World Geography Semester Review

1. World GeographySemester Review Spring 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

35. 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

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

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

39. The European river system has provided excellent transportation throughout the region. Transportation has always been limited throughout much of Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has served as restricted trade between the continents. The geography of northwest Europe encourages a long growing season.

40. How has the physical geography of the British Isles protected it from invasion in times of war? because it is an island and Britain has always had a powerful navy.

41. The Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe is made up of – Norway and Sweden

42. Europe Migrant Work Force Of the migrant workers that came to Europe, which sector employs the highest percentage of these workers? Farming? Factory? sales/retail? Cleaner?

43. Of the countries shown on the chart, rank the hydroelectric energy producers in order 1st – 4th. • 1. Canada • US • China • Russia