Geog. Ch. 1-4

What is geography? - the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries. 5 themes of geography - Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, Region Types of Regions - formal, functional, vernacular Cartography - art and science of making maps Concept of scale - Ratio: Ground distance to map distance, map to Reality relationship Latitude - distance north or south of the Equator (0 degrees), parallels, poles (90 degrees) Longitude - Distance east or west of the prime meridian (0 degrees), international dateline (180 degrees) Prime meridian - 0 degrees longitude International Date Line - 180 degrees longitude Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn - 23.5 degrees north and south Map projection - way of depicting the curved surface of the earth on a flat surface, such as a piece of paper Continental Drift Theory - Alfred Wegener believed landmasses of Earth once fit together to form single landmass called "Pangaea"; landmasses "drifted" to where they are today; theory disregarded due to lack of evidence plate tectonics - the breakup of pangea and continental drift and current boundaries of the major tectonic plates Alfred Wegener - A German scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift Pangea - term for the super continent which contained all the plates together Pacific Ring of Fire - region around the Pacific Ocean where most of the volcanoes and earthquakes on Earth occur regularly transform boundary - The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally divergent boundary - The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other convergent boundary - A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other. plate boundaries - At plate boundaries, Earth's crust is broken (fault) and rocks slip past each other in one of 3 types of plate boundaries. Faults - Breaks in Earth's crust where rocks have slipped past each other. Hot spot - a volcanically active area of Earth's surface far from a tectonic plate boundary Tsunami - A giant wave usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean floor. weathering - the breakdown and decomposition of rocks and minerals or near earth's surface in response to atmospheric spheres mechanical weathering - physical disintegration of earth materials or near the surfaces; frost action and root action chemical weathering - decomposition of earth materials because of chemical reactions, the minerals that compose rocks separate into component parts by chemical reaction rather than fragmentation; oxidation and rusting, hydrolysis (occurs when water combines with minerals and water and turns into clay,) carbonation (caused by carbonic acid which occurs naturally in rainwater, important in the formation of caves.) mass movement - the movement of a large mass of sediment or a section of land down a slope talus - accumulation of broken rock at the base of a cliff soil creep - more widespread but less noticeable, very small movement erosional elements - reshape existing landforms (water, wind, glaciers), running water, and force of water and particles are agents of erosion stream load - The materials other than the water that are carried by a stream along the bottom deltas - accumulations of silt and sand at the intersection of streams and bays, oceans, or lakes floodplains - a valley area bordering a stream, that is subject to inundation by flooding oxbow lakes - a crescent-shaped lake contained in an abandoned meander stalagmites - A column-like form that grows upward from the floor of a cavern. stalactites - icicle shaped features that form on cave ceilings karst topography - large limestone regions marked by sinkholes, caverns, and underground streams butte vs mesa - an isolated narrow hill with steep sides and a flat top vs a wide flat-topped hill or small plateau with steep sides glaciers - Large areas of slow moving ice fjords - U-shaped glacial troughs flooded by the sea moraine - rocks and sediment (till) carried down and deposited by a glacier, typically as ridges at its edges or extremity Pleistocene - The most recent epoch of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, beginning about 1.8 million years ago and marked by as many as 20 glaciations and interglaciations of which the current warm phase, the Holocene epoch, has witnessed the rise of human civilization. Holocene - The current interglaciation period, extending from 10,000 years ago to the present on the geologic time scale. glaciation - a process by which glaciers form and spread interglacial - warm period that occurs during an ice age weather vs climate - immediate state of the atmosphere vs average weather conditions over a period of time, typically averaging 30 years seasons - Caused by the tilt of Earth on its axis as it revolves around the Sun perihelion - january 4, earth is 91.5 million miles from the sun aphelion - july 3, earth is 94.5 million miles from the sun beam spreading - increase in the surface area over which radiation is distributed in response to the increase in solar angle air pressure - weight of air molecules pushing down on earth wind - the horizontal movement of air caused by differences in air pressure high pressure system - lower temperatures, clear skies, very small amount of precipitation low pressure system - area with lower atmospheric pressure than its surrounding areas; this makes air from surrounding areas to flow into the low, the end result of which is probably cloudiness and precipitation convection system - the circulatory movement of rising warm air and descending cool air pressure gradient force - change in pressure measured across a given distance Coriolis Force - earth's rotation modifies or deflects, the path of air that has been set in motion friction - earth's surface exerts a frictional drag on air blowing above it, difference in terrain directly affects the friction exerted relative humidity - ration of the air's actual water vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor required for saturation at that temperature dew point - temperature air needs to be cooled to reach saturation convectional precipitation - The formation of precipitation due to surface heating of the air at the ground surface orographic precipitation - precipitation that develops when warm, moist air cools and condenses as it rises against mountains cyclonic precipitation - Precipitation caused when a warm, moist air mass is forced to rise by a cool, dry air mass. This is also called frontal precipitation. rain shadow effect - Low precipitation on the far side (leeward side) of a mountain when prevailing winds flow up air masses - Large bodies of air with similar temperature and humidity source regions (mT, cT, mP, cP) - mT - maritime tropical cP - continental polar cT - continental tropical mP - maritime polar cold front - A front where cold air moves in under a warm air mass. warm front - a front where warm air moves over cold air and brings drizzly rain and then are followed by warm and clear weather tornadoes - small, intense, short-lived windstorm that protrudes from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud and is in contact with the ground funnel cloud - a rotating funnel-shaped cloud forming the core of a tornado or waterspout, not in contact with the ground. hurricanes - fierce tropical storms with strong winds anatomy of hurricane - Around the eye, air flows inward and upward In the eye, air flows toward surface and warms Tropical System Climatology - characterized by high temperatures and humidity levels throughout the year storm surge - a local rise in sea level near the shore that is caused by strong winds from a storm, such as those from a hurricane Kappen classification - Kappen classification system recognizes four major climate groups based on temperature values (identified by the capital letters A, C, D, and E), and the fifth based on moisture (identified by the capital letter B), to create global climate patterns climate change - a change in global or regional climate patterns long term climate change - -Changes in Earth's axis tilt might lead to ice ages. -Widespread ice tends to lower global temperatures by increasing Earth's reflectivity. -CO2 from outgassing will build up if oceans are frozen, ultimately raising global temperatures again. short term climate change - changes in the ocean surface currents and prevailing winds can greatly affect the climate. Milankovitch cycles - Changes in the shape earth's orbit and tilt that cause glacial periods and interglacial periods. tree rings - date lines that determine the age of a tree