Geography Test Monday - Unit 1a

Population Density

the number of people per square kilometer

How to calculate: population ÷ area (km2) = number of people per km2

Population Distribution: the pattern made by where people live

Why people would live in the south part of Canada and not the north: People tend to live in the south because of the climate and location. In the south part, the climate is very warm compared to the north, and is near the United States. 

Three important factors affect the pattern or rural settlement in a particular area:

1. Nature of the resources: the resources that attracted people to the area in the first place. 

2. Transportation methods: transportation methods that were used

when the area was settled

3. The role of government: in some areas of Canada settlement

occurred with little influence by the government. People settled where

they wanted to.

Comtinential drift

Alfred Wegener’s theory suggested two things:

300 million years ago: all the earth’s land masses collided to form one continent called Pangaea (meaning “all land”)

200 million years ago: Pangaea started to break up and the continents

drifted in different locations to where they are today. 

 -The first evidence that led

people to think that the

continents were once

connected was the apparent

jigsaw fit of the continents,

which was the starting point

for Alfred Wegener’s theory of

continental drift.

Rock Cycle 

IGNEOUS ROCKS:

 Igneous rocks are the ones that were superheated and originally liquid before they came out of a volcano. They start their lives below the crust and then get pumped out. 

There are two types of igneous rocks: 

Extrusive: formed from lava on the earth’s surface 

Intrusive: formed from magma below the earth’s surface

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:

Sedimentary rocks are created when sediments compress

together. A flowing stream or river picks up sediments and carries

it downstream where it is eventually deposited somewhere. Over

millions of years, more and more sediments build up and compact

together. These compacted sediments eventually become one

big rock with visible layers of sediments.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS:

Metamorphic rocks are a combination of igneous and

sedimentary rock. They are created by heat and/or pressure.

Even though heat is involved, they didn’t start off as molten rock but

you often find metamorphic rocks near volcanoes. The heat from

the magma changes all of the igneous rocks around the volcano.

The forces of heat and/or pressure has changed these rocks from

igneous or sedimentary into a new type. The result is a

metamorphic or “changed” rock.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes:

Volcanoes: a place on the earth’s surface where molten rock, gases and explosive debris erupt through the earth’s crust

magma = molten/melted rock from inside the earth’s crust 

lava = flowing magma on the earth’s surface (can be thick & slow-moving or thin & fast moving)

Earthquakes: rapid shaking of the earth created by a sudden movement of large sections of rock; natural hazards that occur when the earth’s tectonic plates move against each other

Why do Volcanoes and earthquakes occur at plate boundaries?

-because that’s where plates move in relation to each other 

- plates are moving at different speeds & in different directions 

- movement causes friction that disrupts the earth’s crust

Pacific Ring of Fire: an area encircling the Pacific Ocean marks a circle of high volcanic and seismic activity (earthquakes) most of the active volcanoes on earth are located here

Tsunami: a large wave or series of waves; occurs when an earthquake causes massive undersea crust movements and/or collapses, displacing the water above