2010 Fall Exam Review

Knowledge & Concepts

● Patterns & Processes: Physical Geography
○ 5 themes of Geography
■ Location - absolute and relative
■ Place - physical and human characteristics
■ Region - formal, certain characteristics. functional, central place + surrounding
areas. perceptual, people’s opinion.
■ Movement - movement of people, goods, and ideas
■ Human-Environment Interaction - how people change the environment,
consequences of those changes, how people respond to environment changing
○ Geographic inquiry process- observing spacial distributions (patterns), what processes
created it, and making a prediction or decision about it.
○ Latitude & longitude - latitude = lines running horizontally, parallels. longitude = lines
running vertically and meeting at poles. meridians.
○ Ring of Fire- eruptions along Pacific plate boundary formed by plate subduction
○ Tectonic processes : caused by subduction where currents in the mantle move plates
■ subduction = volcanoes, mountains, trenches
■ divergent plates = sea floor spreading + rift valleys
■ converging plates = mountains, earthquakes
■ fault/transform = earthquakes, faults.volcanoes
○ Mechanical weathering - the process of breaking down of rock/earth into
particles/sediment by physical means. Most common is wedging (freeze expand, melt),
roots in rocks, cracking
○ Erosion - movement of weathered material.
■ Water—major, makes canyons
■ Wind—2nd major cause of erosion
○ Climate patterns & processes - weather, patterns, elevation, latitude, nearby landforms
(continentality), nearby bodies of water, wind/ocean currents, tilt of Earth.
■ tropical: hot all year
■ dry: hot summers, mild winter
■ moderate: warm summer, cool winter
■ continental: warm summer, cold winter
■ polar: cold summer, cold winter
○ Biomes - major types of ecosystems that can be found in various regions in the world.
(forest, grassland, desert, tundra)
○ climographs : diagram used to show the precipitation and climate of an area or
country. bar is rainfall, line is temperature.
● Patterns & Processes: Human Geography
○ Nonmaterial culture- things not made, such as religion, language,
○ Processes related to cultural change
■ cultural divergence : restriction of culture from outside influences
■ cultural convergence : contact and interaction with one culture and another
■ cultural diffusion : spreading of a cultural trait from location to location (adopt
practice of neighbor)
 ■ cultural innovations : technology changing society
○ Processes linked to declining birth rates in developing countries - improved levels of
health care
○ Patterns of Settlement & their processes : East/south Asia, Europe, Eastern North
America. Due to water, moderate climate, and fertile soil.
○ Population growth trends : J-curve: population increased since industrialization and
modern medicine.
○ Population pyramids - shows age of population at a time, separated by gender. shows
growth/decline. infers political/economic/social issues. (rapid, slow/stable, negative
growth)
○ Characteristics of countries - territory, sovereignty, population, government
○ Government authority - source of authority.
■ democracy: choose the leaders, people set government policies, the elected
legislature makes laws.
● constitutional monarchy
● representative democracy
■ authoritarian : leader has all power.
● monarchy: inherit rule, used to be dictatorial, now legislature, queen is
just “image”
● dictatorship: power in a group/person. uses military force/political
terror.
○ totalitarianism: government controls every part of the society.
○ Government structure - relationship between smaller units and central government.
■ unitary = 1 central government. Japan, UK.
■ federation = US. Some power to states.
■ confederation = central government has limited power.
○ Types of economies - what/how produced, what is done with wealth + distribution of
wealth.
■ traditional : goods consumed, little extra, no need for markets.
■ market: capitalism. private decisions, ruled by supply and demand, has
government regulate but very little
■ command economy: everything is controlled by the government, decisions
made to achieve a social/political goal. Communism.
■ mixed economy: socialism. own basic industry, private owns others. Equal
wealth/services, high taxes.
○ GDP per capita : total value of goods/services produced in a country. Goods produced
in a year divided by population. determines levels of development.
○ The Geography of Poverty
■ regions that validated Adam Smith’s hypothesis about capitalism: success of
capitalist economies in North America, Western Europe and Eastern Asia.
■ ways in which geography impacts countries’ patterns of wealth : coastal
regions create easy sea access near waterways. Tropical climates create more
disease, less agriculture. Desert is a handicap, while temperate is good for
agriculture.
○ Processes that create development : economic activites, trade patterns, GDP, standard
of living, education, healthcare, technology, transportation, communication, urban rate
● Regions: United States & Canada
○ Common pattern of settlement in U.S. & Canada : in urban areas
 ○ Factors that contributed to level of economic development in U.S. :
■ Abundance of resources : variety/many minerals, fertile soil/long growing
season for agriculture, US = coal + nat gas, hydro/wind power.
