Name:Date:World Geography – Period:

World Geography: Final Exam Review

  1. What caused the large cities of the Prairie provinces of Canada develop?
  2. railroads
  1. What are the most common ecosystems / biomes found in the U.S. and Canadian regions?
  2. Northeast: Deciduous Forests
  3. Midwest: Temperate Grasslands
  4. South: Mixed Forests
  5. West: Coniferous Forests; Desert; Highlands
  6. Canada: Coniferous Forests; Tundra; Marine West Coast (British Columbia)
  1. How have Canada and the U.S. been linked throughout most of their history?
  2. their economies and culture
  1. What are the major landforms that the U.S. and Canada share?
  2. Rocky Mts.; Great Plains; Great Lakes; Appalachian Mts.
  1. What is the Canadian Shield? Where is it located?
  2. vast expanse of ancient rock left by glaciers; around the Hudson Bay
  1. What do the populations of the U.S. and Canada have in common?
  2. high standard of living; culturally diverse; long life expectancy; predominantly urban lifestyle
  1. Why haven’t the mineral and oil deposits in the Canadian territories been developed?
  • Harsh climates and rugged terrain make mining and drilling difficult and expensive
  1. How can the population distribution of Canada be described?
  2. most Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border
  1. Why are Canada’s climates colder than the U.S.?
  2. Canada’s latitudes are farther away from the Equator than the U.S.
  1. What landform dominates the South American continent?
  2. Andes Mts
  1. What river is the largest, and second longest in the world? What country is it located?
  2. Amazon River; Brazil
  1. What is El Nino? How does it affect climate of the U.S. and Latin America?
  2. Pacific warm water ocean current; changes rainfall patterns
  1. What are the Llanos and Pampas? What countries are they located?
  2. Grasslands of South America; Venezuela and Argentina
  1. Where do most of the people in Latin America live?
  2. Large, urban areas
  1. What natural resource dominates the Venezuelan & Mexican economies?
  2. Oil
  1. What is NAFTA? What did NAFTA do? How did it affect Mexico?
  2. North America Free Trade Agreement
  3. it increased manufacturing jobs in Mexico
  1. What is a Mestizo?
  2. a person with Spanish and Native ancestors
  3. most of Latin American population are mestizos
  1. Where is the world’s largest rainforest located? What is the biggest threat to the rainforest today?
  2. Brazil, surrounding the Amazon River
  3. Deforestation
  1. What type of landform is the continent of Europe?
  2. peninsula
  1. List and explain 2 examples of how Western European nations have cooperated on political and economic issues:
  2. European Union – a cooperative economic organization designed to align and improve European economy through the elimination of trade barriers ad workforce restrictions
  3. NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization; designed as a defense/military alliance.
  1. What are the Pyrenees Mts.?
  2. a mountain wall between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. They are not as tall as the Alps, but are very rugged.
  1. What are the definitions of socialism and secular?
  2. Socialism – an economic system in which control is shared by the government and private businesses
  3. Secular - the separation of religion and all else in life. People keep their religion stays private for the most part and not in the workplace.
  1. How can the population growth of Western Europe be described? Why is it this way?
  2. Europe has maintained a zero population growth for several years.
  3. People wait longer for marriage and kids; many couples do not have kids; emigration to better climates and more opportunities.
  1. Why are northern and southern parts of Europe so different in terms of culture?
  2. natural barriers
  3. different histories
  4. different climates
  1. List and explain 4 examples of how humans have changed the environment in Western Europe:
  2. Chunnel
  3. How has this example affected the people of Europe?
  4. People can get from England to France a lot quicker and a lot cheaper using the Chunnel leading to increased cultural convergence.
  5. How has this example effected the environment of Europe?
  6. Pollution from the building of the Chunnel. Possibility of cave-ins during construction.
  7. Gotthard Rail Tunnel
  8. How has this example affected the people of Europe?
  9. Makes it easier and faster for ideas and goods to cross the Alps from Northern and Southern Europe; increased cultural convergence
  10. How has this example affected the environment of Europe?
  11. Pollution from the building of the tunnel. Possibility of cave-ins and avalanches during the initial phases of construction.
