Geography final exam notes - Tamara A.

Physical Geography

The branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes

What are the 4 spheres?

Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Biosphere

Lithosphere

The Earth's landmass (non-living). like mountains, deserts, volcanoes

Hydrosphere

The Earth's water system. like rivers, lakes, oceans, seas

atomosphere

The air surrounding the Earth. (atmospheric layers: e.g. troposphere, stratosphere)

Biosphere

The living organisms on Earth. like animals, plants, fungus,

How old is the earth?

4.6 billion years old

Geological time

History of the earth from its formation to the present

What did the Big Bang Theory create?

It formed Earth

Explain the Big Bang Theory.

The earth was hot after the intial explosion then it cooled and became dense it became a rock which ended up being earth

What are the geological time eras?

Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

Precambrian

Era of the first single sell organism. Precambrian shield was formed I.E Candien shield

Paleozoic

Appalachian mountains are formed, Age of amphibians and fish, First insects and plants that appear on land, Coal formed.

Mesozoic

Formation of the rocky mountains, age of reptiles like dinosaurs, first flowering plants, birds, and mammals, pangea was formed

Cenozoic

Ice sheets cover north america, continents take on their present shape, human beings and mammals develop.

What are the three main layers of the earth

Crust, mantle, core (inner, outer)

Which layer do we live on?

Crust

What are tectonic plates made of

It is the crust cracked into different pieces like a puzzle

What are the 2 different types of crust?

continental and oceanic crust

What are the 2 types of cores?

Outer core and Inner core

Outer core

Made of liquid nickel and iron

inner core

Made of solid iron and nickel

Pangea

A super contitinent that incorprated almost all of the landmass on Earth. It means all land. Eventually it broke apart.

How are landmasses moved?

Continental drift.

How many major plates is the earth divided into

7 major plates

How do tectonic plates move?

Since mantle is liquid and always moves it causes the tectonic plates to move as well.

What are the 3 ways in which plates move

3 directions.They are Converge, diverge, Transform boundaries

Converge

They collide into eachother

Diverge

They move away from each other

Transform boundaries

They slide past each other

What happenes when tectonic plates converge?

When they collide into eachother they form mountains. They do this by folding and faulting into eachother.

Name an example of a mountain created by converging

The Himalayas

What happenes when tectonic plates diverge?

As plates move apart new material erupts to fill the gap making a volcano

What country has a divergent plate through the middle of it?

Iceland

What happens when tectonic plates tranform boundaries?

can cause Earthquakes or Tsunamis

Subduction zone

When contitental crust pushes against oceanic crust the oceanic crust sinks below the continental crust

Where do natural diasters have a higher chance of happening?

The subduction zone

A fold

It is likely to happen with flexible material: Creates mountains

A fault

It is more likely to happen with brittle material: Causes earth quakes

Who created the theory of continental drift

Alfred Wegener

What was Wegeners 4 proofs?

Jigsaw puzzles, fossils, mountains, climate data

Jigsaw puzzles

South America and Africa fit together almost perfectly

Fossils

Same plant and animal species found in Africa and South america. This could only happen if they were attached before

Compaction

Layers of rocks sqeezed together

Cementation

Glues sediments together

Sediment

small pieces of rocks

Erosion

Earth's surface changes when rain, water, wind, chemicals, and glaciers wear it away.

Deposition

The laying down or settlement of sediment carried by the wind, flowing water, the sea or ice

Glacier

A huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land

Glaciation

global temperatures were cooler and ice sheets covered much larger areas of land.

What are the 3 basic types of rocks

sedimentary rock, igneous rock, and metamorphic rock

Sedimentary rock

Formed when pre-existing rock get worn down by erosion. It contains fossils

Metamorphic rock

When igneous and sedimentary rock are under heat and pressure become a metamorphic rock

Igneous rock

Forms when magma cools and hardens

Magma

Hot liquid made from liquid minerals

Western cordillera

separated by plateaus and valleys, had a rugged appearance because it's young, folding and faulting created it, transportation is limited, have the last remaining glaciers, big forest industry

interior plains

covered by shallow inland seas, the landscape of it was shaped due to erosion, under it has good oil and other types of minerals, nicknamed the Canada's bread basket

what landform is nicknamed the Canada's bread basket

interior plains

Canadien shield

more than half of Canada is covered by it, biggest landform, the world's oldest rocks found there, contains many valuable minerals, Sudbury is known for having the biggest nickel

