Social Studies Praxis 5004 - Geography ONLY

Cartography

the art and science of mapmaking

Base maps

created by aerial and field surveys

Topographic maps

show elevation using contour lines; show natural and man-made surface features of the Earth

Thematic maps

show data based on one theme (population, climate, economic trends, wildlife distribution)

Political maps

borders and boundaries of countries; it can depict the whole world, a single region, country, or even city

Physical maps

contains labels for countries and capital cities as well as major physical features like plains, rivers, plateaus, and mountains

Climate map

depicts changes in temperature based on region; use number, colors, or lines to depict changes

Economic or resource map

depicts the distribution of resources; can focus on one specific or show the distribution of several

Globes

three dimensional renditions of the entire Earth

Compass rose

indicates the four directions: north, south, east, west

Legends

explains symbols found on the map or globe

GPS (global positioning system)

a navigation system composed of 24 satellites; originally used by the military but has been made available to civilians in cars and phones

Mercator

accurately shows the shape and direction but distorts distance and size of land masses

Equal-area

accurately shows size of land masses but usually distorts their shape

Robinson

useful overall picture of the world; keeps correct size and shape of most continents and oceans, but distorts size of both north and south polar caps

Azimuthal

true compass direction, usually circular, distorts scale, area, and shape; usually used to show areas of north and south poles most accurately

Absolute location

exact coordinates using latitude and longitude degrees

Relative location

location compared to surroundings (ex. on the banks of the Mississippi River)

Latitude

north and south of equator

Longitude

east and west of Prime Meridian

Time zones

every 15 degrees of longitude = 1 hour

Equator

an imaginary circle around the Earth, equidistant from the north and south poles; runs east to west through South America, Africa, and Indonesia; divides the northern hemisphere from the southern hemisphere

Prime Meridian

an imaginary line that divides Earth into two equal parts: the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. It is used as the basis of the world’s time zones.

Tropic of Cancer

the imaginary line of latitude -23 degrees north of the equator; it marks the farthest north where the sun can be seen directly overhead

International dateline

an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth; it runs from the North to the South pole separating 2 consecutive calendar days; it passes through the middle of the Pacific Ocean at 180 degrees longitude

Regions

small unites of the earth’s surface composed of multiple places that have more similarities than differences

physical, functional, and cultural

3 types of regions

Physical Regions

share similar physical features Ex. the Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes…

Functional Regions

central location for a service Ex. D.C. functional government region

Cultural Regions

shared human characteristics such as language, religion, tradition, and economy Ex. Latin America, the South, the Bible Belt…

Transition zones

areas which exhibit characteristics similar to multiple regions around it Ex. the U.S. Mexico border has both Latin American and North American characteristics

Internal and external forces

the physical processes that shape the patterns of the earth’s surface

Internal forces

shape the earth’s surface through the constant movement of plates under the surface

Plate tectonics

the movement of plates under the surface of the earth; This movement causes earthquakes and volcanoes to erupt

External forces

cause major changes on or above the surface of the earth; Ex. erosion from the wind, hurricanes, pollution…

Biomes

vegetation zones

Forest

a large, thick growth of trees and underbrush

Grassland

a large area of land covered with grasses

Desert

a large, dry, barren region

Tundra

a level and rolling treeless plain in arctic and sub-attic regions with black mucky soil with permanently frozen subsoil, called permafrost

Climate

the term used to describe the average weather or daily weather conditions for a specific region over a long period of time

Temperature and precipitation

two defining characteristics of climate

Weather

the conditions of the air that affects the day-to-day atmospheric conditions. It includes factors such as temperature, air pressure, wind, and moisture or precipitation

Climate zones

tropical, dry, temperate, continental, and polar

Elevation

distance above sea level

Mountains

act as barriers to wind and moisture

Orographic lift

as the wind is forced up and over high mountains, it loses the ability to hold moisture. This precipitation falls on the windward side, leaving a dry air mass in the descending winds, therefore, desert conditions exist on the lee side of the mountain; also known as the rain shadow effect; Ex. the Great Basin of Nevada and the Great Plains of Texas

Tropical rainforest

intense sun and rain every day, with high humidity; the temperature is always high, but rarely exceeds 90 degrees

Savannah

receives rain seasonally with little to none in the winter, and up to 30 inches in the summer; temperatures do not exceed 90 degrees in the summer or 80 degrees in the winter

Desert

receives less than 10 inches of rain a year; temperatures are extreme with intense heat during the day, and intense cold at night; deserts often have some small pockets of vegetation usually surrounding a small body of water isolated from any other similar area

Mediterranean

found in the middle latitudes in land along the western coast of a continent; summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild and wet

Humid subtropical

found in the middle latitudes in land along the southeastern coast of continents; summers are long and wet, and winters are short and dry. This climate supports the biggest percentage of people

