Geography Exam Review

Demography

Demography is the study of human populations, including their size, distribution, and trends such as birth rates, death rates, aging, and migration.

Dependency load

Dependency load is the part of the population (usually children and seniors) that depends on working-age people for support.

Population pyramid - what 2 factors are displayed? How do you read it?

A population pyramid shows age and sex (gender).

• The horizontal bars show how many males and females are in each age group.

• The bottom is younger ages, and the top is older ages.

• The shape can tell you if the population is growing (wide base), stable (straight sides), or shrinking (narrow base).

Immigration vs Emigration - what’s the difference?

• Immigration = people coming into a country to live.

• Emigration = people leaving a country to live somewhere else.

A quick memory tip:
Imm = in, Em = exit.

2 Categories of immigration

1. Economic immigrants — people who come for jobs, skills, or business opportunities.
2. Family immigrants — people who come to reunite with close family members already living in the country.

Where do immigrants settle in Canada?

Top 3 provinces:

1. Ontario

2. Quebec

3. Alberta

Top 3 cities:

1. Toronto

2. Vancouver

3. Calgary

4 reasons why immigrants choose to settle in large cities

1. Most immigrants in Canada come from large cities so they are used to city life.

2. The large CMAs have large and growing economies. New immigrants need to find jobs, and

most go where the jobs are good,

3. Most immigrants have family members or friends from Canada, and most of these people are

in the largest cities.

4. It is easier to make the transition to life in Canada. Large cities provide formal and informal

support for this process.

Obstacles to immigration

• Cost

• Emotional factors

• Discrimination

Intraprovincial migration - Interprovincial migration

• Intra = Moving within a province

• Inter = moving from one province to another

Types of population pyramids

Characteristics of a youthful population vs. an ageing population

Youthful population

• Lots of children and young people

• High birth rates

• Population grows quickly

• Can create demand for schools, childcare, and jobs in the future

Ageing population

• Lots of older adults/seniors

• Low birth rates

• Population growth is slow or shrinking

• Can create demand for healthcare, pensions, and senior services

Tip for tests:
Youthful = wide base on population pyramid
Ageing = wide top on population pyramid

Push and Pull factors – explain what they are and give examples

Push factors are reasons people leave a place.
Examples: war, unemployment, poverty, natural disasters, or lack of opportunities.

Pull factors are reasons people move to a new place.
Examples: jobs, safety, better schools, freedom, or higher quality of life.

Short version for tests:
Push = pushes you out. Pull = pulls you in.

Characteristics of Canada’s population – diversity, immigration, etc

• Diversity: People come from many ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.

• Immigration: A major source of population growth; people move for jobs, family, or safety.

• Indigenous people: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities have unique cultures and histories.

• Population distribution: Most people live in cities near the US border; much of Canada is sparsely populated.

• Aging population: Growing number of seniors due to low birth rates and longer life expectancy.

• Language: Two official languages, English and French, with many other languages spoken because of immigration.

One sentence answer: Canada’s population is diverse, largely shaped by immigration, includes Indigenous peoples, mostly lives in cities near the US border, is aging, and speaks mainly English and French.

Climate vs Weather what’s the difference?

• Weather = short-term

  • What’s happening today or this week

  • Changes quickly

  • Example: “It’s raining right now” or “It’s hot this afternoon.”

• Climate = long-term

  • The average pattern of weather over many years

  • Changes slowly

  • Example: “Canada has cold winters” or “Brazil has a tropical climate.”

  • Weather = Week
    Climate = Century (not exact, but helps with “long time”)

What is climate?

Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a place. It describes what the weather is usually like over many years(often 30+).

How can climate influence us?

Climate influences us in many everyday ways, because it affects how we live, dress, eat, build, and travel.

Why Canada has different time zones

Canada has different time zones because the country is very wide from east to west. The Earth rotates, and not every place gets sunlight at the same moment, so time zones help match the clock to the position of the Sun.

Factors that affect climate

Phrase = Lower near water

Latitude: Latitude is how far a place is from the equator

Ocean currents

Ocean currents are large movements of water in the oceans.

Wind and Air Masses

Air masses are large bodies of air that take on the temperature and moisture of the area where they form.

Winds move these air masses around the world.

Elevation

Elevation means how high a place is above sea level.

Near water

Areas near oceans or large lakes have milder climates.

Continental climate vs Maritime Climate

LOOK AT PAPER

Effects of climate change

LOOK AT PAPER

The 4 components of soil

What is humus?

Humus is the dark, organic material in soil that forms from decomposition of plants, animals, and other organic matter. It is very important because:

• It adds nutrients to the soil, helping plants grow better.

• It improves soil structure, making it easier for roots to spread.

The 3 Rs

Reduce (Best)

• Meaning: Use less in the first place.

• Why Best: If you don’t use it, there’s nothing to throw out, recycle, or waste.

Reuse

• Meaning: Use items again instead of throwing them out.

• Why Good: Makes things last longer and saves money/resources.

Recycle (Worst)

• Meaning: Break old materials down to make new products.

• Why Last: Still uses energy and not everything can be recycled.

Conservation

Protecting resources so they last.

Wants vs Needs

Wants:

• Candy

• Perfume

• Airpods

• Makeup

Needs:

• Education

• Shelter

• Food

• Clothing

Sustained Yield

Use a resource so it can renew. Mining a resource = using it faster than nature replaces it.

Renewable vs Non- Renewable

• Renewable = replaces quickly (trees, wind, water)

• Non-renewable = takes millions of years to form (oil, gas, minerals)

Factors affecting farming

Climate, soil, topography (land shape), economics.

