WORLD GEOGRAPHY FINALLLLLLL YEP YAY

Thermal inversion

A situation in which a relatively warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers a layer of cold, dense air below.

Pristine myth

The misconception that the New World was a lightly populated, unmodified wilderness when it was first encountered by Christopher Columbus.

Trans-Amazonian highway

Built by Brazil to access the Amazon rain forest for developing timber and mineral resources

Land concentration

Wealthy elites controlled most agricultural land.

Encomienda

A grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers on it (labor/land grants)

Hacienda

Spanish colonists formed large, self-sufficient farming estates known as these (rural estates)

Syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

Informal economy

Economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government (15% of Latin American countries econ)

Trade bloc

"free" trade agreements among several countries that reduce obstacles to trading (ie. tarrifs, quotas)

Free trade zone (FTZ)

a duty-free and tax-exempt industrial park created to attract foreign corporations and create industrial jobs (development effort in Latin America since 60s)

EPZ

Export processing zone- zones established by many countries in the periphery and semi-periphery where they offer favorable tax, regulatory, and trade arrangements to attract foreign trade and investment

Maquiladora

A factory built by a U.S. company in Mexico near the U.S. border, to take advantage of the much lower labor costs in Mexico (FTZ)

BPO

Business process outsourcing- outsourcing business processes to third-party providers

Favela

a slum community in a Brazilian city

Drug cartel

a criminal organization that controls drug trafficking operations

Chain migration

migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

Mestizo

A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry.

Mulatto

A person of mixed African and European ancestry

Zambo

Mix of Indian and African indentity

Peninsulare

member of the highest class in Spain's colonies in the Americas

Criollo

a person from Spain

Pentecostalism

A movement that emphasizes the importance of spiritual renewal and the experience of God through baptism in the Holy Spirit--- 85% of growth in Latin America= this

Zapatista

a member or supporter of a Mexican revolutionary force working for social and agrarian reforms, which launched a popular uprising in the state of Chiapas in 1994.

Primate city

a city that dominates a country's economy, culture, and government and in which population is concentrated; usually the capital

Banana republic

Term used to describe a Central American nation dominated by United States business interests

Altiplano

Spanish for "high plain," a region in Peru and Bolivia encircled by the Andes

Internally displaced people

As for a refugee, people who are forced to leave their home, but in this case they remain in the same country (large pop in Columbia)

BRIC

Brazil, Russia, India, China

Quilombos

Communities in the Brazilian hinterland formed by runaway slaves.

Southern Cone

South American nations located in the cone-shaped southernmost part of South America

Biofuel

Fuel from organic sources

Gran Chaco

Very flat plains between the Andes and Brazilian Highlands of South America

Pinochet

Dictator of Chile

Bolivarianism

focuses on principles like social welfare programs, a strong state role in the economy, and a rejection of foreign influence, particularly from the United States)

Democratic socialism

advocating for social/worker control over production, reduced inequality, and public ownership of essential services (like healthcare, energy) through democratic means, not revolution, by reforming capitalism rather than abolishing it

Public education

Sovereignty to fight foreign invasion

Sovereignty grants a nation the inherent right and duty to defend its territory, people, and government from foreign invasion, a core principle of international law

(UNASUR)

Union of Latin American Countries created in 2008 for economic and political unity among 12 South American countries

UN-REDD+

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

CBD

Central Business District

Canadian Shield

a northern part of the interior lowlands that is a rocky, flat region covering nearly two million square miles and encircling Hudson Bay

Piedmont

a region of rolling foothills

Great Plains

vast grassland between the mississippi river and the rocky mountains

Orographic effect

cooling effect that occurs when air is forced to rise over a mountain, resulting in a wetter windward side and a drier leeward side

Manifest destiny

A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

Prairie

a treeless grassy plain

Altiplano

Spanish for "high plain," a region in Peru and Bolivia encircled by the Andes

Comparative advantage

a given area gains by specializing in one or more products for which it has relative advantages--- leads to trade to obtain other needed commodities

Corn Belt

a region of the U.S. Midwest that specializes in growing corn (and now soy and other crops)

Dairy Belt

An extended region from Nova Scotia to Minnesota where moist, cool conditions and nearby urban markets favor specialization in dairy production.

