GEO Exam Notes 10HR Compilation PDF

UNIT 1: What is geography? Geo = earth Graph = write Geography = earth description Geography is the study of the physical and natural features of the Earth, and how humans interact with them. Why is geography important? This natural science examines the Earth’s surface and the patterns/processes t...

UNIT 1: What is geography? Geo = earth Graph = write Geography = earth description Geography is the study of the physical and natural features of the Earth, and how humans interact with them. Why is geography important? This natural science examines the Earth’s surface and the patterns/processes that shape it. The human part of geography is considered a social science. Geography especially looks at the relationship between people and the Earth’s physical environment. To understand our relationship with the Earth,geographers ask questions and search for answers to problems. By exploring these problems, we can make better, wiser decisions for the future Geography inquiry model: what where, why there, why care? Physical geo: The study of where and why natural forces occur as they do (climates, landforms, vegetation) Human geo: The study of where and why human activities are located where they are (religions, business, cities) 5 Themes of geography: MRHELP Movement, Region, Human environment interaction, location, place Movement -​ Movement of people (cars, trucks, planes, migration) -​ movement of products (ships, cargo planes, trains) -​ Movement of ideas (phones, internet, social media, news) Region -​ defined on the basis of shared physical, political, or human traits which help geographers classify them more easily -​ Formal region: a region defined by actual boundaries or unique common traits (provinces/states, continents, landforms e.g., Rocky Mountain region) -​ Functional region: regions defined by a function (area code, timezone, political riding e.g., Markham-Stouffville) -​ Vernacular region: regions defined by people’s perceptions (Middle East, Little Italy, Dirty South) Human-environment interactions How do people interact with and change their environment? We depend on the environment. Ex. People depend on rivers for water and​ transportation. We adapt to the environment. Ex. We adapt to the environment by wearing​ clothing suitable for summer (shorts) and​ winter (coates/heaters), rain and shine. We modify the environment. Ex. We bulldoze forests to build skyscrapers Location Absolute Location -​ Is given in degrees of latitude and longitude (global location) or a street address (local location). Relative Location -​ Relative location depends upon point of reference. Eg. Near, far, a short drive. -​ Described by landmarks, time, cardinal direction or distance. Place Physical Characteristics -​Landforms (mountains, plains, etc.), bodies of water (oceans, lakes, bays, etc.), ecosystems (soil, plants, animals, and climate) Human Characteristics -​ Bridges, roads, buildings, culture, languages, beliefs. -​ All places have features that distinguish them from other places. MAPS: Military Grids: - alphanumeric 6 point is more precise than 4 point Always read right and up Start at southwest point of location Latitude/ Longitude Longitude/meridians go up and down on the earth, parallel to latitude, no 0 degree Latitude, equator is line of latitude at 0 degrees Time Zones: 24 total time zones around earth, each 1 hour apart and 15 degrees wide Time zones east of greenwich england (0degrees) are ahead 1 hour for every timezone And those who are to the west of greenwich are behind 1 hour every timezone International dateline (180 degrees) determines your day (ahead or behind) Some locations lie in the middle of a timezone so they are adjusted by intervals of 30 mins Canada spans 6 timezones -​ Newfoundland time zone -​ Atlantic time zone -​ Eastern time zone -​ Central time zone -​ Mountain time zone -​ Pacific time zone Map of Canada (Ottawa) Ontario (Toronto) Eastern Manitoba (Winnipeg) Central ALberta (Edmonton) Mountain BC (Victoria) Pacific Saskatchewan (Regina) Quebec (Quebec City) Eastern New Brunswick (Fredrickton)Atlantic Nova Scotia (Halifax) Atlantic PEI (Charlottetown) Atlantic​ Newfoundland + Labrador (St. John’s) Newfoundland Yukon (whitehorse) Pacific NWT (yellowknife) Mountain Nunavut (iqualit) Central/Mountain UNIT 2 The Earth formed over 4.6 billion years ago out of a mixture of dust and gas around the young sun. It grew larger thanks to countless collisions between dust particles, asteroids, and other growing planets, including one last giant impact that threw enough rock, gas, and dust into space to form the moon. Crust(5-25mi), Upper Mantle(900mi), Lower Mantle (900mi), Outer Core (1400mi), Inner core (800mi) GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE CENOZOIC ERA - current geological era, dating back 66 million years MESOZOIC ERA - dinosaurs (triassic, jurassic cretaceous), dates back 66-255 million years​ PALEOZOIC ERA - fish diversified and marine organisms were abundant, dates back 541 to 251.9 million years ago PRECAMBRIAN ERA - continents formed, atmosphere formed, early life developed/flourished, dates