  12. Canals of Venice
  13. How has this example affected the people of Europe?
  14. The city of Venice only has 270,000 residents, but millions of people come to view the canals annually. Tourism means money for the economy, and a good economy helps the lives of the residents.
  15. How has this example effected the environment of Europe?
  16. The Canals are always in danger of flooding, and they are very polluted and unsanitary.
  17. Netherlands’ Dikes
  18. How has this example affected the people of Europe?
  19. The energy they get from the wind turbines helps with the economy which improves the standard of living for the people of the Netherlands.
  20. How has this example effected the environment of Europe?
  21. Reclaiming land from the sea using an elaborate system of dikes has created an abundant energy source with the wind farms and thereby lessening the dependency on pollution producing forms of energy. Flooding and current changes can be an issue.
  1. Define Animism. What are the beliefs of the followers of Animism?
  2. Religion in Africa celebrated by most traditional, tribal Africans
  3. All living and inanimate objects have a spirit and should be respected and or feared; shaman is the go-between for the spirit world and human world
  1. What can be done in Africa to limit the effect that AIDS has on the continent?
  2. Education; better healthcare; use of birth control that helps against STD (condoms)
  1. What is the “Arab Spring?”
  2. A season of protests and rebellions in North Africa that led to new governments and policy changes in North African Arab nations. This occurred in winter 2010 and Spring 2011. It began in Tunisia; some nations suffered violent protests.
  1. What is “Apartheid?” Which African country was apartheid an official government policy? How long did apartheid last approximately? Who was elected as the first non-white president in the above country?
  2. Political policy that separated whites and blacks in South Africa
  3. South Africa
  4. 50 Years
  5. Nelson Mandela
  1. Genocide has been a problem for Africa in its recent past. What is genocide?
  2. the intentional destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group
  1. What was the purpose of the Berlin Conference?
  2. It was a conference in which the European nations met to divide Africa into European colonies. France and Great Britain received most of the land. No African nations were represented at the conference. This prevented war between European nations over African lands.
  1. Describe the Sahara and the Sahel.
  2. Sahara: North Africa; largest desert in the world
  3. Sahel: dry natural barrier that separates the Sahara from Sub-Sahara Africa and the rainforest
  1. What economic activities dominate the African continent?
  2. The majority of Africans are nomadic herders or subsistence farmers. There are other important economic activities such as oil in North Africa, mining, and commercial farming.
  1. What are the major river systems of Africa? Describe each. (location, pop. density, etc.)
  2. Nile: East and Northeast Africa; largest in world; most people live along Nile; surrounded by desert.
  3. Niger: West Africa; third largest in Africa; transportation and irrigation
  4. Congo: largest in Central Africa; second largest in Africa; cuts through rainforest
  1. How did oil change the economy of SW Asia?
  2. Countries where oil was found in SW Asia governments became richer but the people remained poor;
  3. Nomadic herders and farmers to oil drillers and refiners; small communities to large cities; little technology to high technology
  1. How and why did Israel become an independent nation?
  2. The United Nations gave part of the area known as Palestine to the Jews; because of widespread support after WW2 and the Holocaust
  1. Define Monotheism.
  2. the belief in one all-powerful god
  1. What do Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have in common?
  2. Belief in one all-powerful god – God of Abraham; Jerusalem is a holy city; God’s covenant with Abraham
  1. List and explain the “Five Pillars of Islam.”
  2. Shahada – public declaration of faith and trust in Allah (God) and teachings of Muhammad
  3. Salat – 5 times daily prayer facing towards Mecca (east)
  4. Zakat – giving to charity / poor
  5. Sawn – fasting during Ramadan
  6. Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca
  1. Israel has been able to repel and defeat the militaries of most Arab nations that are many times larger. Why does Israel have one of the strongest militaries in the world?
