World Geography Semester Review

1. World GeographySemester Review Spring 2009

2. #1 • Because of the Industrial Revolution, Europe transformed from agricultural society to one with a reliance on industry. 

3. #2 • What happened to European cities as a result of the Industrial Revolution? • They grew larger in size. (Illness, pollution, and overcrowding also increased.) 

4. #3 • Why was the European Union (EU) created? • To give Europe a single market 

5. #4 • What advantages to the continent does the European River system provide? • They provide ways of travel/ transportation and a trade system. + =

6. #5 • Nickname for the Bubonic Plague is • BLACK PLAGUE or BLACK DEATH Nose filled with posies - To mask the smell of death and to “protect” doctors from getting ill Spread along trade routes

7. #6 • What two countries make up the Iberian Peninsula? • Spain and Portugal Iberian Peninsula controls access to the Mediterranean Sea

8. #7 • Why did Britain depend on colonial trade for many resources? • Resources needed to further industrialization and increase the size of the British Empire were abundant in the colonies. 

9. #8 • What countries make up the Scandinavian Peninsula? • Norway, Sweden, northern Finland

10. #9 • Who built the Berlin Wall? Why? • East Germany (supported by Communist USSR), to keep the East Berliners from escaping to free West Berlin  Post WWII After the fall of the Soviet Union

11. #10 • What country in the 1990s saw warfare between Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims? • Yugoslavia

12. #11 • Why is the Aral Sea shrinking? • People are redirecting massive amounts of water from the two rivers that feed into the Aral Sea, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya Rivers, for irrigation.

13. #12 • Which mountain range divides the continents of Europe and Asia? • Ural Mountains

14. #13 • What environmental disaster happened in 1986 in the Ukraine and what was the impact? • Chernobyl explosion/radiation poison caused and still causes great illness there today =

15. #14 • Why do Russian architects use onion domes? • Heavy snow does not stay on them, which is important for the cold, snowy winters there.

16. #15 • How and why did the Soviet Union come to an end? • Gorbechev began to give the Soviet people more freedoms which led to the collapse and 15 independent republics formed from it. http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geogres/maps/rugif/rufrmusr.gif

17. #16 • What is the taiga and where is it located? • Vast coniferous forest region in Russia’s Siberian region

18. #17 • Why was Europe the birthplace of modern industry? • Europe has iron and coal reserves, both important to the industrialized society.

19. #18 • What English document greatly influenced the Declaration of Independence? How did it impact the Declaration? • English Bill of Rights – The same ideas are included in the Declaration of Independence

20. #19 • Why do European countries need to import many foreign workers today? • They have lost many of their working-aged people in civil and world wars.

21. #20 • Why does Western Europe have a relatively mild climate? • North Atlantic Drift brings warm ocean currents and makes it warmer there.

22. #21 • In the former Soviet Union’s command economy, industry was controlled by whom? Of the three economic systems (market, command, traditional), how was the Soviet Union’s system characterized? • controlled by central government, and it was a command economy One brand: price set by government, who tells you what you need, how many and why

23. #22 • What is happening to the Sahel region in Africa and why? • It is drying out from nomadic herding in West Africa. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thompsoncw/2196614283/ http://www.un.org/radio/photo/desertification.gif

24. #23 • Why do you think Africa’s abundance of natural resources has not translated into economic wealth for most of its population? • Europe’s colonization of Africa in the 1800s – most of the resources were taken for Europeans, and then Africa was left to fend for themselves – exploitation of the people and the resources. http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/g101ilec/ssa/afh/afcol/afcolfr.htm

25. #24 • What is desertification? Where are some of the examples in which this is happening? • The process by which arable land turns to desert: West Africa in the Sahel, Madagascar due to slash and burn farming, the “Dust Bowl” region of the United States in the 1930s, and in China

26. http://www.geo.umn.edu/courses/1001/Summer_Session/Desertification.jpghttp://www.geo.umn.edu/courses/1001/Summer_Session/Desertification.jpg