■ technological innovation: transport + communicate = high infrastructure.
Transportation = rivers, fall line cities, transcontinental railroads, auto + air
travel = suburbs. communication = telegraph, telephone, computers, email.
■ economy that values competition (free enterprise)
○ Climate patterns & processes
■ Latitude determines climate. Ocean currents warm the coast. Elevation and
mountain barriers. Dry on East of Rockies. Cool ocean currents create humid
continental West of Rockies. Canada cold due to latitude. many climates. cool
ocean current on west of Rockies
○ Growth of suburbs in U.S. : increased availability of transportation made commute to
allow to be long. Moved from city to suburbs. Grew at ends of railroad lines, where land
was cheap. Affordable housing. Loved cars. interstate highway system.
○ Chicago’s growth as a city : center of the railroad networks.
○ Population growth in South & West
■ West: Transcontinental railroad. Gold rush. Industries.
■ South: Europeans heard of rich soil, long growing season. Busines growth, job
opportunities. Tourism and retirement. Air conditioning.
○ Midwest as a “breadbasket” : flat, fertile soil. Variation in climate/soil. Long growing
season. Most productive farms. Lots of livestock.
○ Great Lakes & Mississippi River system as functional regions
■ Great Lakes : drain Atlantic through St. Lawrence
■ Mississipi: drains Gull of Mexico
○ Chicago & its agricultural hinterland is the United States
○ Growth of fall line cities in South : Textile mills powered by fast-moving streams built
along fall line (descend from Appalachian plateau to coastal plain) brought cities
○ Labor force division : In services. Advancements in technology and diversified
economy.
○ Megalopolis : a very large city, a region made up of several large cities and their
surrounding areas.
○ Traits shared by U.S. & Canada as a developed region : highly urbanized, large city
network, highly developed
○ Patterns of settlement in Prairie Provinces : cities built along railroads. “grains and
trains dominate life”
○ Canada’s population distribution : Within 200 mi of US border because it’s cold
everywhere else.
○ Examples of formal, functional, and perceptual regions
■ Formal: Rocky Mountain region, climate regions, NYC, Rockies, Quebec
■ Functional: Great Lakes and Mississippi River, Dallas/Ft-worth.
■ Perceptual : Dixie, Midwest, Middle States
○ Quebec : French, separatist movements
○ North American Free Trade Agreement : Free trade, with 2 developed and 1 developing
○ The Nine Nations of North America : man split up nations by growth + future role, and
individual’s opinions congregating, forming perceptual region. Came into effect in
1993.
● Varying Levels of Development: Latin America
 ○ Vertical climate patterns & processes in Latin America : Vertical climate zones, sell to
each other at different altitudes. Crops vary based on zone. Vertical trade. Low =
plantation, high = subsistence.
○ The Pampas of Argentina : Plains in SE, N and S of rainforest, cattle, wheat.
Breadbasket. graslsland, formal region
○ Tectonic activity patterns & processes : Andes created along tectonic plate, Ring of
fire, volcanoes. Mountains west of central/south America, subduction. Along Pacific
coastline + West, a subduction zone.
○ Impact of independence on political systems, economies, and social structures :
colonial class structure, economy intact. If crop fail, you fail. Caudillos seized power,
favored high classes, dictatorship gap in society, foreign rule.
○ Migration patterns, processes, & impacts :
■ Maya + Aztec in Mexico, Incas in South America. Brought skills and complex
cities.
■ Europeans brought conquistador empire with slaves, cultural convergence and
colonial class structure. European --> Native ---> African
■ conquistadors, europeans, and slave migration created diverse population
■ migration due to civil/political unrest, and for better economic opporunities
■ cultural convergence due to varied ethnicities migrating
■ Colonies declard/fought for independence, but struggles followed, like caudillos
and inequality
○ Colonial social structure
■ Peninsulares - born in span, officials
■ criollos - Spanish ancestry born in America
■ Mulatto/Mestizo - mix
■ Indians + Africans
○ Plantation farming : growing cash crops (sugar, coffee, cocoa, bananas) European rich
own the best land, others work for low pay, no good land left over, grow for money, not
food.
○ NAFTA’s impact on Mexico : trade doubled, manufacturing increased, unemployment
decreased, maquiladoras (border factories, helped economy, pollutes). Sought more
trade agreements. Now newly industrializing, exports doubled, but poverty increased,
bad for farmers, less imports.
○ Holders of political, economic, & social power : Europeans.
