SOCIAL STUDIES – Review Sheet
Unit 5 – Chapters 10 and 11: The Southwest
Be able to define, explain, and/or give examples of the following *key* vocabulary words:
 desert – a dry area of land covered in sand; a feature that covers much of AZ (where the Grand
Canyon is located) and NM
 reservoirs – lakes made by people to collect and store water; most people make them by damming
rivers; the Hoover Dam controls the flow of the Colorado River.
 irrigation – the use of canals, ditches, or pipes to carry water to dry places; many farmers need to
use irrigation because they don’t get enough rain to grow their crops.
 adobe – a mixture of sandy clay and straw that is dried into bricks; the Spanish were the first
Europeans to settle in the Southwest, and they learned how to build with adobe from the Native
Americans.
 Indian Territory – In 1830, land (present-day Oklahoma) was set-aside by the government for the
Native Americans. The government passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 for all Native Americans
to leave peacefully to the Indian Territory. However, feeling that removal from their own lands was
not an option, the vast majority of the Native Americans stayed. When the deadline was up for the
Native Americans to leave, the government “forced” them to leave to the Indian Territory. Many
died on this march, known as the Trail of Tears, due to the sickness, harsh weather, and lack of
food.
 aerospace – having to do with the building and testing of aircraft and equipment for air and space
travel; our nation’s astronauts train in Houston, TX.
 refinery – a factory that turns crude oil into useful products, such as gasoline and other fuels;
Frank Phillips helped to establish the oil industry in OK.
 dredge – to dig out the bottom and sides of a waterway to make it deeper and wider; many people in
the Southwest dig deeper water wells today than in the past, because using groundwater is faster
and nature can replace it.
 rain shadow – mountains affect the climate in the Southwest because they block moist ocean air
from reaching the region
 migrant worker – a worker who moves from place to place, doing different jobs; Cesar Chavez and
Dolores Huerta worked to resolve conflicts between migrant workers and farm owners.
 missions – religious settlements established by the Spanish in the Southwest
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able to explain the following concepts:
How to read and interpret a road map of the Southwest region
Why people in the Southwest try to overcome the scarcity of their water resources
The effect of the Pueblo people living in the desert regions of AZ and NM
The effect of the Spanish claiming most of the Southwest in the 1540s
Why cattle ranching is an important industry in the Southwest
The effect of the Southwest having large amounts of oil
Why most of the Southwest has a dry climate
Ways that the Apache were different from the Caddo and Pueblo peoples in the Southwest
Why OK has such a large Native American population today
How the discovery of oil in the Southwest changed the region
How people in the Southwest overcame the challenge of finding enough water for the region’s
growing population