Geo
Exam Review
Unit 1: Intro to Geo
Geographic perspective SEEP.
Social- The perspective on how people and their daily lives are impacted.
Environmental- The perspective on how the environment is impacted.
Economical- The perspective on how the economy is impacted.
Political- The perspective on how the government is impacted.
Unit 2: Physical Geography
Layers of the earth
Pangea
Pangea is a supercontinent that eventually broke apart and the pieces drifted to their current location
Theory of continental drift and alfred Wegner’s 4 pieces of evidence
The theory of continental drift is that the continents on the surface of the earth are in constant motion.
Alfred Wegner had 4 main pieces of evidence:
-The continents fit like a jigsaw puzzle
-Fossil evidence similar plant and animal fossils were found on different continents
-Similar mountain ranges on both sides of the atlantic ocean
-Evidence of glaciers in warm climates
J. Tuza Wilson helped spark a new interest in the Theory of Plate Tectonics. This theory states that the earth’s outer shell is made up of different places that can move. They move because the mantle layer of the Earth moves.
Plate Boundaries-
Divergent- Two plates that are moving away from each other. Magma moves up through the cracks making new land.
Results: New crust (land), mid atlantic ridge
Convergent- Two plates are moving toward each other. These boundaries build up the land
Results: Mountains or Volcanoes
Collision-When plates have similar densities ( weight) they will collide and build up the land=
Mountains
Subduction one- When plates have different densities ( weight). The heavier plate sinks under the lighter plate and melts into magma = Volcanoes
Transform- Two plates slide past each other. Massive amounts of energy build up and is suddenly released
Result: Earthquake
Types of Rocks
Igneous Rocks- Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools and hardens
Located: Appalachian Mountains (some parts), Canadian shield, Western Cordillera (coast mountains, and Innuitian Mountains
Metamorphic Rock- Formed when rocks are affected by intense heat and pressure (under the earth's surface) The rocks that result from these processes often have ribbon like layers and shiny crystals.
Located: Appalachian Mountains (some parts), Canadian shield, Western Cordillera (interior plateau), and Innuitian Mountains
Sedimentary Rock- Formed from particles of sand, shells, pebbles etc. The sediment accumulates in layers and over a long period of time hardens into rock. Fossils are only found in these rocks!
Located: Appalachian Mountains (Main type!), Western Cordillera (Columbia and Rockies), Interior Plains, Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands, Hudson Bay - Arctic Lowlands.
Canada's 7 Landform Region
A landform region is an area with a unique set of physical features
Regions are divided up based on similarities in …
-Geologic history
-Climate
-Rock type
-Soil type
-Vegetation
The Canadian Shield
Contains some of the world's oldest rocks. It covers about 50% of Canada and some parts of the United States. Well suited to mining but ill suited to agriculture
The Lowlands
Surround the Shield and are relatively flat
2 of the 3 are well suited to agriculture (*)
There are 3 lowland regions:
-Interior Plains (*)
-Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands (*)
-Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
The Highlands
Surround the lowlands and are mountainous
East coast (*) → oldest
West coast （**）一
youngest
There are 3 highland regions:
-Appalachian Mountains (*)
-Innuitian Mountains
-Western Cordillera **
Soil
Erosion- The geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water.
Calcification- Water carrying dissolved minerals moves upward through the soil
Leaching- The process where soil nutrients or contaminants are washed away from the surface soil into the subsurface or nearby water bodies due to factors like heavy rainfall or irrigation.
Permafrost- An unusual soil condition in southern Canada where in spring the top layer unfreezes/thaws but the areas below do not.
Canada’s 7 Vegetation Region
More precipitation = more vegetation
Milder temperatures= more vegetation
Treeline- Edge of the region at which trees are capable of growing. Regions north of the treeline are too cold for trees to grow.
Vegetation Regions
Tundra- Northern Canada, Treeless plains (if trees do grow, they are very small), Permafrost (frozen soil), and Low lying plants (grasses, mosses, and shrubs).
