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5 Themes of Geography

place, region, human environment-interaction, location, movement

4 cradles of civilizations

Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China

3 elements of earth

Water, Land and Air

The layers inside the earth

Crust, Mantle, Outer core, Inter core


bends in layers of rock occuring when the moving plates squeeze the earth's surface until it buckles


breaks in the earth's crust occuring when the folded land cannnot be bent any further

general purpose maps

maps showing a wide range in general information about an area

special purpose maps

maps that emphasize a single idea about an area


the process that breaks down rocks (the two different types of weathering: chemical weathering and physical weathering


the wearing away of the earth's surface

Pacific Ring of Fire

Where is a very active fault line in the world

Prevailing Winds

Global winds that blow in fairly constant patterns


Windless bands/areas


Cold and warm streams of water that move through the oceans

El Nino

A periodic change in the pattern of ocean currents and water temperature in the mid-pacific region


Weather patterns in an area over a long period of time

natural resources

elements from the earth that are not made by people but can be used by them

renewable resources

resources that can replace themselves naturally or renewable by man


an imaginary line that runs through the center of a thing


when the sun is directly over the equator making days and nights equal in time


the day in the year when the sun's rays directly hit the Tropic of Cancer


The side of the mountain range facing the wind


Side of the mountain opposite to the windward side

Rain Shadow

An effect where there is little precipitation


area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle in the Northern Hemisphere and between the Tropic of Capricorn and Antarctic Circle in the Southern Hemisphere

low latitudes

the tropics; area between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer

high latitudes

areas of the world north of the Arctic Circle and South of the Antarctic Circle

population distribution

pattern of human settlement

population density

average number of people living on a square mile or square kilometer of land

standard of living

relates to the overall quality of life amoung citizens of a country.


Falling of moisture to the earth in the form of rain, sleet, hail or snow.


resources or goods brought into one country to another


resources or goods sent from one country to another


Water found undergrounds in porous rock layer


a narrow piece of land that connects two large land masses and separates two bodies of water


large bodies of ice


a group of closely scatterd islands


smaller rivers and streams that feed into larger rivers


maginary lines going parallel to the equator


imaginary lines going from pole to pole

Prime Meridian

Separates the west and eastern hemisphere

Tropic of Cancer

Northern most point on the Earth's surface to receive the sun's direct rays

Tropic of Capricorn

Southern most point of the Earth's surface to receive the sun's direct rays

Per capita income

is often used as average income, a measure of the wealth of the population of a nation, particularly in comparison to other nations

Developing Countries

Countries working towards greater manufacturing and technology use

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