Geography and Environment: Planet Earth and Mauritius

Flashcards based on lecture notes covering environmental categories, sustainability, Earth's physical geography, map skills (latitude and longitude), and the volcanic history and relief of Mauritius.

What is the environment?

Everything that surrounds us.

What are some examples of natural features in our environment?

The air we breathe, the water in rivers and seas, mountains and hills, land for crops, and coral reefs.

What characterizes man-made features in the environment?

Features created by people, such as sugarcane fields, maize fields, houses, and roads.

What is the definition of sustainability?

Taking action to maintain and take care of the world we live in and acting responsibly to preserve natural resources for future generations.

Name two important natural resources that people need to preserve for sustainability.

Water and forests.

Why is Planet Earth unique among known planets?

It is the only known planet where life exists and where there is water.

What are the large areas of land on Earth called?

Continents.

What percentage of the Earth's surface is covered by seas and oceans?

$$70\%$$

Identify the biggest continent on Earth.

Asia.

Which ocean is the largest?

The Pacific Ocean.

What is a globe?

A model of planet Earth.

What are the horizontal lines used on maps and globes to locate places called?

Lines of latitude.

What is the name of the longest line of latitude?

The Equator.

Into which two hemispheres does the Equator divide the Earth?

The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

What is the latitude of the Arctic Circle?

$$66\frac{1}{2}^{\circ}\,N$$

What are the horizontal lines at $23\frac{1}{2}^{\circ}\,N$ and $23\frac{1}{2}^{\circ}\,S$ called?

The Tropics (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn).

What are the vertical lines drawn East and West on a map or globe called?

Lines of longitude.

What is the name and degree of the vertical line that passes through Greenwich in London?

The Greenwich Meridian, numbered $0^{\circ}$.

What is the latitude and longitude of the Great Barrier Reef nature reserve?

$15^{\circ}\,S$, $150^{\circ}\,E$

Which islands form the Mascarene Islands?

Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Réunion.

How were the Mascarene Islands formed?

By volcanoes erupting on the floor of the Indian Ocean millions of years ago.

What is magma?

Hot molten rocks stored in a reservoir called the magma chamber.

What is the difference between an active volcano and a dormant volcano?

An active volcano erupts frequently, while a dormant volcano has not erupted for a very long time.

What type of rock is formed when lava cools and solidifies?

Basalt rocks.

What is tuff?

A material formed when volcanic ash and dust solidify.

What is relief?

The variation or changes in the height of the land.

What are the three main relief features of Mauritius?

Mountains, the Central Plateau, and the plains.

What is the Central Plateau?

A large area of flat and high land, with a height above $200\,m$.

How were the mountain ranges and mountains of Mauritius formed?

They are the remnants of a big volcano whose top parts collapsed and whose walls were later carved by rivers.

Identify a dormant volcano in Mauritius.

Trou aux Cerfs (or Bassin Blanc / Grand Bassin).