Boreal and Taiga Forest- Across Canada! One of the largest forest regions in the world! Harvests trees for paper (softwood) and lumber (hardwood)
Mixed Wood Forest- South of the Boreal Forest in Ontario and Quebec
Both coniferous and deciduous trees are abundant. Maple syrup industry is a large industry.
Deciduous Forest- Smallest forest region in region located in Southern Ontario. Almost the entire forest region has been cleared. Some of the best soil.
Grasslands- The prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) Grasses of various types and sizes (too dry for significant tree growth) Used for agriculture and cattle ranching
Cordilleran Vegetation Mountain vegetation in British Columbia, Alberta, and Yukon
Vegetation changes as you travel up the mountainside. Forestry is common here.
West Coast Forest- British Columbia coastal area. Large trees due to high precipitation levels. Temperate rainforest. Forestry is really common.
Coniferous vs Deciduous trees
Coniferous Trees are north, have needles and are evergreen.
Deciduous trees are south and they hibernate.
LOWERN Climate Factors
Weather- The day to day conditions of the atmosphere at a particular location.
Climate- Average weather of a place over a period of many years.
Latitude- Areas closer to the equator receive more sunlight= hotter climate
Opposite= cooler climate
Ocean currents- Ocean water travels in paths called currents. The temperature of an ocean current affects the temperature of the air that passes over it.
Winds and air masses- An air mass is a large volume of air. Air masses can form over land or water
Elevation- Height above sea level
Relief- Mountain ranges act as barriers to the movement of air masses. If you live on the windward side of a mountain(A) you get more precipitation. If you live on the leeward side (B) you get less precipitation.
Near water- As an air mass passes over a large body of water it absorbs moisture. moisture= precipitation. Areas closer to bodies of water receive more precipitation. Bodies of water help have moderating effects on temperature as the water heats up and cools more slowly than the land. (Not) near water will make areas have a larger temperature range
Continental vs. Maritime climate
ppt= precipitation
Climate Change- Cause and Solutions
Climate Change- Refers to the long term shifts in temperature and weather patterns.
Causes-
10. Bunker Fuels - Ships in international waters and international flights- 2.2%
9. Landfills and waste- 3.1%
8. Gas flares (burning off the gas which comes from oil production) and other emissions associated with energy production- 5.3%
7. Chopping down forests and rainforests- 5.7%
6. Industry- 5.8%
5. Burning other types of fuels 8.2%
4. Agriculture (e.g. farming) and our diet (e.g. eating meat)- 11.1%
3. Manufacturing and construction- 13.3 %
2. Transportation- 14.8%
1.Burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat- 30.6%
Solutions
How can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees.
Mitigation strategies
Protect and restore forests.
Practice sustainable agriculture
Promote clean technology
Practise efficient waste management
Save energy at home
Use less water
Reduce reuse recycle
Choose sustainable transportation
Examine your food choices
Calculations
Total Annual Precipitation:
• Add all of the monthly precipitation totals together
Average Annual Temperature:
• Add all 12 monthly temperatures together and divide by 12 (including the negative numbers!)
Annual Temperature Range:
• Warmest temperature in the year minus the coolest temperature in the year
Unit 3: Natural Resources
Renewable vs Nonrenewable vs Flow
Renewable- resources that can be regenerated if used carefully.
Non-renewable resources- Resources that are limited and cannot be replaced once they are used up (we call these resources finite)
Flow- Neither renewable or non-renewable resources. They must be where and when they occur.
Sustainability
Sustainability- Refers to using resources in such a way that they will continue to be available in the future.
Ecological Footprint
Ecological Footprint-An ecological footprint is a measure of human impact on earth. The footprint equals the Earth’s cost to sustain one person. It is measured in hectares.
Hectares represents the land needed to provide resources, absorb waste, and absorb greenhouse gases produced by an individual.
