World Geography (9th Grade) - Chapter 12-14 Vocab Terms (25) -

massif

a body of mountain ranges formed by fault-line activity

tungsten

an extremely rare heavy-metal element essential in high-tech industry

city-state

an independently governed community consisting of a city and the surrounding lands, notably present in ancient Greece

Renaissance

rebirth; the period in European civilization characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values

complementarity

relationship between two places in which one produces something the other needs, resulting in an exchange

pollution hot spot

a location where pollution and other human activities have led to the degradation, or even death, of an ecosystem

karst

terrain dominated by limestone bedrock and characterized by rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams and lakes

shatter belt

a region where political alliances are constantly splintering and fracturing based on ethnicity

Balkanization

division of a region into smaller regions

ethnic cleansing

the expelling from a country or genocide of an ethnic group

reforestation

the action of renewing forest cover (as by natural seeding or by the artificial planting of seeds or young trees)

meltwater

water formed by melting snow and ice

chernozem

rich, black topsoil found in the Northern European Plain, especially in Russia and Ukraine

permafrost

permanently frozen layer of soil beneath the surface of the ground

continentality

effect of extreme variation in temperature and very little precipitation within the interior portions of a landmass

czar

ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution; originally from Latin word Caesar, title of Roman emperors

Russification

in nineteenth and twentieth century Russia and the Soviet Union, a government program that required everyone in the empire to speak Russian and to become a Christian; assignment of some Russian-speaking people to non-Russian ethnic regions

satellite

a country controlled by another country, notably Eastern European countries controlled by the Soviet Union by the end of World War II

perestroika

in Russian, "restructuring"; part of Gorbachev's plan for reforming the Soviet economy and government

glasnost

Russian term for new openness in areas of politics, social issues, and media; part of Gorbachev's reform plans

black market

illegal trade of scarce or illegal goods, usually sold at high prices

privatization

a change to private ownership of state-owned companies and industries

nuclear wastes

by-products of producing nuclear power and weapons

radioactive material

material contaminated by residue from the generation of nuclear energy and weapons

pesticide

chemicals used to kill crop-damaging insects, rodents, and other pests