THIS FYMK BELONGS TO _________________________________________________________________
FACTS YOU MUST KNOW IN SIXTH GRADE GEOGRAPHY 2015
Using Geography Skills
1. Geography is the study of Earth and its people.
2. To study Earth, geographers use maps, globes, photographs, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
3. Geography is used to interpret the past, understand the present, and plan for the future.
4. Geographers use the Five Themes of Geography to describe places and people.
5. Location is the position of a place on the earth’s surface; it can be described as absolute or relative.
6. Place describes the physical and human features of a location that make it unique.
7. Human-Environment Interaction describes how people and their environment affect each other.
8. Movement explains how and why people, goods, and ideas are connected and move from place to place.
9. Regions are areas of the Earth’s surface that are united by one or more characteristics.
10. “Physical” refers to Earth’s land areas, bodies of water, plant and animal life, weather systems and
natural resources.
11. “Human” refers to Earth’s people and their activities, including religions, languages, and ways of life.
12. “Political” refers to man-made creations such as cities, states, and countries.
13. “Economic” refers to the production, distribution, and use of income, resources, and wealth.
14. There are 7 continents: Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
15. There are 4 oceans: Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Pacific. Some geographers say the ocean around Antarctica
is called the Southern Ocean.
16. Geographers organize Earth into physical, political, and economic regions.
17. The tilt of Earth and its revolution around the sun cause the changing seasons during the year.
18. The seasons in the southern hemisphere are the opposite of seasons in the northern hemisphere.
19. Latitude lines go around the earth from side to side and are measured in degrees north or south
of the equator.
20. The equator is 0° latitude, the North Pole is 90°N latitude, and the South Pole is 90°S latitude.
21. Longitude lines go from pole to pole and are measured in degrees east or west of the prime meridian.
22. The prime meridian is 0° longitude, and the International Date Line (IDL) is 180° longitude.
23. Time zones are 15° of longitude wide because Earth spins 15° every hour.
24. If you travel west across the IDL, you move ahead one day (ex: Monday→Tuesday).
25. If you travel east across the IDL, you move back one day (ex: Tuesday→Monday).
Earth’s Physical Geography
26. Earth has four layers: the inner core, the outer core, the mantle, and the crust.
27. The continents are on large pieces of the crust which are broken into plates that move and shape Earth.
28. Plate tectonics explains how the continents were formed and why they move.
29. Earth’s crust is shaped by movement of tectonic plates, earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, and erosion.
30. Earth looks blue from space because it is 71% water; about 1% of all water on Earth is fresh and drinkable.
31. A place’s culture, crops, housing, transportation, and industry are all influenced by the place’s latitude.
32. Sun, wind, bodies of water, and the shape of the land influence climate.,
33. Climate zones, seasons, and average daily temperatures are related to latitude.
34. The effects of wind, water, latitude, and landforms combine to create different climate zones.
35. There are five major climate zones: tropical, dry, midlatitude, high latitude, and highland.
36. Urban climates in large cities are warmer than the surrounding countryside, and may have different
wind and rain patterns.
37. People choose where to settle based on factors such as climate, availability of water, and food resources.
38. Man-made environmental problems such as pollution, climate change, and acid rain are becoming a major
concern all over the world.
Earth’s Human and Cultural Geography
39. The world’s population is about 7,000,000,000, and is spread unevenly across a small part of Earth’s surface.
40. Large numbers of people migrate for a variety of reasons, depending on the “push” and “pull” factors of a place.
41. Culture is the way of life of a group of people who share common beliefs, customs, and traits.
42. Elements that unify a culture include language, religion, history, daily life, the arts, government, and economy.
43. Cultures are constantly changing and influencing each other; as countries and regions share cultural traits,
a global culture is developing.
44. An ethnic group shares language, history, religion, and some physical traits.
45. Conflict can occur when people believe their own ethnic and/or culture group is better than others.
46. An economic system is the method used to determine what goods and services a society produces, how to
produce them, and who will receive them.
47. Developed countries use advanced technology and are highly productive; developing countries are less advanced
and less productive.
48. Because resources are unevenly distributed, nations of the world must trade with each other.
49. Growing trade among countries has resulted in global interdependence, which is called globalization.
50. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) removed most trade barriers between the U.S., Canada,
and Mexico.
Physical Geography of the United States and Canada
51. The United States and Canada share a long border and many landforms; the region takes up most of North America.
52. The eastern U.S. and Canada has low coastal plains and heavily eroded highlands.
53. Lowland areas with minerals and rich soil make up the U.S. and Canada’s interior.
54. The West has several parallel mountain ranges, with plateaus, basins, and valleys lying between the mountains.
55. The St. Lawrence Seaway, the Great Lakes, and Mississippi River are important waterways that support trade
between the interior and other parts of the world.
56. Physical regions in the U.S. and Canada include eastern highlands, the Canadian Shield, Central Lowlands,
Great Plains, and the western mountains.