1 Hectare= 1 soccer field
Carrying capacity- The number of individuals who can be supported within natural
resources limits, without ruining the environment for present and future generations.
Currently we are overshooting the earth's capacity by 75%! To sustain present levels of consumption, we would need 1.75 earths
Renewable Energy vs Nonrenewable energy
Fossil fuels- Fossil fuels aren’t a renewable energy source.
Nuclear powers- Nuclear energy from uranium isn’t renewable.
Solar Power- It is renewable.
Wind power- It is renewable
Tidal Power. It is renewable.
Hydroelectric power- It is renewable.
Wave power- It is renewable.
Geothermal power- It is renewable.
Biofuels- It is renewable
Biofuels- It is renewable.
Types of Industries
Resource Extraction Industries (Primary)
Any industry involved in the extraction and collection of natural resources (e.g. farming, fishing, forestry and mining).
Manufacturing Industries (Secondary)
Any business/factory that uses raw materials to make (manufacture) them into something more valuable (e.g. paper, gasoline, cars).
Location factors-
Availability of raw materials
Factories need to be near the materials they will use to make products. Sometimes they are near a processing plant (e.g. Sawmill).
Location of markets
We want to build a factory near the people who will buy products from the factory!
Availability of fresh water and power
Factories need A LOT of water and power to make products. It is helpful if they are near a factory that makes energy or near a lake or river (e.g. Toronto).
Labour supply
Factories need a lot of people to work in them! These factories sometimes locate not only near a big population, but also near a college or university where people with skills would come from.
Transportation
Factories are located near roads, ports, railways where they can move their product quickly.
Service Industries (Tertiary)
Any business that provides services to other businesses and consumers (e.g. banking, insurance, retail, health care, transportation).
Knowledge Based Industries
Any business that provides services that use and process information (e.g. education, information technology, scientific research, journalism) Often called the quaternary sector but also included with the tertiary sector.
Cultural Industries
Any business involved in creating, producing, and distributing creative content (e.g. sports, the performing arts, film, radio) Often included with the
service sector
Waste Management
Planned Obsolescence
The practice of designing products to break quickly or become obsolete in the short to mid-term.
Perceived Obsolescence
When consumers believe a product is no longer useful or no longer holds value, so they purchase the newer model or upgrade that product.
Reduce To decrease the amount of garbage produced.
Reuse To extend the product by using it again, repairing it, or creating new uses for it
Recycle Collecting and reprocessing already manufactured materials into either the same product or something different
Incineration The removal or reduction of waste material by burning Canada incinerates less than 9% of its waste.
Tragedy of the commons
The commons:
The commons are defined as the elements of the environment - air, water, fisheries, forests, habitable land - that are shared, used, and enjoyed by all.
A theory by Garrett Hardin (1968)
When a resource is collectively owned by a group of people, each will overuse it (exploit) and ultimately destroy the resource.
Individuals make decisions based on their personal needs, regardless of the negative impact it may have on others.
Agriculture
Agriculture: Intensive vs. Extensive, Class 1-7 Land Quality
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE AGRICULTURE - LAND QUALITY
The Canadian Government conducted a land survey to determine the land's capability for agriculture:
Class 1 - 3: Suitable for farming
• 1 is excellent, 3 is good (but has some limitations)
Class 4 - 6: Serious limitations
• Only good for grazing
Fishing
Extraction Methods
Recreational fishing- Millions of dollars a year are made from recreational fishing, through tourism Sport fishing generates $380 million (2022) a year in GDP in British Columbia alone!
Subsistence fishing- A practice of fishing for personal consumption or for local,
community-based use, rather than for commercial sale or recreation.
Commercial fishing- The activity of capturing fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. Commercial fishing methods have become very efficient, using large nets and factory ships.
