Geography Exam 2

Plate Tectonics; earth as a dynamic planet; interior structure of Earth: crust, mantle, core; lithosphere:
continental vs. oceanic; asthenosphere; lithospheric plates & their geographic location; plate boundaries;
framework for explaining various geologic phenomena; driver of plate tectonics: mantle convection currents
(due to Earth’s internal heat engine)
• Large-scale topographic features of Earth & Earth’s Hypsographic curve; total Earth relief, max.
elevation/depth; continental vs. oceanic crust (densities)
• Plate boundaries: occurrence of earthquakes, volcanism, stresses, topography; divergent/constructive,
convergent/destructive, transform/conservative;
• Mid-ocean ridges, basaltic volcanism, creation of new ocean floor, sea-floor spreading, magnetic stripes, age
distribution, elevation differences; spreading rates; break-up of continents; paleomagnetism & ocean floor
stripes – magnetization and age of seafloor; Iceland, rift valley;
• Subduction zones, subduction zone volcanism and earthquakes; trench; oceanic lithosphere (downgoing plate),
oceanic or continental lithosphere (overriding plate; continent-continent collision, sutures; mountain building;
continental magmatic arc vs. island arcs;
• Transform faults, San Andreas Fault/California; New Zealand
• Intraplate volcanism and mantle plumes (example: Hawaii)
• Video: Plate Tectonics
• Wilson Cycle
Birth, growth, and demise of oceans; continental rifting (East Africa), proto-ocean (Red Sea), mature ocean
(Atlantic Ocean), passive vs. active continental margins, shrinking ocean (West Pacific Ocean), “no ocean”
(Himalaya-Tibet collision system);
• Map exercise: plate boundary location; passive vs. active continental margins; continental shelf/slop/rise; abyssal
plains, abyssal hills, seamounts, seamount chains, guyots; trenches; island arcs; mountain formation – subduction
process, collision process, continental rifting (rift valleys and lakes of East Africa); islands – volcanic vs.
continental crust/cored
• Hypsographic curve: distribution of elevation/depth on planet Earth; explanation; importance of plate tectonics;
“upbuilding” (plate tectonic processes) vs. “downbringing” (gravity, erosion)
• Air temperature; measurement, measurement convention; temperature cycles; influencing factors: insolation,
latitude, surface type, coastal/interior location, elevation; surface temperature, net radiation, day/night,
conduction, sensible heat vs. latent heat, latent heat transfer, convection, air temperature vs. surface
temperature;
• Daily air temperature cycle; different days during the year, insolation, radiation/net radiation, temperature
profiles (max., min., occurrence of peaks/lows, seasonal changes); temperature profile – close to the ground;
graph analysis
• Urban vs. rural temperatures; urbanization – man-made changes; influence of vegetation, soils surfaces,
sealing effect of pavement, roofing, vertical structures, building materials, fuel consumption, waste heat; urban
heat island;
• High-mountain environments; change in air temperature, lapse rate; max., min. air temperatures, changes in
temperature ranges;
• Annual cycle of air temperature; influence of insolation and location (water vs. land); relationship net
radiation – mean monthly air temperature; illustration: Manaus, Hamburg, Aswan, Yakutsk: temperature
profiles, max. vs. min., range; land/water contrast – thermal differences, solar radiation penetration, specific
heat, mixing, evaporation
• World pattern of air temperature; air temperature maps, map projections, contour lines – isotherms;
construction of isotherms, contour interval; other isopleths (isohypse, isobar, isohyet); influencing factors:
latitude, season. Coastal/interior contrast, elevation, ice/snow albedo; patterns (maps!); annual range in air
temperature, patterns (map!); map analysis with exercise
• Inventory of world’s water; analysis of tables; geography of rivers, discharge, length, drainage area/basin;
geography of lakes, fresh-water vs. salt-water lakes; total water on Earth, salt water vs. fresh water; reservoirs

for each, magnitudes, geographic locations; residence time(s); oceans; polar ice caps/ice sheets, glaciers; lakes,
rivers, streams; groundwater; soil water; atmospheric water vapor;
• Hydrologic cycle; states of water: solid vs. liquid vs. gas; changes in states: melting, freezing, evaporation,
condensation. Sublimation, deposition; latent energy transfer; hydrosphere; cycle: reservoirs, processes, rates;
importance of solar energy; precipitation; interception; evaporation, influencing factors; transpiration;
infiltration, influencing factors; runoff, surface runoff, subsurface storm runoff; deep percolation &
groundwater recharge; groundwater flow, baseflow/groundwater runoff; sediment transport, heat transport,
aquatic organisms; human influences on the hydrologic cycle
• Earth Materials: definition of rock & mineral, distinction; the rock cycle; igneous/magmatic rocks, magma,
extrusive/volcanic vs. intrusive/plutonic; texture-crystal size; melting, cooling, crystallization; basalt, andesite,
rhyolite, granite, diorite, gabbro; sedimentary rocks, sediment, clastic, chemical, organic; detrital – grain size
differences; conglomerate, sandstone, shale; limestone; weathering, erosion, transport, deposition,
diagenesis/lithification (compaction + cementation); metamorphic rocks, metamorphism (temperature +
pressure increase); slate, schist, gneiss; marble;
• Video: The Rock Cycle
• Video: The Human World
Humans as a “geographic” force – influencing the surface of the Earth; Humanity’s impact on nature; also:
nature’s impact on humanity (i.e., climate/climate change; natural hazards)
• Biogeography; ecological vs. historical biogeography; process emphasis; ecological biogeography - influencing
environmental factors; water need, adaptation, xerophytes, phreatophytes, succulents, tropophytes, sclerophylls,
deciduous vs. evergreen trees; water storage, leaf characteristics, life cycle; temperature; light; wind;
bioclimatic frontiers; geomorphic factors, slope steepness, slope aspect, relief, drainage, soil thickness, exposure
to sun light/wind; microclimates; edaphic factors, soil type, organic matter content, water storage; interaction
among species: competition, predation, parasitism, symbiosis, herbivory; distribution patterns, biogeographic
regions, biogeographic maps