reduce tariffs, embargos and
restrictions on trade between the 3
countries
• Good for some groups, bad for others
The Governing Body of Canada
• Parliament
• Led by a Prime Minister
Socioeconomic Status of most
Americans and Canadians
• Middle class
Where in the US?
• Disney World – Florida
• West Point – New York
• The NFL Vikings team – Minnesota
• Kilauea Volcano – Hawaii
• Arlington Cemetary – Virginia
American Revolution
• Americans fought for their freedom from
British rule
• Declaration of Independence signed July
4, 1776
• Written by Thomas Jefferson
• US Constitution has a preamble
• Federal system is national and state
• Articles of Confed. led to the Constitution
Trade
• Trade deficit: Importing more than you
export
• Trade surplus: Exporting more than you
import
• The US has a trade deficit
• Canada has a trade surplus
The Bill of Rights
• The first TEN amendments to the
Constitution include:
– Free speech, press, religion, assembly,
petition
– bear arms (guns)
– No search and seizure
– Trial by jury
– Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment
The Orographic Effect in LA
• The Atacama Desert in Latin America was
created by the Orographic effect
Latin American Settlements
• Mostly on the coasts because physical
geography and climate has made it difficult to
settle anywhere else
Economy
• Mostly agricultural output
Panama Canal
• Links the Caribbean and the Pacific
Ancient Civilizations
• Maya – Mexico
• Aztec – Mexico
• Incas – Peru
European Colonies and LA
• Spanish
• Portuguese
Main Religion of LA
• Roman Catholicism
Brazil
• Major language is Portuguese while the
rest of Latin America is primarily Spanishspeaking
Landlocked nations of LA
• Bolivia
• Paraguay
LA Groups
• Mestizos – people who were part Spanish,
part native American or “Indian”
• Mulattos – people who were part African
part native American or “Indian”
Brasilia
• The capital of Brazil
• Build in the Brazilian highlands as a
central location for trade and government
Grasslands of South America
• The Llanos of Colombia and Venezuela
• The Pampas of Argentina and Paraguay
Physical Geography in LA
• The Andes Mountains have isolated
people and prevented trade
Most populated country in the world
• China
• They try to control it by only allowing people to
have 1 child
Natural Resources
• Elements from the Earth not made by
people but usable by them.
Oligarchy
• Government controlled by a small powerful
group
Per Capita Income
• Divide GDP by population
Push/Pull Migration
• Push migration – factors that push people
out of an area…war, famine, govt.
corruption, etc.
• Pull migration – factors that pull people to
an area…education and employment
opportunities, freedom, etc.
The Greater Antilles
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Cuba
Jamaica
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Human Rights Violations
• Starvation
• Brutality
• Persecution
World’s Highest Lake
• Lake Titicaca in the Andes Mountains