Extraction methods
Bycatch
Bycatch is a major global problem! The term bycatch refers to species that are caught in addition to the type of fish being fished for Bycatch can include other fish species, dolphins, small whales, turtles, and seabirds Over 300,000 small whales and dolphins die each year as a result of becoming entangled in fishing gear!
Forestry
Old-Growth Forest:
-A forest that has reached a great age
-A forest that has not had much disturbance
Why are they VERY important?
Beyond providing essential biodiversity (variety of life) and habitats for a wide range of species, the oldest trees in a forest capture the MOST carbon from the atmosphere! Cutting them down actually contributes to climate change!
Methods of harvesting:
Clear cutting
Loggers remove every tree and leave a barren landscape 90% of Canada's forests are cut this way Forestry companies prefer this method because it costs less and can be safer for loggers
Strip logging
Second strips cut Long strips of land are cleared of trees, leaving some islands of forests intact. Results in less soil erosion
Shelterwood logging
Cutting down some old trees and young trees to ensure a multi
age forest. This allows the younger trees to grow up without being exposed to too much sun or wino, which could harm them.
Selective logging
Select a specific type of tree to cut down. It is also used to remove diseased trees. Most expensive.
Mining
Extraction Methods:
Strip Mining
Cheapest, Only used for deposits located very close to the surface. Most severe environmental impact since very large areas of the surface must be disturbed.
Open Pit Mining
More expensive than strip mining. Used for minerals relatively close to the surface but deeper than can accessed by strip mining. Sometimes they are converted to landfills or they must undergo environmental reclamation (try to restore the area)
Underground Mining
Most expensive mining method. Uses a series of shafts and tunnels. Used to extract minerals that may be more than 1000m below the surface. Some underground mines can be more than 3000 m deep!
Fracking:Fracking involves pumping chemicals and water under high pressure into a well to fracture the rock, which allows natural gas or oil to escape from the rock.
Reclamation: Mine reclamation is the process of modifying land that has been mined to restore it to an ecologically functional or economically usable state.
Water
Earth's water supply
75% of earth is covered with water
97% is in the oceans
2% is in the ice caps and glaciers
1% we can use
70 % is surface water (lakes/rivers) and 30% is groundwater (aquifers)
8% is used for personal use (e.g. drinking, washing, toilet flushing etc)
70% goes towards agriculture
22% goes towards industry
Canada’s First Nations Communities
Canada is one of the wealthiest and most water-rich countries in the world. Yet many of its First Nations communities continue to lack safe drinking water- a basic human right. Many of these communities are under long-term drinking water advisories. These water advisories warn people to either boil before use, not to consume it, or avoid it altogether because of toxicity levels.
Amount of water used per Canadian and top 3 uses of water in the home
Canadians currently use an average of 335 litres (2024) of water per person, per day.
Top three highest percentages of daily water use in Canada
Unit 4: Human Geography
Population Density vs Population Distribution
Population Distribution: The pattern of where people live. Places which are sparsely populated contain few people. Places which are densely populated contain many people. Sparsely populated places tend to be difficult places to live. These are usually places with hostile environments (e.g. Northern Canada). Places which are densely populated are habitable environments (e.g.
Europe).
Population Density: The number of people per unit of area.
How to calculate Population Density: A measurement of the number of people in an area. It is calculated by dividing the number of people by land area. It is shown as the number of people per square kilometer
Migration
Immigration vs Emigration
Immigration- The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.
Emigration- The act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another; moving abroad.
Immigration Rate: The number of immigrants moving to a country per year per 1000 people. A country's immigration rate is calculated by dividing the number of immigrants by the population number and then multiplying the result
by 1000
Emigration Rate: The number of emigrants moving from a country per year per 1000 people. A country's emigration rate is calculated by dividing the number of emigrants by the population number and then multiplying the result by 1000.
Push Factors vs. Pull Factors
Push Factor- Factors that drive people to leave their previous location for a new place.
