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Level 6 Geography

Terms

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hemisphere
Half the earth or the globe.
urban population
People who live in or near cities or towns.
language family
A group of languages that all come from one ancestor language.
anthropologist
A person who studies humans and their cultures.
Hispanic
A Spanish-speaking American
technology
The knowledge and skill people use to make things.
landlocked
Not having a seacoast.
arid
Very dry, usually due to insufficient rainfall, making agriculture difficult.
humus
The product of the partial decay of plant or animal matter that forms the organic portion of soil.
triple cropping
The process of harvesting one crop and then immediately planting another type of crop onn the same land.
Koran
A book of sacred writings accepted by Muslims revealed to Muhammad.
alluvial soil
(UH loo VEE ul soil)
Rock fragments and silt deposited on the land when a river floods during the rainy season.
humid subtropical
A climate that has very hot temperatures in the summer and mild temperatures in the winter. There is plenty of rain all year but very little snow.
tributary
A stream or river that flows into a loarger body of water.
kilometer
A measure of distance in the metric system.
arable

(AR uh bul)
Suitable for growing crops.
High Veld
The upland grassland area of Southern Africa.
Swahili

(swah HEE lee)
A language of eastern and central Africa. Swahili contains many Arabic, Persian, and Indian words.
land bridge
A narrow piece of land that connects two larger land masses.
bazaar

(buh ZAHR)
The central marketplace in Middle Eastern and North American cities.
ice shelf
A mass of ice that floats on the water but is attached to a glacier.
tsetse fly

(TSET see fly)
A kind of fly found mainly in Africa south of the Sahara desert. Some forms of the tsetse fly pass on a one-celled animal that causes a fatal sickness in cattle and sleeping sickness in humans.
landform
A feature of the earth's surface, such as a mountain, hill, river, lake, or ocean, that is made by nature.
alpine
Mountain areas above the highest elevation where trees grow.
irrigation
The watering of crops or other plants by pipes, canals, or ditches.
wood pulp
A wet, soggy mass of ground-up wood chips.
latex
A mixture of water and fine particles of rubber or plastic, used especially in paints and adhesives.
caravan
A group of people traveling together, usually on animals or in vehicles.
in-migration
Movement into a region or community.
superpower
A large and powerful country that plays a leading role in world affairs.
key
A device on a map that tells what real things and places the symbols on a map stand for.
Bantu

(BAN too)
A family of African languages.
islet
A very small island, usually uninhabited.
transhumance

(trans HYOO muns)
The seasonal migration of livestock between lowlands and adjacent mountains.
jute
A plant, raised mostly in the Ganges River delta, from which the fiber for burlap and twine is also obtained.
archipealago

(ahr kuh PEL uh go)
A group or chain of islands.
isolationism
A national policy of avoiding international political and economic relations.
vineyard
A field of grapevines.
kraal

(krahl)
A village commonly found in eastern and southern Africa.
avalanche

(AV uh lanch)
A giant snowslide that occurs in high mountain areas when too much snow builds up on steep slopes.
hammada

(huh MAH duh)
A rocky plateau in the desert.
tableland
A level, flat plateau.
lagoon
A shallow channel or pond near or connected with a larger body of water.
adobe
(uh doh bee)
A building material that is made of sun-dried mud and straw
inflation
The decline in the value of money accompanied by an increase in prices.
tannin

(TAN ihn)
A plant extract used to cure leather.
Lapps
A group of people who live in the far north of the Scandanavian Shield, near the Arctic Ocean.
Afrikaans
(af rih KAHNZ)
A language that is widely used in South Africa
high-technology industries
Industries that produce electronics, computers, and other goods that are extremely complex and specialized.
tariff
A tax on imports, or in some countries on exports.
latitude
Distance, measured in degrees, north and south of the equator. Lines of latitude are used to locate places on a map or globe.
Boers

(boorz)
Early Dutch settlers in South Africa; Dutch word for farmers.
hajj

(haj)
A pilgrimage that every Muslim must make at least once in his or her life if he or she can afford it.
trust territory
A territory, region, or small country administered by another country for the United Nations.
great circle
Any circle on the earth's surface that divides the earth into equal parts. The equator is aq great circle. A great circle is the shortest possible distance between any two places on the surface of the earth.
Aborigine
(ab uh RIHJ uh nee)
A member of the earliest group of people known to inhabit Australia
imperialism
A policy of conquering new lands to build an empire.
weather
The conditiion of that air at a certain time, in terms of precipitation.temperature, and other factors.
hacienda
A large estate in Spanish-speaking countries.
buffer state
A country that separates two or more countries that are hostile to each other.
import
A product one country buys from another.
whiteout
A condition that occurs when the shite snow-covered ground blends with the white sky, making it impossible to see shadows or even the horizon.
grid system
A network of horizontalo lines of latitude and vertical lines of longitude that aids in the location of places on a map.
autobahn

