Geography Flashcards

Flashcards for vocabulary review.

Biome

A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat

Cartography

The science or practice of drawing maps

Climate

The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period

Distortion

The misrepresentation of shape, area, distance or direction of or between geographic features when compared to the true measurements on the curved surface of the earth

Ecozones

An area of the earth's surface that represents a large ecological zone and has characteristic landforms and climate

Equator

An imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body

Fauna

All of the animal life present in a particular region or time

Flora

The plants occurring within a given region as well as to the publication of scientific descriptions of those plants

Geography

The study of Earth and its atmosphere and human's effect on it through pictures and/or descriptive writing.

Graphy

Pictures or descriptive writing

Human geography

A branch of the social sciences that studies the world, its people, communities, and cultures.

Identity

An individual or group's sense of attachment to the country, region, city or village in which they live

Landforms

The main aspect of physical geography (natural feature of the earth's surface)

Latitude

Measures the distance north or south of the equator

Longitude

Measures distance east or west of the prime meridian

Map

Graphic representation, drawn to scale and usually on a flare surface, of features

Map projections

The method of transferring the graticule of latitude and longitude on a plane surface

Mercator projection

A conformal cylindrical map projection the was originally created to display accurate compass bearing for sea travel

Peters projection

Projection that attempts to retain the accurate sizes of all the world's landmasses

Physical geography

The branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes

Place of attachment

The emotional bonds or ties that people have to particular places

Prime meridian

The line of 0 longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around earth

Robinson projection

A map projection of a world map which shows the entire world at once, developed to make a visually appealing view of the world.

Stewardship

The responsible use and protection of the natural environment

Acid precipitation

Any form of precipitation with acidic components

Alternative energy sources

Non-conventional energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass energy.

Bitumen

On oil sand deposits, each grain of sand is covered by a layer of water, and heavy oil

Clearcutting

An area of forestland where most of the standing trees are logged at the same time and a few trees remain post-harvest

Commercial forests

Part of a forest that has large enough trees and is close enough to a market to allow it to be harvested by the forest industry

Coniferous trees

Vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle- leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees

Consumed water

The portion of water used that is not returned to the conservation and sustainable practices to enhance ecosystem resilience and human well-being original water source after being withdrawn

Conventional energy sources

Present in limited quantities and have been utilized by humans for many years

Deciduous trees

Trees that shed their leaves annually in the fall.

Drainage basin

Area drained by a river and its tributaries

Ecological footprint

The measure of total human impact on an ecosystem.

Energy efficient

Items that use less energy than non-efficient items

Fossil fuels

A natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms

Geologist

Experts who study the history, composition, and structure of the earth's crust.

Groundwater

Water that is found below the earth's surface in the spaces of soil and bedrock.

Hydro-electric generating station

A facility that generates electricity by the movement of falling water

Hydrologic cycle

Pathway followed by water from oceans and lakes through the atmosphere and then back to the land and waterways

Industrial minerals

A rock, mineral or other naturally occurring material of economic value

Metallic mineral

A naturally occurring, pure, non-living substance found in the rocks of the earth

Mixed forests

A vegetational transition between coniferous forest and broad-leaved deciduous forest

Non-commercial forests

Part of a forest that has too small trees or is too far away from the market use

Non-withdrawal uses

Water use where the water is not removed from its source, such as for boating or fishing

Nuclear- electric generating station

A station or plant where nuclear energy is generated

Oil sand

Mix of sand and water and bitumen

Open-pit mining

Used to extract minerals that are located near the surface but that may extend deep into the earth

Ore

The naturally occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can be extracted

Productive land

Land that has produced farm crops within the previous 5 years

Run off

Occurs when when there is more water than land can absorb

Selective cutting

Harvesting only mature trees of the desired size, type and quantity

Shelterwood logging

Clear cutting only parts of an old growth forest

Sustainability

Approach to development that meets the needs of the present without negatively affecting the ability to future generations to meet their needs

Thermal-electric generating station

Electrical power plant where electricity is generated from energy produced by burning coal, oil and natural gas

Underground mining

Method of mining used to recover deep mineral deposits

Watershed

An area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.

Withdrawal uses

Water that is permanently removed from a body of water

Agriculture

The science or practice of farming

Bio-Product

Non food products developed from biomass that can come from agriculture, food, marine, industrial, and municipal sources

Cash-crop farming

A crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by grower (grown to be sold)

Climate

The weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period of time

Conservation

Prevention of wasteful use of a resource

Sustainable agriculture

A set of soil management practices that minimize the destruction of the soil structure, composition, and natural biodiversity

Contour Ploughing

Plowing along the contours of land in order to minimize soil erosion

Conventional Tillage

A system that traditionally uses moldboard plows or chisel plows with sweeps

Crop Rotations

The practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure.

Desalinization

The removal of salt or other chemicals from something, like water or soil

Export crops

Crops whose majority of production shall be for export outside the State or whose majority of the value-added products shall be exported

Extensive Agriculture

System of crop cultivation using small amounts of labor and capital in relation to area of land being farmed (yields/hectare are small)

Factory farms

A system of rearing livestock using intensive methods, by which poultry, pigs, or cattle are confined indoors under strictly controlled conditions.

Famine

A temporary situation in which a country or region does not have enough available food to feed its population

Fish farming

A form of aquaculture in which fish are raised in enclosures to be sold as food.

Food production

Industry that prepares food, in which raw materials are converted into ready-made food products for human use either in the home or in the food processing industries.

Frost-free period

The number of days between the last spring frost and the first fall frost

Genetic modification

A technology that involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism

Global warming

Warming of the world's temperature as a result of rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere

Greenhouse gases

A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy at thermal infrared wavelengths, causing the greenhouse effect.

Green manure

A green manure crop is grown primarily for the purpose of being plowed down to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

Intensive agriculture

A type of agriculture that occurs in a small land area and large labor but cultivates a lot of crop (yields/hectare are attained)

Malnutrition

Lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.

Marketable

Able or fit to be sold or marketed

Nomadic

A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from areas

No-Till Agriculture

Growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage

Obesity

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health

Pollution

The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

Sedentary

Sedentary agriculture refers to farming that takes place in a single location by a settled farmer without rotating the fields.

Selective Breeding

A process in which humans breed specific parents to create offspring with desirable characteristics.

Shelterbelts/Windbreak

Modify climatic conditions and consist of one or more rows of closely spaced trees and/or shrubs planted at right angles to the prevailing winds to protect crops, soils, animals, and buildings.

Soil erosion

The removal of the most fertile top layer of soil through water

Starvation

An extreme form of hunger in which people suffer from serious or total lack of energy and essential vitamins and minerals

Subsistence farming

Form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and the farmer's family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade.

Summer fallowing

Land plowed and frequently tilled during the summer in preparation for a crop the next year

Sustainable agriculture

Farming in such a way to protect the environment, aid and expand natural resources and to make the best use of nonrenewable resources.

Export crop

Export crops means crops whose majority of production shall be for export

Basic jobs/ industries

Employment in an industry sector or function that directly or indirectly derives more than 50 percent of its revenue from out-of-state sources

Bilateral trade

The exchange of good between two nations promoting trade and investment

Branch plant

Canadian company controlled by a foreign company

Entrepreneur

Includes both space and place