Life in the Sahara, the Sahel, the Amazon, and China History

Flashcards covering geography and adaptations in the Sahara and Sahel, biodiversity and survival in the Amazon Rainforest, and China's historical and economic development.

The Sahara is the world's largest desert, covering approximately __________ square miles.

$3.5$ million

The process of land becoming more and more dry until it becomes a desert is known as __________.

desertification

Due to desertification, the Sahara has grown about __________ bigger in the past century.

$$10\%$$

The __________ lies on the southern border of the Sahara and contains marginal land not suitable for farming.

Sahel

In the Sahara, vast seas of sand with sand dunes are called __________.

ergs

Gravel-covered plains in the Sahara are known as __________, while high rock-covered flatlands are called hammadas.

regs

One third of the people living in the Sahara are pastoral nomads, and many belong to a group called the __________.

Tyuareg

The __________ is the most important plant in an oasis and is considered the backbone to surviving in the Sahara.

date palm

In the Sahel, farmers use a method called __________ where they plant crops in a field for $1-2$ years then move to a new field.

shifting agriculture

The Amazon rainforest is home to __________ of the world's species.

$$50\%$$

The Amazon is often called the "lungs of the earth" because it produces a __________ of the world's oxygen.

quarter

Native Amazonians have lived in the forest for about __________ years.

$$12,000$$

The sap from rubber trees is used to make products like tires and erasers, a process that __________ the tree.

does not harm

In $2016$, the value of Brazil's beef exports from cattle ranching was above __________ million.

$$5.5$$

In the $1930\text{s}$, China was invaded by the __________.

Japanese

After WWII, China chose a government system known as a unitary __________ state.

communist

The first leader of Communist China was __________.

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong's $1958$ program to modernize China into an industrial power was called the __________.

Great Leap Forward

A severe drought and resulting famine in China from $1958$ to $1962$ killed more than __________ people.

$20$ million

To draw foreign businesses and solve economic problems, leaders introduced __________ (SEZs).

special economic zones