(AWT oh bahn)
West Germany's super highway system.
hydroelectricity
Electricity made from the force of flowing water.
west coast marine
A climate with temperatures that are warm in the summer and cool in the winter. there is precipitation all year round.
guerilla
A perswon who fights against a government.
Absolute location
The latitude and longitude of a place
immigrant
A person who comes into one country to settle permanently.
tundra
A rolling plain without trees, found in the Arctic area of the high latitudes.
geologic hazard
A natural event involving the land, such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption,landslide, or flood, that causes trouble for people.
apartheid

(uh PAHR tayt)
The forced separation, by law, of whites and nonwhites in South Africa.
harbor
A protected body of water that is afe for ships.
tungsten

(TUNJ stun)
A mineral that is used to harden steel and to make the filaments in light bulbs.
green revolution
the growing of more crops on the same amount of land, due to the development of new types of grain by agricultural scientists.
basin
A low area almost entirely surrounded by higher ground.
humid continental
A climate that has a wide range of temperatures, with warm to unpleasantly hot summers and cold to very cold winters. Precipitation also varies considerably in this climate.
subsistence agriculture
A family or similar group's practice of growing food chiefly for itself.
glacial till

(GLAY shul tihl)
The soil and silt deposited by glacial ice sheets as they melted and retreated northward.
bog
A small marsh or swamp, comprised of wet spongy ground.
industry
The manufacturing of goods.
teak
A hard yellowish-brown wood that is often used for carving and for furniture.
Great Trek
The mass migration of thousands of Boers to the High Veld of Southern Africa. The trek began in 1835 and continued into the 1840s
Aryans

(ar EE unz)
A people who invaded India and introduced their language and their religion.
heavy industry
The production of goods such as tractors, mining equipment, and factory machinery.
tropics
The zone between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.
geyser

(GYE zur)
A fountain of steam and water that has been heated by hot lava and forced above ground by volcanic gases.
canopy

(KAN un pee)
The interlocking leaves that form the top of the rain forest.
homeland
A special reserve in South Africa where many South African blacks have been forced to move.
tatami

(tuh TAH mee)
A soft woven floor mat.
glacier
A large mass of ice formed snow on high ground and moving very slowly down a mountainside or along a valley.
atmosphere
The blanket of air that covers the earth.
isthmus
A narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas.
taiga

(TYE guh)
The great coniferous forest region of canada and the southern part of Siberia in Russia.
ground water
Rainwater that collects in underground rocks.
aquifer

(AK wuh fur)
A layer of rock, sand, or gravel that can absorb or collect water.
jungle
A thick tangled mass of tropical vegetation.
theocracy

(thee AHK ruh see)
A nation that is ruled according to religious laws instead of laws passed by the people.
geography
The science that deals with location of living and nonliving things on earth and the way they affecr one another.
antimony

(AN tuh moh nee)
A mineral used to make a metal harder.
dynasty

(DYE nus tee)
A family of rulers.
Sunnites

(SOON yts)
The largest branch of the Islamic religion. Most Muslims are Sunnites.
forage
Plants such as grass and shrubs that serve as food for livestock.
atoll

(A tawl)
A ring-shaped coral island enclosing or partly enclosing a lagoon.
emigrate

(EM ih grayt)
To leave one country or region in order to permanently settle in another.
volcano
An opening in the earth, usually at the top of a cone-shaped hill or mountain, out of which gases rock, ashes, and lava may erupt.
distributary

(dih STRIHB yoo ter ee)
A river branch flowing away from the main stream.
autonomy

(AW TAHN uh mee)
Self-government for a state or other political entity.
enclave

(EN klayv)
A country that is completely surrounded by another country.
tell
An Arabic word meaning "hill."
foreign policy
The decisions a county makes about how it will work with other countries.
canton

(KAN tun)
A small territorial divisionof a country, which functions as a separate unit. A canton corresponds to a state in the U.S. Switzerland is divided into cantons.
domesticate

(doh MES tih kayt)
To tame wild animals to live with humans.
tsunami

(tsoo NAH mee)
A greta sea wave produced by an earthquake or volcano eruption under the sea.
Fleming
One of a group of Dutch speaking people inhabiting Flanders, a region of Northern Belgium.
capital
Money used to develop a country's economy.
gaelic

(GAYL ihk)
Of, relating to, or being the Celtic speech of persons born or living in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish Highlands.
Walloon

(wah LOON)
One of a group of french speaking people inhabiting the southern part of Belgium.
diffusion

(dih FYOO zhun)
The spread of knowledge from one group of people to another.
Bedouins

(BED oo ihnz)
A nomadic group of people who live in many of the countries of the Arabian peninsula.
gasohol
A fuel made by mixing gasoline with alcohol that is made from sugarcane and used to power cars and trucks.
terrace
A flat shelf of land, arranged like wide steps on a mountainside, where crops are grown.
federation

