CGC1W1: Exploring Canadian Geography - Exam Review

Flashcards to review key concepts from the Canadian Geography course.

Geography

The study of the Earth's physical features, human populations, and their interactions.

Physical Geography

Deals with natural features and processes (geology, landforms, climate, soil, vegetation, atmosphere, animals, and water).

Human Geography

Focuses on human activities and their impact on the Earth (culture, economics, transportation, agriculture, countries and history, population and density, politics).

Tools/Skills of Geography

Tools used in geography, such as maps, measurements, compass, GPS, satellite imaging, and geotechnologies.

Title (Map)

Explains the map's subject.

Date (Map)

Indicates the map's currency.

Compass (Map)

Shows direction and helps with navigation.

Legend (Map)

Explains symbols and colors used on the map.

Scale (Map)

Compares distances on the map to actual distances on Earth.

Author (Map)

Identifies the map's creator and their perspective.

Grids (Map)

Intersecting lines used to pinpoint locations on a map.

Continents

Seven large landmasses: North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia.

Oceans

Five major bodies of saltwater: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.

Time Zones

Regions of Earth that share the same standard time, based on their distance from the Prime Meridian.

The Great Lakes

The world's largest freshwater lake group, including Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

Spatial Significance

Importance of a place or region based on its unique physical characteristics or natural/human relationships.

Patterns

Similar and repeating characteristics observed over space, often shown on maps.

Trends

Characteristics that change over time, best shown in graphs.

Interrelationships

Connections between environments (physical/human, physical/physical, human/human) that form a system.

Geographic Perspectives

Analyzing an issue from social, political, environmental, economic, and/or cultural view points.

Stakeholders

People or groups affected by or involved in a geographic issue.

Latitude

Distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees, impacting climate and vegetation.

Equator

Imaginary line that splits the Earth into North and South.

Tilt of the Earth

The Earth is tilted at 23.5° on its axis, affecting how much sunlight different areas receive.

Crust

Thin outer layer of solid rock.

Upper Mantle

Softer rock layer that causes crust movement from heat and pressure.

Lower Mantle

Thick, hot, solid rock layer that slowly flows.

Outer Core

Liquid metal layer that creates Earth’s magnetic field.

Inner Core

Solid metal layer, extremely hot, made of iron and nickel.

Pangaea

A 300 million-year-old supercontinent formed when all continents were united, eventually breaking apart.

Plate Boundaries

Edges where Earth's plates meet and move.

Divergent Plate Boundary

Plates move apart, creating new crust and volcanoes.

Convergent Plate Boundary

Plates collide. Can involve subduction or mountain formation.

Transform Plate Boundary

Plates slide past each other in opposite directions, causing earthquakes.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that Earth's crust is broken into plates that constantly move, shaping continents and landforms.

Igneous Rock

Magma cools and hardens to form this type of rock.

Sedimentary Rock

This type of rock is made from compacted sediments after weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Metamorphic Rock

Existing rock changed by heat and pressure deep in Earth’s crust becomes this type of rock..

Glacier

A huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land, reshaping landforms through erosion, transportation, and deposition.

Moraine

Pile of unsorted rocks and soil left at the edge of a glacier.

Weathering (Glaciers)

Water from melting glaciers seeps into cracks, freezes, expands, and breaks the rock.

Erosion (Glaciers)

Glaciers pluck rocks and drag them along the ground, scraping and carving the land.

Deposition (Glaciers)

Glaciers melting and dropping unsorted materials, forming hills, plains, and lakes; meltwater sorts debris.

Western Cordillera

Region with diverse landforms carved by glaciers, plate tectonics, and volcanic activity; good for forestry, mining and tourism.

Interior Plains

Region with prairie, flat land, limited trees due to glaciation and important gas/oil deposits.

Canadian Shield

Rocky area with plateaus, lakes, high & low elevations due to glaciation; important resource for mining and fresh water.

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands

Plainlike areas covered by surficial deposits due to glaciation in South Ontario, South Quebec.

Appalachian Region

Region with steep slopes & elevations carved by glaciers, plate tectonics, and volcanic activity; good for forestry and mining.

Hudson Bay - Arctic Lowlands

Swampy plains, wetlands due to glaciation in North Ontario, North Manitoba, and most Nunavut islands.

Innuitian Mountains

Mountainous regions, carved by glaciers, plate tectonics, and volcanic activity; allows for forestry, mining and tourism.

Vegetation

Product of temperature and precipitation, with different types growing depending on the mixture.

Wet Climate Soils

Soils with a thin A horizon due to excessive rain causing leaching.

Dry Climate Soils

Soils with a thick A horizon because low rain causes water to evaporate upward, keeping organic material near the surface.

Tundra Soils

Soils with permafrost where only a thin top layer thaws in summer.

Wide Range Soils

Soils in areas with mixed landforms and climates. Contains various soil types in one region.

Weather

Day-to-day atmospheric conditions.

Climate

Average weather conditions in a region over a long time.

Latitude (Climate)

Affects climate by controlling the amount of sunlight a place receives, with lower latitudes being warmer and higher latitudes being colder.

Ocean Currents (Climate)

Affect climate by changing the temperature of the air above them; warm currents heat air, cold currents cool air.

Prevailing Winds (Climate)

Move air masses around the world, bringing cold air south and warm air north.

Elevation (Climate)

Higher elevation = colder temperatures and mountains are cooler than valleys.

Relief (Climate)

Affects climate by changing how much rain a place gets, with windward sides getting more rain and leeward sides getting less.

Nearness to Water (Climate)

Affects climate by moderating temperature and increasing precipitation; close to water = small temperature range, high precipitation.

Climate Graphs

Used to understand a regions climate with bars for precipitation and a line for temperature.

Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Tool that combines two or more census subdivisions that are adjacent to each other, that have high degree of social and economic intergration.

Urban

Communities that are large, highly populated, transportation and traffic, busy with tall buildings with access to services.

Geography

The study of the Earth's physical features, human populations, and their interactions.