○ The Caribbean’s economic challenges : seasonal jobs, tourism doesnt bring money to
locals, cash crops only benefit plantations, economy dependent on remittance $
○ Brazil: government policies to encourage economic growth & consequences of
economic growth
■ Economic policies : move capital to interior, built steel mill and oil refinery,
hydroelectric dam, took loans.
■ consequences of growth: works in service industries, created middle class
○ Amazon Rainforest :natives dying from diseases, people moving in
○ Subsistence farmers : pushed out of homeland and into slums, grow only what they
need
○ Urban pull factors for region : jobs, social mobility, satisfying life. Opportunity!
● Unity and Division: Europe
○ North European Plain : creates flat, fertile land for easy flow of people and goods, high
population density near plains. Becomes a cultural crossroads for Eastern Europe due
 to many waves of migration between Europe and Asia, ethnic and religious groups, led
to conflict
○ Impact of physical geography: mountain barriers & rivers
■ Rivers create numerous navigable waterways and transport routes, allowing
for cultural convergence. (Thames: allows ships to sail up to London as a port)
(Rhine flows N from Alps, located at the mouth is one of the worlds most
busiest ports, Rotterdam) (Danube flows through 9 countries, connecting
Eastern Europe’s economies/cultures) Provide travelers and merchants with
access to interior lands. Increased trade, industrialization, and economies.
Most major cities on rivers, sometimes on the coast.
■ Highlands in the south creates limited interactions between north and southern
europe. Cultural divergence results due to isolated pockets of diverse people.
Mountains blocked cold air for warmer climates and many ecosystems,
affecting agriculture and economies
○ Columbian Exchange brought widespread exchange, Irish potatoes came from
America. spread animals, plants, culture (including slaves), communicable diseases,
crops, goods, resources, and ideas
○ Common characteristics of Europe’s population : decreasing, urban, high density, high
literacy rate, high quality access to healthcare
○ Political challenges faced by Eastern Europe since end of Cold War
● Some democracy in all countries since end of cold war
● Western Europe is more stable with older democracies
● Eastern Europe is newer, less stable democracies, has government
corruption and ethnic conflicts
○ A History of an Idea: important time periods of European unification
● Roman Empire: a model for creating an over-arching political structure for
Europe.
● Charlemagne: created an empire stretching from Pyrenees to the Danube, and
Hamburg to Sicily. Renewed the Roman Empire. It fell apart after his death. No
wars. Created a stable society that was cultural, artistic, and intellectual.
● Napoleon: created the Legion of Honour, after Romans and Charlemagne. Was
a monarchial alliance, this defeated him. True promoter of European
cooperation and peace.”father” of Europe because he wanted a great
European family. Wanted a common land.
○ Centripetal forces : forces uniting. (Ex: Common goals unite the EU, this is a centripetal
force.)
○ Centrifugal forces : forces separating. (Ex: conflicts within member countries separate
the EU.) & devolutionary forces : power moving to regions, not to the central
government. (Ex: Basque of Spain)
○ Supranationalism : an organization that multiple countries are members of. where a
political and social system supports economic goals. (NAFTA, NATO, Mercosur,
European Union)
○ Devolutionary forces : These regions have become self-standing economic
powerhouses with huge concentrations of growth industries and multinational firms,
and become driving forces with the European economy. This creates conflict with the
central government. They push for autonomy, creating conflict.
○ European Union: describe, impact on Europe’s population, investments in
infrastructure, timeline of evolution of organization, migration within/between member
states
■ a supranational organization with 27 countries
 ■ Infrastructure : made investments in transportation and telecommunications to
encourage economic development and economic activities
● 1952: Formed the European Steel and Coal Community, a
multinational group of coal + steel control. Inner six, first step
to EU.
● 1957: Rome Treaties. the European Economic Community and
European Community
● 1993: Maastrict Treaty, EU founded
● 1995: Schengen Agreement established open borders
● 2007: Treaty of Lisbon created constitutional basis
■ Relocation of businesses to Eastern Europe : labor was cheaper there and
would increase profit margins
■ Movement from Eastern Europe to Western Europe: poor moved to the richer
countries. Brought labor problems. wanted to restrict movement. They did this
because there were low unemployment rates and higher standards of living in
the West.
○ European economic activities :
● Primary: Main agriculture regions = moderate climate, fertile soil, few
physical barriers (North European Plan, Central France, Steppe
Grasslands in Ukraine)
● Secondary: largest manufacturing in France, England, Germany- west.
(Flat terrain, mild climate, access to river/oceans, many mineral
resources)
● Tertiary: Western = extensive trade network within region and world.
Navigable rivers and easy ocean access.
● Quaternary: Western = high technology, finance, specialized
businesses, because of high standards of living and highly educated
workers. (Ex: Switzerland has high standard of living)