Canadian Geography Exam Review

Flashcards for Canadian Geography Exam Review

Soil profile

• topsoil - fertile top part layer.

• subsoil - broken down into rock.

• parent material - bedrock gets broken down to form soil.

What are the factors that affect climate?

Latitude

Ocean Currents

Wind

Elevation

Relief

Nearness to water

What are landform regions?  

a landform region is an area with a distinct shape and physical features, like mountains, valleys, or plains, formed by natural processes.

Which landform region is the largest and oldest in Canada? (know where in Canada)

The canadian shield is the largest and oldest landform located in central and eastern Canada

Calcification vs. leaching

leaching - too much precipitation nutrients washed down away from vegetation.

calcification - soil too dry, high levels of evaporation.

what soil region does it happen in?

lleaching happens in tropical rainforests and humid temperate regions

calcification happens on grasslands and dry regions.

Plate tectonics-converging and diverging plates (trench, earthquake, volcanoes)

Converging plates move toward each other, causing one plate to slide under the other, forming deep trenches, strong earthquakes, and volcanoes. Example: Himalayas.

Diverging plates move apart, letting magma rise to create new crust, mid-ocean ridges, and rift valleys. Example: Mid-Atlantic Ridge. 

Maritime vs. Continental climate, what happens in each, location in Canada that has each climate

A maritime climate is near oceans, so it has mild winters, cool summers, and more rain. Vancouver, BC is an example.

A continental climate is inland, with cold winters, hot summers, and less rain. Winnipeg, Manitoba is an example.

Identify a city where you can find maritime climate, continental climate and modified continental climate

Maritime climate: Vancouver, BC (small temperature range, wet)

Continental climate: Winnipeg, MB (large temperature range, drier)

Modified continental climate: Toronto, ON (moderate temperature range, moderate precipitation).

Factors that affect rural settlement patterns

resources found in the area

transportation methods available at the time of settlement.

the role government policy played..

Convectional Precipitation

Where: Common in tropical and summer continental areas, like parts of Canada’s prairies or tropical rainforests.

When: Happens during warm days when the sun heats the ground, causing warm air to rise, cool, and form clouds that produce rain, often in the afternoon or early evening.

How: Warm air rises due to surface heating, cools, condenses, and causes heavy, short bursts of rain or thunderstorms.

Cyclonic Precipitation

Where: Occurs along fronts where warm and cold air masses meet—common in temperate zones, such as southern Canada.

When: Happens anytime when air masses collide, often leading to longer periods of steady rain or snow.

How: Warm air is forced to rise over cooler, denser air, causing condensation and precipitation.

Relief  Precipitation

Where: Happens in mountainous regions, such as the west coast of Canada (Coast Mountains, Rockies).

When: Occurs when moist air is pushed up mountain slopes by wind, cools as it rises, and releases precipitation.

How: Air rises over mountains, cools, condenses, and causes rainfall on the windward side; dry conditions on the leeward side (rain shadow).

What is a continuous ecumene and discontinuous ecumene.

Continuous Ecumene: Population is spread evenly and continuously across an area with no large empty spaces.

Discontinuous Ecumene: Population lives in clusters or patches, with large gaps of uninhabited land between them.

What are the four types of industries 

Primary Industry: Takes Raw Materials from the natural environment. Ex: Fishing, Mining

Secondary Industry: Processing Raw Materials into finished goods. Ex: Car Factory, Bakery

Tertiary Industry: Provide many services Ex: Health Care, Government services 

Quaternary Industry: Process ideas instead of products Ex: Research and Development

Identify and explain in 1 sentence the 5 causes of the East Coast fishery collapse, and the 3 causes of the West Coast Collapse

West Coast: Overfishing, Changes in the Environment and Lack of salmon Fishing Treaty

East Coast: Overfishing, Changes in the Environment, Fishing Technology, Foreign Fishing Practices, Destructive Fishing Practices

Define renewable and non-renewable resources, give 2 examples of each

Renewable resource is a natural resource that can be replaced naturally itself. Ex: Sunlight, Wild

Non-renewable resource is a natural resource that can’t be replaced Ex: Gasoline, Coal.

Free trade

Countries plan to eliminate Tariffs restrictions on trade

protectionism

It is a government policy of restricting international trades to help domestic industries.

Tariffs

Taxes on goods and services imported into a country.

FSC

The forest stewardship council is a non-profitable organization that provides forest management worldwide.

What are Three types of minerals? Give three example each

Metallics Ex: Iron, Gold and Copper

Non metallic Ex: Carbon, silicon and oxygen

Fuels Ex: gasoline, coal and natural gas

Exports vs. imports, and give examples. Which one is higher?

Exports are goods and services. A country sells to other countries. Ex: tea and software services. Imports are goods and services a country buys from other countries. Ex:Gold and Electronics. It depends on the country and the time. Period.. Ex: Imports are higher than exports in Canada.

Conventional energy vs. Alternative energy, 2 examples for each

Conventional energy: Energy sources that have been used for a long time and are usually non-renewable energy. Ex: coal and oil

 Alternative Energy:  Energy Services that are renewable, eco-friendly and sustainable. Ex: Solar energy and Wind energy. 

What happens in clear-cutting, shelterwood logging, and selective cutting?