St Lawrence lowlands

great lakes were carved out of glaciers, it was created by tectonic plates, biggest feature is Niagara escarpment created by Glaciers, the area has very good soil and climate, high population because of easy transportation, Toronto is in this region

Appalachian Mountains

oldest highland region, the mountains no longer have aged peaks and are smaller because of erosion, has good soil, good for fishing

Canadian artic

icy water towers in the far north, many mineral in rocks, trees can't survive in barren mountains

Hudson Bay lowlands

very flat, low area covered by swampy swampy Forests, natural gas deposits

What is the difference between erosion and weathering?

Erosion moves soil and rock, while weathering breaks rocks without moving them. Both shape landscapes but work differently.

What is sudbury also known as?

The big nickel

Describe the mantle

middle layer, hot & molten (1200c), solid rock that flows slowly (like hot asphalt)

Describe the core

The(outer) core is liquid (liquid nickel + iron), The (inner) core is solid (iron + nickel)

Describe the vrust

where we live, crust is in pieces called tectonic plates, Continental crust is thick, heavy, and old (land) and oceanic crust is thin, light, and young (water)

What is a natural resource?

Materials we take from nature

What are the 3 types of resources?

Renewable - Can grow back (trees, fish)

Non-renewable - Can run out (oil, minerals)

Flow - Always available (sun, wind, water)

What are the 4 types of industries? How do items go through the industries?

Primary – Takes resources (farming, fishing).

Secondary – Makes things (factories).

Tertiary – Sells or services (stores, teachers).

Quaternary – Ideas and info (research, tech).

What is the difference between a trade deficit and a trade surplus?

Trade deficit – We import more than we export.

Trade surplus – We export more than we import.

What is the difference between basic and non-basic industries?

Basic - Brings new money in

Non basic - reuses money thats already in the economy

Ecocentrism

Nature is most important

Ecology

Study of nature and how things connect

Climate change

long term changes in Earths temperature

Greenhouse gas effect

Natural greenhouse gases keep Earth warm enough to live. But too many gases trap extra heat and makes Earth warmer.

Environmentalism

protecting the earth from harmful human actions.

Sustainability

Using resources wisely so they last.

What are the 3 pillars of sustainability?

Environment, Economy, Society

What is consumerism?

Buying lots of things which aren’t needed.

What is globalization?

the increasing connection of different parts of the world to each other.

What is the tragedy of the commons?

The ocean is shared by everyone, so people take too much. This harms nature like fish, air, and animals.

What are some of the various fishing crises?

• Overfishing

• New tools like fish nets make overfishing worse

• Canada wants to limit salmon fishing, but the U.S. does not

• Plastic pollution

• Some fish are wasted when people catch others

What is the difference between intensive and extensive farming?

intensive - small land, lots of work, located in populated area (milk,eggs)

extensive - large land, less work, located in isolated area (wheat)

What are some chemicals in our food?

Pesticides, Herbicides, Preservatives, Hormones, etc.

What are the different types of food contamination?

• Biological – Bacteria, viruses

• Chemical – Pesticides, cleaners

• Physical – Hair, glass, plastic

How does food waste occur?

• overproduction

• Ugly food gets thrown away.

• Food is tossed after dates, even if still good.

• single use packages cause waste when food is not eaten.

what r the three groups of indigenous peoples in Canada

inuit ,metis, first nations

what is colonization?

control one society by another society to benefit the colonizer

positives of the european influence

introduction to new tools

people to trade with

negatives of the european influence

forced to learn english and french

forced to become christian

forced to live on reserves

what is the royal proclamation? (1763)

a treaty that formed the relationship between First Nations and the British Crown

what is a treaty?

A formal agreement between two or more parties

what is a land claim?

the demands of indigenous peoples to get their land back

what is the indian act?

it was imposed by the government and was an attempt to assimilate First Nations

what is enfranchisement?

a person and their family lost their status if they graduated university or married a non-status person

what are the three events that contributed to the cultural genocide of indigenous peoples?

- residential schools

- lost their children at birth bc they were deemed unfit parents

- no justice for missing and murdered indigenous women

why was Nunavut created?

it gave inuit people more control over their government and resources

what is human geography?

the study of the impact, interactions, and movement of people