Marine

also found in the middle latitudes in areas near or surrounded by water; the weather is temperate year-round; winter temperatures stay above freezing generally and summer temperatures rarely rise above 70 degrees

Humid continental

middle latitude climate, generally found inland, this climate is the truest four-season climate; precipitation happens year-round, with winters ranging from cold to extremely cold, and summers from hot to extremely hot based on distances from the ocean

Steppes

stretches of land in the middle latitudes that are far from the ocean; steppes typically have rainfall of 10–20 inches a year, and tend to have extreme seasons

Taiga

found in the high latitudes, it is distant from the ocean and thus has extreme cold temperatures; it has a short growing season and is home to the world’s largest forestlands

Tundra

the area immediately surrounding the poles; it has very long, cold winters and short summers; it has relatively low participation and supports no human life

Oasis

small pockets of vegetation usually surrounding a small body of water isolated from any other similar area

Plate tectonics

theory which explains the distribution of continents, earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains; plates move in response to intense pressure from deep within the Earth. Because the continents are thought to “piggyback” ride on the plates, their gradual movement is referred to as “continental drift”

Orogeny

mountain formation

location, place, region, human-environment interaction, and movement

5 themes of geography

ways in which we can describe the physical area of the Earth

Location, place, and region all focus on…

developing an address for the area

Location focuses on…

determining characteristics, physical and human, that make an area unique

Place and region…

look at ways in which people and place interact with and influence each other

Human-environment interaction and movement…

Location

absolute or relative

Absolute location

exact coordinates using latitude and longitude degrees

Relative location

location compared to surroundings (ex. on the banks of the Mississippi River); Done primarily through a grid system

Grid system

divides the world with imaginary lines, spaced equally apart, running horizontally and vertically (latitude and longitude lines); Each line is a degree and the area between the lines is subdivided into minutes and seconds

Place

has human (created by human such as canals and roads) and physical characteristics (mountains, rivers, deserts)

Human-environment interaction

humans adapt to the environment (wearing warm clothes when its cold), humans modify the environment (planting trees to block prevailing winds), and humans depend on the environment (for food, water, raw materials)

Movement

how humans interact with one another through trade, communication, emigration, and other forms of contact

Regions

an area that has some kind of unifying characteristics, such as common language or a common government; formal, functional, or vernacular

Formal regions

areas defined by actual political boundaries, such as a city, county, or state

Functional regions

defined by a common function, such as the area covered by a telephone service

Vernacular regions

less formally defined areas that are formed by people’s perceptions (ex. the South)

Mountain ranges

rows or chains of mountains

Mountain Ranges in Asia

Himalayan (largest mountain range on Earth), Mt. Everest (highest beak of 29,035 feet), Karakoram and Pamir

Mountain Ranges in Europe

Alps, Caucasus, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Urals

Mountain Ranges in Africa

Abyssinian, Atlas, Ruwenzori, Kilimanjaro (inactive volcano)

Mountain Ranges in North America

Rocky Mountains, Appalachians

Mountain Ranges in South America

Andes

Mountain Ranges in Australia

Kosciusko

Island

an area of land which is completely surrounded by water

Plateau

a large, flat area that rises above the surrounding land; at least one side has a steep slope

Plains

an extensive area of level and rolling, treeless country, often covered by rich, fertile soil

Valleys

an elongated depression in the Earth’s surface, usually between ranges of hills or mountains

Ice cap

a region which is covered by perennial ice and snow; a larger glacier forming on an extensive area of relatively level land, flowing outward from its center

Continents

a great division of land on the globe; the large part of the surface of the Earth that rises above sea level

Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America

The 7 continents

water

The majority of the surface of the earth is covered with

El Nino

the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean near the equator becomes warmer than normal which changes weather patters around the world

Gulf Stream

a strong, warm current in the Atlantic Ocean which accelerates as it travels up the East Coast of North America, and shoots out into the open ocean towards Europe; these current impacts weather on the east coasts of the U.S., Canada, and Western and Northern Europe

Oceans

largest bodies of water on the earth which covers 71% of Earth’s surface

Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, Arctic

The 5 oceans

Seas

large bodies of salt water, smaller than oceans; Ex. Mediterranean, Sea of Japan, Arabian, Black, Red, East China, South China, Caribbean, Bering, Gulf of Mexico, Sea of Okhotsk, Andaman, and Hudson Bay

Lakes

bodies of water in a depression on Earth’s surface; Caspian Sea is the largest

Bays

bodies of water, smaller than a gulf and nearly surrounded by land

Rivers

a channeled flow of water that starts out as a spring or stream formed by runoff from rain on snow

Rivers in Africa

Nile (world’s largest), Congo (5th largest), Niger (largest delta in Africa), Zambezi (famous for the Victoria Falls, one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World)