27. #25 • What is the purpose of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt? What are some of the problems created by this dam? • Gives farmers in Egypt and the Sudan a ready supply of irrigation water, which allows them 2 or 3 harvests instead of just one. Problems include the relocation of people during construction, which changed their way of life. Temples were moved or lost under the newly formed Lake Nasser. It also decreased the fertility of the soil around the Nile. http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan04/images/highaswan.jpg

28. #26 • How did the Berlin Conference change Africa? • Strengthened European rule in the region, set African groups against each other, split apart similar language and ethnic groups. Led by King Leopold II of Belgium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Leopold_ii_garter_knight.jpg

29. #27 • How has AIDS affected the population in Southern Africa? • In 2000, 26 million African people live with AIDS. 2.4 million of the 3 million who died of AIDS that year were from sub-Saharan Africa. 3 out of 4 deaths in Swaziland are attributed to AIDS. Life expectancies have dropped significantly.

30. #28 • From which regions in Africa did most of the American slaves originate? Why? • The western part, which was on the trade route between Europe and the Americas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade

31. #29 • How has European colonization affected Africa? • It has led to many of the political violence and ethnic conflicts that exist today.

32. #30 • What are some economic problems African countries face today? What caused these problems?

33. #31 • Why was the desalinization process developed in SW Asia? • This transformation of sea water to fresh water was developed because of limited water resources. 

34. #32 • There is no #32!! • Skip it

35. #33 • What are some reasons that the majority of people in Russia live west of the Ural Mountains? • Trade with European countries, resources, climate

36. #34 • What is the purpose of OPEC? • Most oil is located in the Persian Gulf countries in the Middle East. OPEC was started to give the countries group strength in setting prices and controlling production of oil

37. #35 • How did the creation of the nation of Israel increase tension in the region? • Land was taken from Palestinians and given to Israel

38. #36 • What areas did Israel occupy after the 6 Day war in 1967? • Israel gained the Sinai Peninsula

39. #37 • Why is the control of the Strait of Hormuz important in the Middle East? • Whoever controls the Strait of Hormuz controls entrance to the Persian Gulf, where all the oil is.

40. #38 • What was the Silk Road and why was it important? • Trade route from China to the Western World – major reason for cultural diffusion The Silk Road extending from Southern Europe through Arabia, Egypt, Persia, India till it reaches China http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silk_Route

41. #39 • What has rapid population growth in cites in Asia done to their infrastructure? • Inadequate water supply, lack of sanitary facilities, overcrowded neighborhoods

42. #40 • What affect do monsoons have on South Asia? • Summer monsoons bring heavy rains that may wipe out crops. Winter monsoons bring dry air that may cause drought

43. Summer and Winter Monsoons Summer Winter http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/circulation/regional_scale_wind.htm

44. #41 • What river in India is considered sacred to all Hindus? Why? • The Ganges, where they drink, bathe, scatter the ashes of their dead, etc. They believe it brings life to its people. It means Mother Ganga. http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/Ganges.html

45. #42 • What are some issues that rapid urbanization has caused in South Asia? • Inadequate water supply, lack of sanitary facilities, overcrowded neighborhoods

46. #43 • What type of plate movement created the Himalayas? Describe the process. • Subduction - as plates move towards each other, the opposing force between them is so great that the massive folding or the bending of rocks also occurs at the edges of the less dense plate.  A range of fold mountains, such as the Himalayas, is formed. http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/platetectonics/5.php

47. #44 • What tactic did Gandhi and his followers use to obtain their independence in India from the British Empire? Explain how they used the tactics. • They used nonviolent resistance - practice of achieving socio-political goals through symbolicprotests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi

48. #45 • What is the Ring of Fire and where is it located? • Series of highly volcanic, geologic hotspots in the Pacific Ocean

49. #46 • What are some pros and cons to the Three Gorges Dam project in China? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5000092.stm

50. #47 • Why do some rural families in China oppose the government’s “One Child Policy”? • Rural families have farms, and they need more than one child to help with the farming. http://beifan.com/021jinao/21syn-boys.jpg