  2. Israel receives equipment, support, and money from the United Nations, and the United States
  1. What two rivers create the “Fertile Crescent?”
  2. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
  1. How have the people of East Asia modified/adapted to their environment to maximize agricultural production?
  2. Because so much of the land is unusable, the farmers have to use terrace farming.
  1. What is the Ring of Fire? What occurs along the Ring of Fire? Where is the Ring of Fire located?
  2. A ring of volcanic mountains surrounding the Pacific Ocean
  3. Volcanoes and Earthquakes
  4. Surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
  1. What was the Great Leap Forward program? Who instituted it? What were the results of the Great Leap Forward?
  2. Mao Zedong’s plan to change China into a modern country by increasing the population, increasing the production of steel and capital goods, and increasing agricultural productivity by forming collective farms and people’s communes
  3. Mao Zedong
  4. China’s population more than doubled in 40 yrs. – went from 550 million to 1.1 billion, production did NOT increase and China could not support a population that big.
  1. Who succeeded Mao Zedong? What program did he implement? What were the results of this program?
  2. Deng Xiaoping
  3. 4 Modernizations
  4. Uneven growth and income gap, urbanization, urban poor, crime, corrupt police, the economy quadrupled and daily life improved.
  1. What are the Special Economic Zones of SE China? Why were they created by the Chinese government?
  2. Geographical regions that have economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than China’s typical or national laws
  3. To attract foreign companies, technology, and capital.
  1. How can the Chinese language be described?
  2. Ideograms, not phonetic, symbols represent ideas or things. Need to learn 2,000-3,000 symbols to be able to read a newspaper, and learn 20,000+ symbols to master the language.
  1. Describe how the Korean War started. How long did it last? What were the results? How can relations of the Korean Peninsula be described today?
  2. North Korea launched a surprise attack on South Korea to unite the peninsula under communist rule
  3. 3 years
  4. 4 million people died
  5. there is a cease-fire treaty in place, and a demilitarized zone on the 38th parallel. Still divided and still hostile.
  1. What are the main factors in Japans climate?
  2. Latitude
  3. Elevation
  4. Ocean Currents
  1. What type of economic activity are most South East Asians involved in?
  2. Subsistence farming and fishing
  1. Which ecosystem is most common in Vietnam?
  2. Tropical Rainforest
  1. What do most Vietnamese people, who live along the Mekong and Red River, do to adapt to their environment?
  2. They elevate their houses on poles/stilts to avoid problems with flooding
  1. What are the 10 geographic qualities of South East Asia?
  2. Land (peninsulas and islands), culture (different languages and religions), powerful foreign influences, political instability and conflict, dense population even in rural areas, poor communication within the region, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, no dominant state, emergence of Newly Industrialized Countries i.e. Singapore, former colonial domination of the region.
  1. How does Singapore differ from the rest of South East Asia?
  2. It is a small, but wealthy country.
  1. What product is farmed the most in Southeast Asia?
  2. rice
  1. Describe the native Aborigines of Australia.
  2. Crossed over from Asia via a land bridge 50,000 years ago
  3. Nomadic hunters and gatherers
  4. Few material possessions
  5. 250 languages
  6. Deep respect for nature and land
  7. Humans have the responsibility for taking care of the earth
  8. Killed by European diseases and weapons
  9. Rich oral tradition
  1. Why do Australians suffer from skin cancer? What are some of the ways Australians try to reduce exposure to UV rays and skin cancer rates?
  2. they live under one of the holes in the ozone layer.
  3. no hat – no play rules for school kids
  4. promotion of using sunscreen
  1. How many species of fish swim in the Pacific? Other than fishing what type of economic activities happen in the Pacific?
  2. 13,000
  3. Natural resources (pearls, manganese, copper, nickel, oil, natural gas)
  4. Tourism
  1. What are continental islands, volcanic islands, and atolls? Give an example of each.
  2. Continental Islands = islands that were once connected to a continent; erosion, plate tectonics, or rising water levels caused them to disconnect; New Zealand
  3. Volcanic Islands = islands that started as underwater volcanoes; Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa
  4. Atoll = It is formed when a volcanic island surrounded by a coral reef sinks beneath the sea; Kwajalein Island
  1. List six facts about Antarctica
  2. it’s bigger than Canada (14 million sq. km.)
  3. no one country controls Antarctica
  4. coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth
  5. worldwide agreement that prevents militaries, miners, and oil drillers on it
  6. it has 70% of the world’s fresh water
  7. the ice is slowly melting