(fed ur AY shun)
A government in which the national government and the governments of the provinces share certain powers.
bilingual

(bye LING gwel)
Expressed in or using two languages.
ejido

(ay HEE doh)
Communal farmland in Mexico that is owned and worked on by several families or an entire village.
escarpment

(e SKAHRP munt)
The steep slope, or drop, at the edge of a plateau.
cartography

(kahr TAHG ruh fee)
The making of maps.
Eurasia

(yoo Ray zhuh)
The landmass made up of the continents of Europe and Asia.
typhoon
A tropical storm accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain.
erosion

(ee ROH zhun)
The process by which the soil blows away in the wind or washed down the slopes of the hills when it rains.
cash crop
A crop that is sold, usually for export.
distortion
A twisting or stretching out of shape.
summit
The highest point of a mountain
Fertile Crescent
A 1,000 mile-long crescent-shaped region of the Arabian peninsula that is made up of green, flat fertile land. It stretches across iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
catamaran

(kat uh muh RAN)
Two canoes fastened together to make one boat. Sometimes planks fastened on the framework serve as the deck.
dike
A wall or bank built to control or hold back the water of a river or sea.
synthetic material
A product that is made from materials that are produced by people, not by nature, and isoften made from chemicals.
erg
A large sea of sand in the desert, highlighted by wind-swept dunes.
caste
A system that separates people into groups, or classes, based on birth.
expropriate

(eks PROH pree ayt)
To take over the property of another.
precipice
A very steep and high face of a rock or mountain.
desertification

(dih zurt uh fih KAY shun)
The process by which livestock eat the seeds of grasses and shrubs, causing vehetation to disappear and the land to change to desert.
causeway

(KAWZ way)
A raised way or road across wet ground or water.
equinox

(EE kwih nahks)
Either of two times in the year when the sun's direct rays are over the equator and day and night are of equal length.
polder
A piece of land reclaimed from the water, usually by building dikes and pumping the water out of the area enclosed by the dikes.
foreign debt
Money a government owes to a bank in another country.
censor
To control the content of publications, radio, and television broadcasts, and other forms of speech.
exclave
A territory surrounded or nearly surrounded by the territory of another country.
pass
A low place in a mountain range.
exploitation

(eks ploi Tay shun)
Taking large profits from a country, leaving very little for the people who live there.
aqueduct

(AK wuh dukt)
An artificial channel for carrying a large quantity of flowing water.
drought

A long, dry period with no rain.
Shiites

(SHEE yts)
Followers of the second largest branch of the Islamic religion. About 1/5 of the world's Muslims are Shiite Muslims. Most people in present day Iran and Iraq are Shiites, followers of the Shi'ah faith.
flax
A plant whose fiber can be used to makelinen. Oil and livestock feed are obtained from its seed.
axis
An imaginary line that goes through the earth from the North Pole to the South Pole.
desert pavement
Vast plains of gravel and boulders in the desert.
squatter settlement
A settlement filled with people, known as squatters, who have taken over land they do not own.
emblem
A symbol or sign, such as a flag or the seal of a country.
alloys
Mixyures of metals that are harder or stronger than the individual metals from which they are made.
futon
A heavy padded quilt that is commonly used in Japan.
steppe

(step)
Land in regions of wide temperature range that is dry, usually rather level, and covered with grass. Steppes are found in southeastern Europe, parts of Asia, Africa, and South America.
distribution map

((dihs trih BYOO shun map)
A map that shows the range of people, crops, or resources in a country or region.
confluence

(KAHN floo uns)
The place where two or more streams or rivers join.
estuary

(ES tyoo er ee)
The mouth of a river into which ocean water flows, mixing fresh water and seawater.
per capita income
the total amount of money that a nation's people earn in a year divided by the total population.
equatorial climate

(ee kwuh TOR ee ul climate)
A place with a very warm, humid climate that is near the equator.
cinder cone
A small volcano that looks like a cone-shaped hill.
famine

(FAM ihn)
An extreme shortage of food.
station
A large ranch in Australia where cattle and sheep are raised.
ecology

((ee KAHL uh jee)
The balance between living things and their environment.
climate
The pattern of weather that a place has over a period of time. Temperature and precipitation are two important parts of climate.
European Community
An organization comprised of 12 Western European countries whose purpose is to make trade easier among them.
strait
A narrow waterway that conects two larger bodies of water.
ethnocentrism

(eth noh SEN trihz um)
The process of looking at the rest of the world and making judgments about it based only on your own cultural background and experience.
commune

(KAHM yoon)
A community, often rural, in which labor, decision making, and profits are shared.
fallow
Not cultivated or planted for a season or more.
scale
The relationship between distance on a map and distance on the earth. Also the line drawn on maps that show this relationship.
domestic