back ~4600 million years CONTINENTAL DRIFT: -​ Introduced in 1915 by Alfred Wegner (german scientist) -​ He suggested that all continents were once joined together in a super continent called Pangea (greek word meaning all lands) -​ 200 million years ago, pangea split up and formed into the continents we know today -​ Proved his theory due to the seemingly able fit of south america and africa’s coastlines. -​ Also found fossils of the same plants and animals on both continents (could only happen if they were once connected before) -​ Mountains similar in range, age, and structure on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean -​ Ice sheets and glaciers covered South america, india and australia (could only happen in such a warm place if they were all once closer to the south pole) THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS: -​ 1968 new theory arose, discovered by Canadian scientist John Tuzo Wilson known as PLATE TECTONICS -​ Suggests that earth’s crust is broken into 12-14 plates(large+small) -​ Constantly moving relative to each other since they are sitting on a squishy mantle -​ Scientists believe that a convection current in the mantle is what causes the movement -​ A convection current is the movement of a gas or liquid due to the change in temperature -​ The mantle rock close to the centre of the earth is hot. The rock farther away is cooler. The hot rock rises and the cooler rock sinks. As the cooler rock gets closer to the earth's centre, it heats up. Then it rises. This process repeats itself in an endless cycle. The crustal plates are carried along like packages on a moving conveyor belt. ALL TECTONIC PLATES (7 largest to smallest): -​ Pacific plate -​ North american plate -​ Eurasian plate -​ African plate -​ Antarctic plate -​ Indo australian plate -​ South american plate PLATE BOUNDARIES -​ A boundary exists between two plates that have interacted -​ Three types of plate boundaries (divergent, convergent and transform/sliding) -​ As the plates move, they are diverging (pulling apart) converging (coming together) or transforming -​ Such activities are so great they cause earthquakes, volcanic activity and tremors that can change the Earth’s surface DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES -​ Divergence is when plates move apart -​ Divergent boundaries form when new crust is created when two plates move apart -​ Magma from deep underground wells up like a scab and form the new crust -​ 2 types: continental and oceanic -​ Rifting occurs at divergent boundaries -​ Oceanic divergent boundaries split open the ocean floor, allowing magma to seep through creating rock and new land via a rift volcano -​ When a divergent boundary occurs on land, a rift/separation will arise -​ Over time that land will split apart into distinct land masses and the water will fill the surrounding spaces. CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES -​ Convergence is when two plates collide (opposite of divergent) -​ One plate subducts/goes under the other plate, creating what we call a subduction zone -​ 3 types (oceanic-continental, oceanic-oceanic, continental-continental) -​ Oceanic-continental is when the denser oceanic plate (due to water) subducts under the continental/lighter plate and creates a trench (opposite of a ridge) -​ As the heavier oceanic plate subducts, it goes deep enough to to run into magma then rises to the surface creating a subduction volcano on the surface of the continental plate -​ oceanic -oceanic is when 2 oceanic plates collide, one subducts creating a deep trench, subduction volcanoes form on the side that doesn’t subduct/upper plate -​ Continental-continental is when 2 continental plates collide creating mountain ranges and volcanoes instead TRANSFORM/SLIDING BOUNDARIES -​ When two plates (both oceanic and continental) slide beside each other in opposite directions -​ When they slide past, they sometimes get stuck, the pressure builds up and is released in forms of earthquakes -​ NO NEW LAND IS CREATED LANDFORM REGIONS -​ A landform regions is an area of the earth with unique physical features -​ The seven landform regions of Canada -​ Western Cordillera -​ Interior plains -​ Canadian Shield -​ Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Lowlands -​ Appalachians -​ Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands -​ Innuitian Mountains CANADIAN SHIELD Location: – Covers more than half of Canada, including most of Nunavut, Quebec, Labrador, Ontario, and Manitoba, and a large part of Saskatchewan and lesser parts of Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Physical Features: – Relatively flat with rounded hills of metamorphic rock, which are actually the roots of ancient mountains – Some of the world’s oldest rocks can be found here, at or near the surface of the ground – In the last ice-age, glaciers scraped soil away and formed many small lakes Biological Features: – Covered by boreal forest in the south, and tundra in the north Resources: – Sparsely populated, farming is poor due to thin soil – Rock contains large quantities of metallic minerals such as