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Geography Cards
Ch. 1-13 Index cards on terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| geography | The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth |
| latitude | specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface |
| longitude | A measure of relative position east or west on the Earth's surface |
| relative location | A location of a place in relation to another place |
| linear distance | the distance between two defined points |
| map projection | the representation on a plane surface of any part of the surface of the earth |
| topographic map | type of map characterized by relief, shown by contour lines |
| GPS | satellites that orbit the Earth and give accurate geographical information |
| compass rose | a circle showing the principal directions printed on a map or chart. |
| prime meridian | zero of longitude |
| core | innermost part of earth |
| atmosphere | the envelope of gases surrounding the earth |
| lithosphere | the rigid outer part of the earth |
| hydrosphere | all the waters on the earth's surface |
| drainage basin | area drained by a river and its tributaries |
| ground water | water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock |
| relief | vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface |
| continental shelf | seabed around a large landmass |
| fault | crack in the Earth's crust |
| seismograph | an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes |
| Ring of Fire | An extensive zone of volcanic and seismic activity around borders of the Pacific Ocean |
| mechanical weathering | breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals |
| chemical weathering | the erosion or disintegration of rocks caused by chemical reactions |
| delta | landform that is formed at the mouth of a river |
| loess | a loosely compacted yellowish-gray deposit of windblown sediment |
| moraine | a mass of rocks and sediment carried down and deposited by a glacier |
| humus | the organic component of soil |
| erosion | the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents |
| sediment | Solid fragments of inorganic or organic material that come from the weathering of rock |
| lava | hot molten or semifluid rock erupted from a volcano |
| solstice | when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, 2x a year |
| equinox | the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length, 2x a year |
| weather | the state of the atmosphere at a place and time |
| climate | the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period |
| rain shadow | a region having little rainfall because it is sheltered |
| blizzard | a severe snowstorm with high winds and low visibility |
| convection | the transfer of heat by the circulation or movement of the heated parts of a liquid or gas |
| tundra | a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region in which subsoil is permanently frozen |
| permafrost | a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year |
| semi arid | annual rainfall, usually from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm): the struggle to raise vegetables |
| ecosystem | a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment |
| deciduous forest | forests in which (of a tree or shrub) sheds its leaves annually |
| coniferous forest | forests consisting of trees or shrubs bearing cones and evergreen leaves |
| continental divide | the watershed of a continent (ex: Rocky Mountains divide east and west flowing rivers) |
| prevailing westerlies | the winds from the west that occur in the temperate zones of the Earth |
| everglades | a marshy tract of land that is mostly under water and covered with tall grass |
| nomads | people having no permanent home, and move around |
| beringia | region surrounding the Bering Strait |
| Canadian shield | a large plateau that occupies more than 40% of the land area of Canada |
| locks | a short confined section of a canal or other waterway in which the water level can be changed by the use of gates |
| migration | movement from one part of something to another |
| Louisiana purchase | territory in the western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million |
| frontier | a line or border separating two countries |
| suburbs | an outlying district of a city, esp. a residential one |
| representative democracy | democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people |
| 3 branches of government | Legislative, Judiciary, Executive |
| lewis and clark expedition | an expedition sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwestern territories of the United States |
| federal republic | federation of states with a republican form of government |
| llanos | a treeless grassy plain |
| cerrado | vast tropical savanna region |
| pampas | extensive, treeless plains in South America |
| rain forest | dense forest rich in biodiversity, found typically in tropical areas with consistently heavy rainfall |
| terraced farming | A farming method in which steep hillsides are fashioned into a step-like series of level terraces |
| slash and burn | method of agriculture in which existing vegetation is cut down and burned off before new seeds are sown |
| push factors | factors or causes with which people tend to be pushed away from an area |
| pull factors | factors or causes with which people tend to be pulled in to an area |
| infrastructure | physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for operation |
| tourism | commercial organization and operation of vacations and visits to places of interest |
| fjord | a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs |
| peat | partly decomposed plant matter. It is widely cut and dried for use in gardening and as fuel |
| north atlantic drift | powerful warm ocean current that continues the Gulf Stream northeast |
| sirocco | a hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blowing from North Africa across the Mediterranean to southern Europe |
| mistral | a strong, cold northwesterly wind that blows through the Rhône valley and southern France into the Mediterranean |
| polder | a piece of low-lying land reclaimed from the sea or a river and protected by dikes |
| dike | a long wall or embankment built to prevent flooding from the sea |
| terpen | earth mound |
| acid rain | rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution |
| 4 large islands in the north | Cyprus, crete, sicilia, Sardinia |
| city state | a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state |
| republic | a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives |
| Crusades | a medieval military expedition, one of a series made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries |
| renaissance | a cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the 17th centuries |
| aqueducts | an artificial channel for transporting water |
| reformation | a 16th-century movement for the reform of abuses in the Roman Catholic Church ending in the establishment of the Reformed and Protestant Churches |
| feudalism | the dominant social system in medieval Europe, class system of nobles, lords, knights, and serfs |
| nationalism | patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts |
| bubonic plague | the epidemic form experienced during the Middle Ages when it killed nearly half the people of western Europe |
| Holocaust | state sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945 |
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