-Lack of employment and access to education
-Poor living conditions (e.g. Lack of access to proper housing, food, clean water, sanitation)
-Conflict, persecution, violence
-Limited rights and freedoms
-Environmental pressures and natural disasters
Pull Factor- Forces that attract people to new places and draw them away from their
previous location
-Opportunities for better employment and education
-Better living conditions le.g.
-Access to proper housing, food, clean water, sanitation)
-Safety, security, and peaceful conditions
-More rights and freedoms
-Better climate and natural resources
Family Class-
-Spouses or partners
-Dependent children (under 18)
-Parents
-Other relatives of Canadians
Economic Class-
-Skilled workers
-Business immigrants
-Experience class (have at least 12 months of experience working in
Canada)
-Live-in caregivers
Protected Persons Class-
-Refugees (people who move to another country because they fear for their safety)
Points System-
Economic class immigrants must qualify by passing a test that rates them on a points system
This system gives an applicant a certain number of points for specific criteria that the Canadian government has decided are desirable
-people ages 18 to 35 get 12 points
-people with masters degrees or PHD get 25 points
-people who are fluent in one of canada's official languages get 28 points.
- currently a person that gets 67 points to qualify for entry in Canada
Population Pyramids
Dependency Load
Dependency Load: Children and older adults are dependent on working adults, and are therefore called the dependency load. A high dependency load puts pressure on the working adults as they must provide education, housing, health care, senior's homes, etc.
Urban vs Rural vs suburb
Urban areas are areas where many people live and work, resulting in very development (e.g cities)
Rural areas are open piece of land that has few homes or other buildings, and not very many people (e.g. countryside)
Suburbs are areas on the outskirts of towns or cities where there are fewer big buildings and mainly houses, schools and shops.
Types of Urban Land Use
Residential- Residential land use refers to land that has been allocated to living space.
For example, consider your neighbour-hood. There may be a variety of dwellings that include single-family houses, townhouses, and apartment buildings, and these dwellings may vary in density and size.
Transportation Land Use- Transportation land use is another important designation in community planning. Moving people and goods from place to Place is made easier by roads, highways, subways, streetcars, trains, and airplanes.
Commercial Land Use- Commercial land use accounts for land that has been assigned to business activities, or the buying and selling of products and services.
These goods and services can be found along a main street, in a neighbourhood plaza, in a shopping mall, or in a set of big-box stores.
Industrial Land Use- Industrial land use refers to land allocated to factories (where goods are manufac-tured), warehouses, and other secondary industries. These areas are often located along major transportation routes, such as highways or rail lines. Access to such routes is important to the transport of goods to other markets.
Institutional Land Use- Institutional land use refers to urban land that is occupied by schools, hospi-tals, places of worship, and government offices.
Open Space and Recreational Land Use- Open space land use refers to land that has been left in its natural state. A forest is an example of open space. Paired with open space is recreational land use. Playgrounds, parks, golf courses, and sports fields are all examples of recreational land use.
Definitions for unit 4-
Urbanization- Growth in the percentage of a country’s population that lives in cities and towns. The amount of urbanization is increasing across the world! This happens because more people, including most immigrants, chose to live in large cities, where economic opportunities are greatist.
Urban Sprawl- Most urban growth in Canada has been outward, with cities taking over surrounding rural areas. This outward growth is called urban sprawl! Urban Sprawl places too much pressure on the natural environment and our limited supply of good agricultural land.
Greenbelt- The Greenbelt is a vast 800,000+ hectare area of protected farmland, forest and wetland stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough. It's meant to be permanently off limits to development.
Livability- Livability refers to the quality of life and the overall conditions that make a place suitable, comfortable, and desirable for people to live in.
How to calculate:
Birth Rate: The number of births in a population per year per 1000 people
A country's birth rate is calculated by dividing the number of births by the population number and then multiplying the result by 1000
Death Rate:The number of deaths in a population per year per 1000 people
A country's death rate is calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the population number and then multiplying the result by 1000