Geography Final

• Geography 


  the study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on earth
• Cartographer


  a mapmaker
• Map Projection


  a way of mapping the earth's surface that reduces distortion caused by converting three dimensions into two dimensions
• Weathering


  physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics of rock on or near the earth's surface, occurring slowly over many years
• Erosion


  the result of weathering on matter, created by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity
• Solstice


  either of two times of year when the sun's rays shine directly overhead at noon at the furthest points north or south, and that mark the beginning of summer and winter; in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is the longest day and the winter solstice the shortest
• Equinox


  each of the two days in a year on which day and night are equal in length; marks the beginning of spring and autumn
• Climate


  the typical weather conditions at a particular location as observed over time
• Weather


  the condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time
• Culture


  the total of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by and passed on by members of a group
• Continental Divide


  the line of the highest points in North America that marks the separation between rivers flowing eastward and westward
• Permafrost


  permanently frozen ground
• Prevailing Westerlies


  winds that blow from west to east
• Everglades


  a large subtropical swampland in Florida of about 4,000 square miles
• Service Industry


  any kind of economic activity that produces a service rather than a product
• Province


  a political unit
• Dominion of Canada


  The Loose Confederation of Ontario (Upper Canada), Quebec (Lower Canada), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, created by the British North America Act in 1867
• Parliamentary Government


  a system where legislative and executive functions are combined in a legislature called a parliament
• Parliament


  a representative lawmaking body whose members are elected or appointed and in which legislative and executive function are combined
• Prime Minister


  the head of a government; the majority party's leader in parliament
• First Nations


  a group of Canada's Native American people
• Appalachian Mountains


  one of two major mountain chains in the eastern United States and Canada, extending 1,600 miles from Newfoundland south to Alabama
• Great Plains


  avast grassland of central North America that is largely treeless and ascends to 4,000 feet above sea level
• Canadian Shield


  a northern part of the interior lowlands that is a rocky, flat region covering nearly two million square miles and encircling Hudson Bay
• Rocky Mountains


  a major mountain system of the United States and Canada, extending 3,000 miles from Alaska south to New Mexico
• Great Lakes


  a group of five freshwater lakes of central North America between the United States and Canada; the lakes are Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior
• Mississippi River 


  a major river that runs north-south almost the length of the United States, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, and is part of the longest river system on the continent
• Spanish Conquest


  the conquering of the Native Americans by the Spanish
• Tenochtitlan


  the ancient Aztec capital, site of Mexico City today
• Maquiladora


  a factory in Mexico that assembles imported materials into finished goods for export
• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)


  an important trade agreement creating a huge zone of cooperation on trade and economic issues in North America
• Panama Canal


  a ship canal cut through Panama connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean
• Inca


  a member of the Quechen peoples of South America who built a civilization in the Andes Mountains in the 15th and 16th centuries
• Treaty of Tordesillas


  a treaty between Spain and Portugal in 1494 hat gave Portugal control over the land that is present-day Brazil
• Carnival


  the most colorful feast day in Brazil
• Samba


  a Brazilian dance with African influences
• Andes Mountains


  a large system of mountain ranges located along the Pacific coast of Central and South America
• Amazon River


  the second longest river in the world, and one of South America's three major river systems, running about 4,000 miles from west to east, and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean
• Benelux


  the economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg
• Berlin Wall


  a wall erected by East Germany in 1961 to cut the capital of Berlin in two, and later dismantled in 1989