Geography (US Middle School)
Comprehensive middle school geography deck covering the five themes of geography, map skills, physical and human geography, political geography, regional geography of all continents, and current geographic issues. Aligned with US grades 6-8 National Geography Standards and the C3 Framework.
Ämne: Geografi · Nivå: Högstadium (13–15) · 493 kort
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- The Five Themes of Geography are: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.
- Absolute location uses exact coordinates of latitude and longitude. Relative location describes a place in relation to other places.
- Place describes physical and human characteristics that make a location unique, including landforms, climate, culture, and language.
- Human-environment interaction studies how people adapt to, modify, and depend on the natural environment.
- Movement examines how people, goods, ideas, and information travel from one place to another.
- A region is an area defined by common physical or human characteristics, such as climate, language, or economy.
- Latitude lines run east-west and measure distance north or south of the Equator (0°), from 0° to 90°.
- Longitude lines run north-south from pole to pole and measure distance east or west of the Prime Meridian (0°), from 0° to 180°.
- The Prime Meridian (0° longitude) passes through Greenwich, England, and divides Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
- The Equator (0° latitude) divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
- The Tropic of Cancer is at 23.5° N latitude; the Tropic of Capricorn is at 23.5° S latitude. The area between them is called the tropics.
- The Arctic Circle is at 66.5° N latitude; the Antarctic Circle is at 66.5° S latitude. Beyond them lie the polar regions.
- A map's scale shows the relationship between distance on the map and distance on the ground (e.g., 1 inch = 100 miles).
- A map legend (or key) explains the symbols, colors, and patterns used on a map.
- A compass rose on a map shows the cardinal directions: North, South, East, West, and often intermediate directions like NE and SW.
- A map projection is a way of representing Earth's curved surface on a flat map. All projections involve some distortion.
- The Mercator projection preserves shapes and angles but distorts size, making countries near the poles appear much larger than they are.
- Topographic maps use contour lines to show elevation and the shape of the land surface.
- GIS (Geographic Information System) is computer-based software that captures, stores, and analyzes geographic data in layers.
- GPS (Global Positioning System) uses a network of satellites to determine exact location on Earth.
- Earth has seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.
- Asia is the largest continent by area and population. Africa is the second largest by area.
- The five oceans are: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (Antarctic). The Pacific is the largest and deepest.
- The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest point on Earth at about 11,000 m (36,000 ft) below sea level.
- The theory of plate tectonics states that Earth's lithosphere is broken into plates that move slowly over the asthenosphere.
- At a convergent plate boundary, plates collide, forming mountains, volcanoes, or deep ocean trenches. At a divergent boundary, plates pull apart.
- The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped zone around the Pacific Ocean with frequent earthquakes and about 75% of the world's active volcanoes.
- Mountains form when tectonic plates collide and crust folds upward. Major ranges include the Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, and Alps.
- A plateau is an elevated flat-topped landform that rises sharply above the surrounding area. Examples: Tibetan Plateau and Colorado Plateau.
- A plain is a large area of flat or gently rolling land, often used for agriculture. The Great Plains stretch across the central US.
- A valley is a low area between hills or mountains, often carved by a river or glacier over time.
- A river delta is a landform built up from sediment deposited where a river enters a larger body of water, such as the Nile or Mississippi Delta.
- An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, such as the Isthmus of Panama linking North and South America.
- A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Examples: Florida, Italy, and the Korean Peninsula.
- The Nile River in Africa is the longest river in the world at about 6,650 km (4,130 miles), flowing north through 11 countries.
- The Amazon River in South America is the largest river by water volume and drains the world's largest rainforest.
- The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States and drains most of the central US into the Gulf of Mexico.
- Other major rivers include the Yangtze (China), the Ganges (India), the Danube (Europe), the Volga (Russia), and the Congo (Africa).
- Weather is the short-term state of the atmosphere (today's rain). Climate is the long-term pattern of weather averaged over many years.
- The three main climate zones based on latitude are tropical (low latitudes), temperate (middle latitudes), and polar (high latitudes).
- A biome is a large geographic area defined by its climate and the plant and animal communities that live there.
- Tropical rainforests are warm, wet biomes near the equator with the most plant and animal species on Earth. Example: the Amazon.
- Deserts receive less than 25 cm (10 in) of rainfall per year. The Sahara, Arabian, and Gobi are major hot or cold deserts.
- The savanna is a tropical grassland biome with scattered trees, distinct wet and dry seasons, and large herds of grazing animals.
- The tundra is a treeless biome found near the poles or on high mountains, with permanently frozen soil called permafrost.
- Temperate deciduous forests have four distinct seasons and trees that lose their leaves in fall. They cover much of eastern North America and Europe.
- The taiga (or boreal forest) is the world's largest land biome — a cold coniferous forest stretching across northern Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia.
- An ecosystem is a community of living things plus the non-living environment they interact with (air, water, soil, climate).
- Ocean currents are large, continuous flows of water that move heat around the planet, strongly affecting climate. Example: the Gulf Stream warms northwestern Europe.
- Hurricanes (called typhoons in the Pacific and cyclones in the Indian Ocean) are large tropical storms with winds over 119 km/h (74 mph).