Wheat Belt

Productive farm area that began at the eastern edge of the Great Plains (farmers have converted prairie to crop lands)

Surface mining

cheaper and can remove more minerals; less hazardous to workers

Fracking

The pumping of water at high pressure to break apart rocks in order to release natural gas

Biomass power

The capture of energy from the burning of organic matter and organic waste

Initial advantage

Early factors that propel the development and expansion of particular activities.

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement

Golden horseshoe

An industrial district in Canada extending from Toronto to Hamilton, on the western end of Lake Ontario.

Infrastructure

the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

Smart City

Cities that make use of data from sensors combined with artificial intelligence to improve infrastructure and efficiently manage traffic lights, power plants, water supplies, networks, energy usage, and other resources.

Gentrification

A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a predominantly low-income renter-occupied area to a predominantly middle-class owner-occupied area.

Poverty

material deprivation that affects well-being; lack of income necessary to provide adequate level of living

Majority minority

minority groups that make up a majority of the population of the state

Meech Lake Accord

a package of constitutional amendments that would define Quebec as a distinct society within Canada

French Canada

became a British colony after the French and Indian War

Dearborn Effect

misinformation about its large and visible Arab and Muslim American population, and the community's subsequent political mobilization and resilience in the face of Islamophobia and media scrutiny.

Canadianize

assimilate to a pattern of life and interests distinctive of Canadians.

monsoon

seasonal reversals of wind direction (NOT the storms/rain, but the winds that bring the rain)--- important for agriculture and sea trade

cyclone

SW Pacific and Indian ocean version of a hurricane

typhoon

NW Pacific ocean version of a hurricane (especially in China seas area)

loess plateau

cradle of Chinese civilization, rich fertile wind-blown loess supports agriculture

Three Gorges Dam

a hydroelectric gravity dam on China's Yangtze River that is the world's largest power station

Ring of Fire

China at western edge of this, tectonic plates

Green Revolution

use of new high-yielding hybrid plants (mainly rice, corn, wheat) to increase food supplies; development of infrastructure for greater production/distribution

summer monsoon

rainy season (air moves from high to low pressure, wind)

winter monsoon

dry season (dry air from mountains and desert move toward sea)

Shintoism

Religion located in Japan- focuses particularly on nature and ancestor worship.

Japan model

approach to development, efficient gov + bureaucracy, sound currency and banking system, growth of eduction, effective harnessing of abilities of people

East Asian Model

Adaptation of Western methods to indigenous culture and values.

Zaibatsu

powerful banking and industrial families in Japan

Keiretsu

new version of Zaibatsu after Americans left

METI

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry;

Bureaucratic capitalism

gov officials use their positions to enrich themselves through quasi-capitalist methods, merging political power with private gain (treating the state as a business enterprise for the ruling elite)

megalopolis

a very large, heavily populated city or urban complex.

parasitic single

never-married adult who lives with their parents

burkakumin

social group in Japan descended from feudal era outcast communities where ancestors performed "impure" jobs

deindustrialization

decreasing importance of domestic industry in larger national economy. It involves a decline in the manufacturing sector's share of GDP and employment, often driven by a shift towards a service-based economy, the loss of manufacturing competitiveness to lower-cost regions

sunset industries

declining in output and employment

middle kingdom

reference to traditional view of China as center of the known universe

confucianism

Philosophy, based on the teachings of the Chinese that emphasizes order, the role of the gentleman, obligation to society, and reciprocity.

grand canal

links Hangzhou and heart of North China Plain

great leap forward

Started by Mao Zedong, combined collective farms into People's Communes, failed because there was no incentive to work harder, ended after 2 years.

household responsibility system

Chinese policy based on production contract in which peasant household obliged t producte certain amount of grain/cotton to be sold to the state at a regulated price

State-led industrialization

A development philosophy in Asian countries in which the state either partially owns corporations that operate under commercial principles or directs the structure and orientation of the national economy. (JAPAN, Meij restoration)

DMZ

the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Chaebol

family-controlled conglomerate in South Korea that dominates the national economy through a diverse range of businesses. These conglomerates, such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG, emerged from a government strategy in the 1960s to boost economic growth by providing substantial support to these companies.

Sunshine policy

current policy of active engagement and reconciliation by the government of South Korea towards North Korea

SOE

state-owned enterprise

SEZ

special economic zone (areas in China function as modern-day treaty ports)