Term | Definition |
plateau | high level surfaces |
mesa | flat topped natural elevations |
continental divide | a line that separates rivers that flow toward opposite ends of a continent |
headwaters | water sources |
tributary | brooks rivers and streams that feed their waters into one river |
fishery | places for catching fish and other sea animals |
blizzard | snowstorms with winds of in excess of 35 miles per hour and temperatures below freezing |
tornado | swirling columns of air whose winds can reach 300 mph |
hurricane | ocean storms of hundreds of miles wide with winds of 74 miles per hour or more |
typhoon | Pacific hurricanes |
chinook | seasonal warm wind that blows down the rockies in late winter and early spring |
timberline | the elevation above which trees cannot grow |
immigrant | people who leave their countries to settle permanently in others |
Sunbelt | the mild climate region of the southern US |
suburbs | outlying communities of an urban area |
metropolitan area | a central city and its surrounding suburbs |
megalopolis | Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and D.C. |
strait | a narrow passageway connecting two bodies of water |
cash crop | crops that are raised to be sold |
republic | a form of government in which people elect their own officials |
industrialization | the setting up of manufacturing that uses machinery |
dry farming | a way of saving water in the soil by plowing land so that it holds rainwater |
Constitution | a plan of government for the US |
amendment | changes in the Constitution |
cabinet | a group of special advisers for the president |
multicultural | societies having more than one culture |
bilingual | having two languages |
abstract | European style art in which the artist tries to show his or her own attitudes or emotion |
jazz | musical blend of African rhythms with the harmony of European music |
mobile | moving from place to place |
literacy rate | being able to read and write |
free enterprise | an economic system in which private businesses operate with little interference from government |
truck farm | farm that grows vegetables for markets in nearby cities |
contour plowing | farming method in which plowed furrows follow the natural curve of land, lessening erosion |
crop rotation | farming method in which different crops are alternated in the same field preserving soil nutrients |
service industry | business that produces a service |
interdependent | relying on one another for goods services and ideas |
NAFTA | trade agreement made in 1993 by Canada, the US, and Mexico |
acid rain | rain carrying large amounts of sulfuric and nitric acid |
smog | irritating haze caused by the interaction of UV solar radiation with chemical fumes from automobile exhausts and other pollution sources |
eutrophication | process by which the water of a lake or stream becomes too rich in dissolved nutrients, leading to plant growth that depletes oxygen |
bycatch | unwanted fish marine mammals and birds caught by fishers and thrown away |