Cultural Geography Chapter 9 Test, Eastern European History Test Questions and Answers

Although Mexico has a government similar to that of the United States, it has not always been a true republic.

True

All Mexicans speak Spanish.

False

Almost one-third of Guatemala's population is Protestant.

True

Like other Central American nations, Belize was settled by the Spanish.

False

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America.

True

Haiti and Barbados share the island of Hispaniola.

False

Leeward refers to an island that is open to prevailing winds from the ocean.

False

Match each description with the correct location

popular tourist resort in eastern Mexico- Cancún

most heavily populated Central American country; center of ancient Mayan civilization-Guatemala

least populated Central American country- Belize

famous for volcanoes; has the smallest area of a Central American country- El Salvador

first known country to grow coffee- Costa Rica

most developed Central American country; "Crossroads of the World"- Panama

citizens speak French and Creole- Haiti

a notorious haven for pirates- Jamaica

most famous Leeward Islands- Virgin Islands

The ____________________ Peninsula curves north and east into the Gulf of Mexico.

Yucatán

What famous Mayan ruins was a pyramid where Mayans performed bloody pagan rituals?

Chichén Itzá

The name Costa Rica means "__________ coast."

rich

The ______________ _____________ has reduced the trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean substantially.

Panama Canal

The Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Lesser Antilles combine to form the ____________ ____________.

West Indies

Spain lost the country of __________ during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Cuba

The Cuban dictator _____________ _____________ formed the first Communist government in the Western Hemisphere.

Fidel Castro

In 1951, Puerto Rico voted to become a __________________ of the United States. Many Puerto Ricans now want it to become a U.S. state.

commonwealth

Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés conquered the

Aztecs

People of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry are

mestizos.

Mayans are the most famous of the Indian civilizations because

they left written records.

The largest city in Central America is

Guatemala City.

Which country was nicknamed the "banana republic"?

Honduras

Which country is a member of the British Commonwealth?

the Bahamas

The capital of Cuba is

Havana

The Europeans introduced a new kind of farming to Central America called

a plantation economy.

Match each place or geographic feature with the correct letter on the map below.

Mexico City= G

Baja California=B

Gulf of California= C

Gulf of Mexico=E

Bay of Campeche= F

Yucatán Peninsula= H

Sonoran Desert=A

Sierra Madre Occidental= D

Match each place or geographic feature with the correct letter on the map below.

Cuba= D

Panama Canal= F

Haiti= G

Nicaragua=C

Puerto Rico= H

Guatemala City= a

Honduras= B

Caribbean Sea= E

List and describe the five altitude zones in the Mesa Central.

1. tierra caliente- the low, tropical coasts, the "hot land"2. tierra templada- the "temperate land", the best lands on the plateaus and mountain valleys3. tierra fria- the "cold land", the high mountains4. paramo- the "bleak plateau", the subalpine zone5. tierra helada- the "frozen land" of the permanent snowcap

Describe NAFTA and CAFTA-DR and their effects on the Western Hemisphere

North American Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1993 created the second largest free trade zone in the world between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. It stirred up controversy in all three countries, given the concern that Mexico is underdeveloped compared to the other two countries. Also, some Americans feared unfair competition from Mexican Companies which had fewer regulations on working conditions and pollutions while Mexican farmers feared competition with Americas cheap grain production. CAFTA-DR, the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement has been signed to date by the U.S. and five other Central American countries. Modeled after the NAFTA has created jobs in Mexican plants thereby putting some Americans out of jobs, bit the trade industry has boomed overall

Gdańsk

The shipbuilders of Poland formed a labor union called?

Baltic States

What term refers to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia collectively?

Soviet Bloc

What name was given to the group of semi-independent states ruled by puppets of the Soviet Union following World War II?

Minsk

The headquarters of the CIS are in which Eastern European capital?

Hungary

Which country of Eastern Europe has some of the best farmland in Europe, partly due to the Danube and Tisza Rivers?

Karst

Which region is famous for its sinkholes and limestone caves?

