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World Geography
Chapter 18-20 vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
domestication | the process of raining and breeding animals for use by humans. |
communism | a system of government in which the government controls the means of production, determining what goods will be made, how much workers will be paid, and how much items will cost. |
eurasia | The name some geographers suggest should be used for the landmass of Europe and asia |
inland sea | a sea that is almost completely surrounded by land |
tundra | a dry, treeless plain where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow. |
taiga | Thinly scattered, coniferous forest found in Europe and Asia. |
steppe | a temperate grassland found in Europe and Asia. |
multiethnic | composes of many ethnic groups. |
ethnic group | people who share such things as culture, language, and religion. |
acid rain | rain whose high concentration of chemicals, usually from industrial pollution, pollutes water, kills plant and animal life, and eats away at the surface of stone and rock; a form of chemical weathering. |
infant mortality | The number of children per 1,000 live births who die within the first year. |
maternal mortality | The number of women who died due to pregnancy and childbirth complications per 100,000 live birth |
life expectancy | The number of years an individual is expected to live as determined by statistics |
national identity | a people's sense of what makes them a nation |
ghetto | a section of a city in which a particular minority group is forced to live. |
holocaust | the execution of 6 million Jews in Nazi concentration camps during world war II |
velvet revolution | a revolution without bloodshed, which took place in Czechoslovakia |
collective farm | a government owned farm managed by workers share the profits from their produce. |
privatization | the process of selling government owner industries and businesses to private owners |
balkanize | to break up into small, mutually hostile political units, as occurred in the Balkans after world war |
entrepdreneur | a go-getter individual who starts and builds a business |
multiplier effect | the effect an investment has in multiplying related jobs throughout the economy. |
annex | to formally incorporate into a country or state the territory of another |
diversift | to increase the variety of. |
chernozem | a rich topsoil found in the Russian steppes and other mid-latitude grasslands. |
permafrost | a layer of soil just below the earth's surface that stays permanently frozen |
czar | an emperor of Russia |
abdicate | to surrender one's office, throne, or authority |
soviet | in the former soviet union, any one of various governing councils. |
command economy | an economic system that is controlled by a single central government. |
glasnost | a policy of openness introduced in the soviet union in the late 1980s. |
perestroika | in the former soviet union a policy of economic restructuring. |
ruble | the currency of Russia. |
black market | the system of selling goods and services outside of official channels. |