lead, gold, nickel, copper and zinc WESTERN CORDILLERA Location: – Along the western edge of Canada, covering most of Yukon territory and British Columbia and western Alberta. Physical Features: – Range of high, sharp-peaked mountains separated by plateaus and valleys, running North to South – Created recently by the collision of the North American and Pacific plates Biological Features: – Herbs, lichens and shrubs at higher elevations and various types of coniferous forest and grasslands at lower elevations Resources: – Lightly populated, travel is difficult – Rich in minerals, timber, and sources of hydro electricity APPALACHIANS Location: – Covers some of southern Quebec, and most of the Atlantic Provinces Physical Description: – Oldest highland region in Canada, created when the North American plate collided with Europe and Africa about 300 million years ago – EROSION has rounded the mountains over time, creating a landscape of rolling mountains and hills Biological Description: – The Appalachians are characterized by large deciduous broadleaf (hardwood) trees. – During the 19th and early 20th centuries the Appalachian forests were subject to severe, destructive logging and land clearing Resources: – Long ocean bays provide deep harbours for ocean freighters – Sedimentary rock rich in non-metallic minerals such as coal, with some igneous and metamorphic rock containing metallic minerals such as iron and zinc INNUITIANS Location: – A mountain range in Canada's Arctic territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories Physical Description: – In some locations they measure over 2,500 meters in height, and 1290 km in length – Shaped at a time when the North American Plate moved northward – They are younger than the Appalachians, and so erosion has not yet rounded them significantly Biological Features: – They are above the tree line, preventing any vegetation from existing Resources: – Largely unexplored, due to the hostile climate. They are named after the northern indigenous people, who live in the region. GREAT LAKES-ST. LAWRENCE LOWLANDS Location: – South of the Canadian Shield in Ontario and Quebec – Smallest landform region in Canada Physical Description: – Glaciers deposited a huge amount of soil, sand and gravel here, creating a landscape of flat plains with small hills and deep river valleys – The great lakes are located in basins gouged out by the glaciers Biological Features: – Prior heavy farming and urban sprawl, this area was home to large mixed forests Resources: – 50% of Canada’s population lives here – 70% of Canada’s manufacturing industries and located here – Well-suited to farming because of excellent soils and warm climate INTERIOR PLAINS Location: – Extends through the middle of Canada from North to South, covering most of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and some of NWT and Manitoba Physical Features: – Very flat, with deep, fertile soil – Created when sediments from the Shield and the Rocky Mountains were deposited in shallow inland seas and compressed into layers of sedimentary rock – Cold winters, hot summers Biological Features: – The southern part of the interior plains is mostly treeless, with grasses and herbs – The northern part is home to a belt of coniferous trees called the boreal forest, which extends from the Rocky Mountains all the way across Canada to Newfoundland, with Spruce, tamarack, and poplar being the most prominent species Resources: – Extensively used for farming wheat and cattle – Known as Canada’s “Bread Basket” – Sedimentary rock contains rich mineral, coal, oil and gas deposits ARCTIC-HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS Location: – A series of islands located in Canada’s far north and north of Canadian Shield but south of Hudson Bay. Physical Description: – Low-lying, barren islands with coastlines ranging from extensive lowlands to spectacular cliffs – Summer is brief, but sunny, it is cold and frozen in the winter – It is dark all day in the winter and light all day in the summer Biological Features: – Sparsely vegetated, with vast seemingly lifeless areas Resources: – The ground is mostly composed of permafrost, making construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS Location: – Around the southwestern shore of the Hudson Bay and James Bay in Ontario and Quebec Physical Features: – This is a layer of sedimentary rock rests on top of the underlying Shield – Flat low area covered by bogs and fens, and dotted with ponds, lakes and streams Biological Features: – Mostly muskeg or peat-forming wetlands – The region is famous for its polar bears – Caribou migrate to the area in summer WEATHERING - the process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere. EROSION - the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents. CLIMOGRAPHS- Left side is temperature in celsius Right side is precipitation in mm Blue bars are measure of precipitation Red line it temperature Green is growing season (temperatures greater than 6 degrees celsius) Avg. annual temperature - all monthly temperatures/12 Subtract lowest temperature from highest (>25 = continental (larg),