Geographical Terms Quiz

Geographical Terms

• Contiguous: Areas sharing a common border.
• Tributary: A smaller stream/river flowing into a larger one.
• Headwater: A stream/river near its source.
• Colony: An area controlled by another country.
• Fall Line: A point of land sloping downward.
• Hurricane: A violent storm forming over water, travelling onto land.
• Fossil Fuel: Natural fuel (coal or gas).
• Dryland Farming: Farming method in arid regions conserving moisture.
• Rust Belt: Northeastern and Midwestern US, declining industries.
• Sunbelt: Region with high sunshine.
• Megalopolis: A large city/urban region.
• Peninsula: Land surrounded by water on three sides.
• Timberline: Elevation where trees stop growing.
• Aqueduct: Structure carrying water from one place to another.
• Refugee: Person escaping war/ill-treatment/disaster.
• Migrant: Person traveling to another country temporarily.
• Immigrant: Person living in a different country from their birth/citizenship.
• Indigenous: Native to a particular area.
• Suburb: Area outside of a city/town.
• Province: A division of a country.
• Convergence: Air streams meeting.
• Divergence: Air streams separating.
• Epidemic: Sickness affecting many in a community that lasts.
• Pandemic: Sickness affecting a region/large population.
• Cultural Hearth: Origin point of a culture.
• Push Factors: Reasons people leave an area.
• Pull Factors: Reasons people move to a place.
• Inuit: Indigenous people of Northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska.
• Commodity: Marketable agricultural raw material.
• Diverse: Showing variety.
• Clear Cutting: Removing trees from an area.
• Acid Rain: Precipitation with acidic components.
• Smog: Fog formed by air pollution.
• Ethnicity: Cultural group based on ancestry.

Cultural and Societal Terms

• Bilingual: Person/group speaking two languages.
• Culture: Arts, traditions, and food of a group.
• Jazz: African American music form (19th-20th centuries).
• Service Industry: Businesses serving customers.
• Foreclosure: Taking away property for unpaid mortgage.
• Indigenous: Native to a certain area.
• Colony: An area controlled by another country.
• Indigenous: Native to a certain area.
• Suburb: Area outside city/town.
• Refugee: Person escaping war/ill-treatment/disaster.

Economic and Political Terms

• Agribusiness: Commercial agriculture using technology.
• Colonization: Populating and changing an area.
• Maquiladora: Mexico factory exporting to other countries.
• Metropolitan Area: High socio-economic influence area.
• Mission: Spanish institutions in 16th-19th centuries (converting natives).
• Asylum: Protection granted by a nation to a refugee.
• Secede: To withdraw from a union.
• Reservation: Land set aside for indigenous people.
• Federal Republic: Government with elected representatives.
• Underground Railroad: Escape route for enslaved persons during the Civil War.