Selective cutting is harvesting only mature trees of a desired type, size and quality for a specific purpose. Shelterwood Logging is clear-cutting of only part of the old growth forest(mature trees). Clear cutting is Loggers remove every tree. Selective cutting is the best option for sustainability because it has very little disruption to the natural environment and habitat..

What is a location factor?  List the location factors and explain each in 1 sentence.

The location factors are factors that influence where businesses and industries are located. These factors determine the success and efficiency of an industry in  that specific location. The 7 location factors are Location of Customers, Proximity of raw materials. Availability of fresh water and power, Labour supply, Transportation, Political factors and Circumstance.  

Basic jobs vs. non-basic jobs

A basic Job produces goods and services that are sold outside the local community bringing new money into the economy and a non-basic Job provides goods and services that are consumed locally recycling money within the community.

What is a mineral reserve?

An amount of minerals that can be mined  profitably under any economical and technological conditions.

Inshore vs. Offshore fishery

Inshore Fishery: A type of fishery that happens within a few kilometers of the coastline, it involves small boats and local fisherman. 

Offshore fishery: A type of fishery that takes place far from the coastline, usually in deeper waters, using larger boats with advanced equipment for large-scale commercial fishing.  Offshore fisherman go out for days or a long period of time

Extensive farming vs. Intensive farming

Intensive farming: involves relatively small areas of land, Requires Large amount of labour, its located in large urban areas and produces products like dairy products for the nearby, large populations and has little machinery

Extensive farming: it involves large area of land, it requires small amount of labour, it produces products like wheat and cooking oil for export, it involves large amount of machinery

Define a basic job and give an example?

basic job: produces goods and services that are sold outside the local community bringing new money into the economy. Ex: mining, fishing

Define a non-basic job and give an examples

non-basic industry: makes products for local people. (ex, a cashier at a grocery store.

What is an import?  What are 3 items we import in Canada?

An import is a product or good brought into a country from another country.

(ex, Cars and trucks, electronics , clothing)

What is an export?  What are 3 items we export in Canada?

An export is a product or good sent from one country to another for sale.
(ex, oil and gas, lumber, wheat).

Why are exports important? Give 2 reason

Exports bring money into the country, helping the economy grow.

They create jobs by supporting industries that produce goods for other countries.

Open Pit mining, Strip mining, underground mining

O: extracted by blasting to remove soil and debris in layers to access the minerals.

S :removing soil and debris in layers but creating a circular pit to access deeper minerals. 

U: used to access very deep minerals requiring excavation and the use of shafts and elevators. 

Commercial vs. non commercial forests

C: where trees are grown and harvested for timber and other products for profit

Non C: areas of trees that are unlikely to be harvested for timber or other economic purposes.

What are the three parts of the transportation system?

Vehicles – These are the means of transportation that move people or goods, such as cars, trucks, buses etc.

Infrastructure – This includes the physical structures and facilities needed for transportation, such as roads, railways, airports etc.

Operations – This involves the systems and processes used to manage and control the movement of vehicles and users, such as traffic management etc.

What is demography? 

Demography: The study of human populations.

What is population density? 

Population Density is a measurement that shows how many people live per square kilometers. (Population Density= Total Population/ Size of Area

Dependency load:  what is it, who is part of it?

Dependency Load is the percent of the population that is not in the working age group. (below 15 and 65+)

Residential Density

High Residential Density: Areas where many people live in a small land space.(Tall Apartment Buildings)

Medium Residential Density: Areas where there is a moderate number of people living per unit of space(Townhouses

Low Residential Density: Areas where few people live in a large land space (Detached houses)

Define sustainable yield management.  How does it relate to farming, forestry, and fishing

Sustainable yield management: Using natural resources in a way that allows them to replace themselves so they are not damaged or used over time. 

Farming: Growing crops without exhausting the soil(using natural fertilizers)

Forestry: Cutting trees at a rate that allows it to regrow (planting new trees after harvesting)

Fishing: Catching fish at a level that allows the population to stay healthy and reproduce(setting fishing limits to avoid overfishing. 

What is considered an institution of public building? Give 2  examples

Institution of public building is used by the public and provides important services for society. It is usually owned by the government. Ex: Hospital and Schools

What is considered recreational land use?  Give 2 examples

Recreational land use: when land is used for fun and relaxation activities. Ex: Parks and sports fields

What is considered commercial land use?  Give 2 examples

Commercial land use: when land is used for business activities where goods and services are bought and sold to make a profit. Ex: Shopping Malls, Office Buildings

What are the 6 main categories in urban land use distribution?  

Residential(40%), Commercial(5%),Industrial(6%), Institutional &Public(10%), Open Space and Recreational(7%) and transportation(32%)

What are the three subcategories that are part of the transportation land use?

Vehicles, Travel Paths, Terminal Facilities.

Liveability vs. sustainability. Define each and how are they connected. Use example to explain

Liveability: How comfortable and safe a place is to live in. (ex, clean air, good housing, school and other services)

Sustainability: using resources in a way that meets today’s needs without destroying the resources for future generations. (ex, a city with clean air reduces pollution). 

What is the ecological footprint?

Ecological footprint: the amount of land and resources needed to support a person’s lifestyle.

How do we reduce our ecological footprint?

We can reduce our ecological footprint by using fewer natural resources and producing less waste. Ex: Turn off lights and electronics when not in use to save Energy