Northern European Plain

What plain covers almost all of Poland?

Crimean Peninsula

Which area of Ukraine is sometimes called the 'Russian Riviera'?

Sevastopol

Which city serves as Russia's main naval base?

Auschwitz

What site in Poland was the largest Nazi extermination camp?

Montenegro

The name of which Eastern European country means 'black mountain'?

Iron Gate

The Danube River flows through a break in the Carpathian Mountains called the:

Carpathians

The dominant mountain system in Eastern Europe is the:

Velvet Revolution

The swift and peaceful overthrow of communism in Czechoslovakia was called the:

Velvet Divorce

After Czechoslovakia gained independence, the Czechs and Slovaks agreed to split the country in two in what was known as the:

mass privatization

To give the Czech people a direct stake in the success of the new Czech Republic's economy, the government began an experiment in:

Balkanization

The tendency of a region made up of many ethnically and religiously diverse minorities to break into small, hostile countries is called:

Sarajevo

The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is:

Eastern Orthodox

Whereas most people of the Carpathians are Roman Catholic, the people of Romania are mostly:

Roman Catholic

Countries in southern and western Europe are predominantly:

Loire

The longest river in France is the:

Swiss self-governing districts

Cantons are:

Milan

What Italian city, the second largest in the country, is a banking center in the Po River Valley?

Edinburgh

Scotland

Dublin

Ireland - Dublin

Copenhagen

Denmark

Helsinki

Finland

Lisbon

Portugal

Brussels

Belgium

Bern

Switzerland

Madrid

Spain

Berlin

Germany

River Thames

England is located on the:

lochs

Scotland is known for its:

loughs

Northern Ireland is known for its:

Seine River

France is associated with the:

polders

The Netherlands is known for its:

Kiel Canal

Germany is connected to the:

Arctic Circle

Parts of Scandinavia lie above the Arctic Circle, where the sun never sets for two months in the summer.

Iceland

Iceland is sometimes called the 'Land of Fire and Ice.'

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees Mountains form the border between Spain and France.

dikes

The Dutch have built strong walls, dikes, to hold back seawater.

Liechtenstein

The tiny principality between Switzerland and Austria known for its industrialization and high standard of living.

Iberian Peninsula

Spain, Andorra, and Portugal are located on this peninsula.

Strait of Gibraltar

The eight-mile-wide strait that passes between Spain and Africa.

Venice

The Italian city built on more than one hundred islands in the Adriatic Sea.

Great Britain

The largest island in Europe.

Federation Assembly

The legislative branch of Russia's national government.

St. Petersburg

The second-largest city in Russia.

Volgograd

The Russian city known as Stalingrad during the Soviet era.

Don River

The second most important river in Russia.

steppes

The vast grasslands of Russia in the Black Earth Region.

Cossacks

Fiercely independent nomads of Russia who were feared for their elite cavalry.

Chechnya

The breakaway republic that has caused trouble for Russia since 1991.

taiga

The great coniferous forests of Siberia.

Romania

The 'Land of the Romans'.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Participated in the Dayton Peace Accords.

Croatia

Shaped like a boomerang.

Serbia

The capital is Belgrade.

Ukraine

The most important industrial and agricultural center in the CIS.

Albania

Proclaimed by Enver Hoxha to be the first truly atheistic country.

Poland

Home of Solidarity.

Lithuania

Largest of the Baltic States; home of the Hill of Crosses.

Latvia

Middle of the Baltic States; capital is Riga.

Belarus

"White Russia"; capital is Minsk.

Hungary

Many ancestral roots in Magyars from the east.

Bulgaria

Capital is Sofia.

Czech Republic

Overthrew the Communist party in the Velvet Revolution.

shatter belt

An area of political uncertainty, constant tension, and frequent changes in political boundaries.

Lech Walesa

The leader of Solidarity who later became the first president of free Poland.

warm sea-ports

What Russia has historically lacked that has influenced its foreign policy.

Czars

The title referring to the rulers of Russia from 1547 to 1917.