GDDs

Growing Degree Days — measure heat for crops.

Land quality ranking

Class 1 = best, Class 7 = worst. Canada has lots of poorer land; less high-quality farmland.

2 types of farming

Intensive (small land, more labor), Extensive (large land, fewer workers).

Forest regions in Canada

Boreal, West Coast, Montane, Mixed, Deciduous, Taiga (main types).

Commercial vs Non-Commercial forests

• Commercial = used for industry

• Non-commercial = too small/remote to cut.

Pulp & Paper vs Sawmills

• Pulp & paper = makes paper

• Sawmills = lumber for building.

Types of Forestry Practice

Clear-cutting, Shelter-wood, Selective cutting.

East Coast Fisheries Collapse

Overfishing + tech → cod stocks collapsed.

Inshore vs Offshore Fishing

• Inshore = small boats, near shore, more people

• Offshore = big boats, far out, fewer workers.

R/P Ratio

Reserves divided by Production — how long a resource will last.

Canada’s Fossil Fuels

Oil, Natural gas, Coal

Canada’s Energy Use vs World

High use because cold climate + big country + industry.

Fossil Fuels Are Organic

Made from ancient plants/animals.

4 Sectors of Energy Use in Canada

Industrial (biggest), Transportation, Residential, Commercial.

Fracking

Method to get oil/gas by cracking rock. Pros: more energy. Cons: environmental damage.

Minerals

Natural substances in rocks. Metallic vs Non-metallic vs Fuels

Mining Methods

• Strip mines (surface)

• Open pit

• Underground.

Two-Step Mineral Separation

Crushing → Concentrating → Smelting.

Energy Source Pros/Cons

• Fossil fuels = cheap but polluting

• Hydro = clean but needs dams

• Nuclear = powerful but waste

• Wind/Solar = clean but depends on weather.

Canada’s population situated and why

Most of Canada’s population lives in the southern part of the country, close to the U.S. border — mainly in places like Ontario, Québec, and British Columbia, especially around cities such as Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

Why? (Easy reasons to remember):

1. Warmer climate — Southern Canada is less cold and easier to live in.

2. Better farmland — Good soil for early settlement and farming.

3. Major trade routes — Close to the U.S., which is Canada’s biggest trading partner.

4. Jobs & cities — Businesses, industry, and big cities grew there, attracting people.

Memory trick:
“South for warmth, farms, trade, and jobs.”

Population density vs Population distribution

Population density = How crowded a place is

Population distribution = Where people live

• 👉 Density = crowdedness
  👉 Distribution = pattern of where people are

Rural settlement patterns

• Linear

  • Houses and farms in a long line (often along a road, river, or coast)

• Scattered

  • Homes spread far apart across the countryside

• Clustered

  • Homes grouped together in a small area (like a village)

Canada’s population vs USA and China

👉 Canada = very low density
👉 USA = medium density
👉 China = high density

Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics is the idea that Earth’s crust is broken into big pieces called plates that move slowly on top of the hot, soft mantle beneath them.

👉 “Move → Collide → Slide”
(Plates move apart, collide, or slide)

Or:

👉 “Plates move, Earth changes”

Rock cycle

The rock cycle is the process that changes rocks from one type to another over time.
It never stops and has no beginning or end.

👉 “Melt – Cool – Break – Squish – Change”

Or:

👉 “Igneous → Sedimentary → Metamorphic → Igneous” (keeps cycling)

Glaciation

Glaciation is the process where glaciers form, move, and shape the land.

Glaciers are huge masses of ice and snow that move slowly like slow rivers of ice.

👉 “Glaciers Form, Move, Carve, and Drop”
(Form ice → move → carve land → drop materials)

Regions of Canada

Canada is commonly divided into 7 major physical regions:

1. Western Cordillera

2. Interior Plains

3. Canadian Shield

4. Hudson Bay–Arctic Lowlands

5. Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands

6. Appalachian Mountains

7. Arctic / Innuitian Mountains

👉 “West Plains Shield, Lowlands, Apps & Arctic”

Or:

👉 “Mountains–Plains–Shield–Lowlands–Apps–Arctic”

(From west to east and north)

What is geography?

Geography = the study of Earth, its land, water, people, and how they interact.

Mapping Skills & Rules (BOLTS)

BOLTS = parts of a good map:

• Border

• Orientation (compass / direction)

• Legend (what symbols mean)

• Title

• Scale (distance)

Types of maps

Different maps show different info:

• Political → countries, cities, borders

• Physical → landforms (mountains, rivers)

• Thematic → themes like climate, population

• Topographic → elevation/height and contour lines

The map of Canada

Know provinces, territories, and capital cities (example: Ontario → Toronto).

Canada’s time zones

Canada has 6 time zones from west to east.
Time moves later as you go east.

Also know:

• Daylight savings time

• International Date Line → where the date changes

Relative vs. Absolute Location

• Absolute = exact location (coordinates)

• Relative = where something is in relation to other places (“near the school”)

The 3 W’s of Geography

• What is where?

• Why there?

• Why care?

Geographic Concepts (4)

• Patterns & Trends

• Spatial Significance

• Geographic Perspective

• Interrelationships

(Helps explain why things in geography happen.)

Latitude & Longitude

Grid system to find locations.

• Latitude = lines run left–right (east/west), measure north–south

• Longitude = lines run up–down (north/south), measure east–west

• Used for coordinates like 45°N, 79°W