57. A diversity of climates in the U.S. and Canada leads to different ways of life based on different physical
characteristics of the areas.
History and Cultures of the United States and Canada
58. Native Americans (known as First Nations in Canada) were the first people to live in the U.S. and Canada.
59. Both the U.S. and Canada are former English colonies that became independent democracies.
60. The United States is divided into 50 states and 14 territories.
61. The U.S. was founded in 1776, grew larger and more wealthy in the 1800s, and became a global power in the 1900s.
62. Immigration has created a diversity of groups, languages, and religions in the U.S. and Canada.
63. The major ethnic groups in the U.S. are: people of European descent, Latinos, African Americans, Asians,
and Native Americans.
64. American lifestyles reflect the economic well-being of the people, most of whom live in cities or suburbs.
65. France and then Britain controlled the area that is Canada today, which was founded in 1867.
66. Canada’s vast distances and separate cultures cause some Canadians to feel more closely attached to their own
regions than to Canada as a country.
67. One-fourth of Canadians are of French ancestry; many French speakers in Quebec want to separate from Canada
and become independent. This means Canada may not remain a united country in the future.
Living in the United States and Canada Today
68. Both the US and Canada are often divided into economic regions based on similar resources and climates.
69. The U.S. has a free market economy, which means people are free to buy, sell, and produce whatever they want
with limited government interference.
70. Because it has few mineral resources and poor soil for farming, the economic focus of the Northeast region of the
United States has been on business, research, and trade.
71. Because of its rich soil and many mineral resources, the economic focus of the Midwest region has been on
farming and manufacturing.
72. The South region has rich soil, oil resources, and the Gulf Coast, so its economic focus has been on agriculture,
the oil industry, and tourism.
73. The economic focus of the dry, scenic Interior West region has been on mining, ranching, lumbering, and ecotourism.
74. The economic focus of the Pacific region has been on agriculture, oil and mineral resources, aviation, computer
and movie industries, and tourism.
75. Canada is made up of ten provinces and three territories.
76. Canada has a free market economy with more government involvement in health care, broadcasting, transportation,
and power companies.
77. Canada is divided into similar economic regions, which are the Atlantic Provinces, Central and Eastern Region,
the West, and the North.
78. The U.S. has the world’s largest economy, but has a huge trade deficit. Canada has a trade surplus because it has
fewer people and exports more than it imports.
79. The U.S. and Canada face environmental problems of pollution, climate change, urban sprawl, and contamination.
80. Declining water levels and rising demand for water are affecting the Great Lakes.
Physical Geography of Latin America
81. Latin America is made of Middle America, the Caribbean, and South America.
82. Middle America is made up of Mexico and the isthmus known as Central America.
83. The Caribbean is made up of the islands in the Caribbean Sea: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas.
84. In Latin America, vast river systems provide food and transportation, but rugged mountains have been
obstacles to transportation and trade.
85. Latin America’s rain forest area is the largest in the world; it contains many valuable resources and a wide
variety of plant and animal life.
86. The Columbian Exchange is the transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases between the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres; it began in 1492 when Columbus arrived in the Americas.
87. Most of Latin America lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and has a tropical wet climate.
88. In tropical Latin America, altitude causes great changes in climate and vegetation.
History and Cultures of Latin America
89. Advanced Native American civilizations of Latin America include the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Toltec, and Inca.
90. The Olmec in what is now Mexico were the first civilization, followed by the Maya, the Toltec, and then the Aztec.
91. The Inca had a powerful empire in western South America during the 1400s.
92. Spanish conquerors were able to conquer the Aztec and Inca with guns, cannons, horses, and diseases like
smallpox and measles.
93. Different groups who settled in Latin America include Native Americans, Europeans, Africans, and Asians.
94. The economic systems of European colonies in Latin America involved sending raw materials to the mother
countries for manufacturing, then trading food and resources for those manufactured goods.
95. Most of Latin America gained independence in the early 1800s, but many of the new nations faced major
political and economic hardships.
96. Today’s Latin American countries face many challenges from population growth, limited resources, and crime
and corruption related to illegal drug trade.
Latin America Today
97. Mexico’s culture reflects its Native American and Spanish past as well as modern European influences.
98. Two-thirds of Mexicans are mestizos, which is a blend of Native American and Spanish.
99. Businesses from the U.S. have built maquiladoras (assembly plants) in Mexico along the U.S.-Mexico border.
100. Farming is the main way of life in Central America, where many people are poor.
101. Although most Caribbean island countries are poor, several are turning to tourism to help their economies grow.
102. Puerto Rico is a self-governing territory of the United States, and its people are American citizens.
103. Brazil is South America’s leading economic power, but concerns have grown over its use of the Amazon rain forest.
104. Argentina is one of the most industrialized countries in South America, but its economy has had major problems.
105. Economic growth for other countries of South America has been hindered by political and social troubles.
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year-end final tests are over these facts. He/she has all the answers to those two tests right here. I have also
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completely. If your child doesn’t show you the letter, please ask him/her for it.
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