(doh MES tihk)
A product that is used in one country and not exported to another.
compass rose
A small drawing on a map, used to show direction.
demilitarized zone

(dee MIHL uh tuh ryzd zone)
An area free of military control, where there are no troops or weapons.
strike
A stopping of work by a group of workers to force an employer to meet demands.
fjord

(fyord)
A long, narrow, often deep inlet of the sea lying between steep cliffs.
constitutional monarchy
A government in which the monarch, or ruler, serves as head of state and has only those powers given to the ruler by the constitution and laws of the nation.
ebony

(EB uh nee)
A hard, dark, strong wood that comes from various trees found in tropical areas.
subcontinent
A landmass of great size, but smaller than the continents.
fellahin

(FEL uh heen)
A group of crop-raising farmers in the Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East.
contour lines
Lines on a map connecting points that have the same elevation on a land surface.
Slovaks

(SLOH vahks)
A Slavic people who live in Slovakia, which was the eastern region of the former CZecholovakia.
continental island
An island that was once part of a continent. It is now separated by a stretch of water.
nomads
People who have no permanent home and who move from place to place.
copra

(KAH pruh)
Dried coconut meat from which coconut oil is made.
smorgasbord
A self-service luncheon or supper that offers a large variety of foods and dishes.
compact
An agreement between nations.
Moors
A group of people who invaded North Africa and conquered the Iberian Peninsula.
channel
A strait or a narrow sea between two large areas of land that are close together.
rift valley
A canyon-like hollow formed by the sinking of the earth's crust between two parallel faults.
Commonwealth of Nations
An organization of 48 former British colonies with special defense and economic ties.
oasis

(oh AY sihs)
A place in the desert that has enough water for plants and trees to grow.
commercial farm
A farm on which crops are raised for sale rather than for home use.
peat
Plant matter used as a fertilizer or fuel. It is made of partisally rotted plants and moss.
crop rotation
The practice of growing first one crop and then another type of crop on the same land, which preserves the ability of the soil to produce crops
pyrethrum

(pye RETH rum)
A small flower that is dried and crushed and then used to make a natural insecticide.
chernozem

(CHER nuh zem)
A rich black soil, which is common in cool or temperate semiarid climates.
sand dune
A mountain of sand that has been formed by the wind.
consumer
A person who buys and uses many types of goods.
overgrazing
Allowing livestock to eat too much of the natural vegetation.
chromium

(KROH mee um)
A blue-white mineral that is used to make steel harder.
regional specialization
An economic activity that is the specialty of a particular region.
core
The part of the country that has the largest population, the largest cities, the most productive economy, and the best transportation facilities and other services.
potash
A type of mineral salt that is mined from deposits found below the earth's surface.
delta
The land that is formed by mud and sand deposited at the mouth of a river.
plantation
A large commercial farm that grows only one specific crop.
Czech

(chek)
A person born or living in the Czech Republic.
scrub forest
A place where trees do not grow very high because of dry climate.
commodity

(kuh MAHD uh tee)
A product that is bought and sold in commerce.
smelting
An extraction process that separates ore from rock.
cooperative

(koh AHP ur uh tihv)
A plantation or other business that is owned by its workers.
pagoda
A buddhist shrine that has upward-curving roofs and a pyramidlike shape.
coastal plain
An area of flat land that borders a coast.
prairie
A large area of level or rolling land that is covered by tall grass and has fertile soil.
city-state
A self-governing state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.
sisal

(SYE sul)
A fibrous plant used to make rope, string, and bags.
communism

(KAHM yoo nihz um)
A social system in which property and goods are owned in common, or the theory that favors such a system.
Pampas

(PAHM puz)
The large fertile grassy plain that covers parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
crevasse

(kruh VAS)
A deep crack in the ice.
Slavs

(slavhz)
A group of people who were among the first people to live in what is now Eastern Europe.
culture
The way of life of a people.
navigator
A person who is responsible for directing the course of a ship or airplane.
consumer goods
Things that are grown or made by producers and are used by people.
petrochemical
A chemical or synthetic material made from petroleum or natural gas.
coup d'etat

(koo day TAH)
A sudden overthrowing of a government by a small group.
Pacific Rim
The nations bordering the Pacific Ocean.
deforestation
The large scale cutting down of forests.
population density
the average number of people who live in a square mile or square kilometer of a state , country, or other area.
czar

(zahr)
The title given to rulers of Russia.
primate city
A city that is far more important than any other city in a country.
coral
A hard, chalky, rocklike material that is made of the shells of sea animals called coral polyps.
relative location
Gives the location of a place according to some known landmark.
conquistador

(kahn KWIHS tuh dor)
A Spanish soldier of the sixteenth century in the Americas.
rural population
Peop0le who live outside an urban zone.
confederation

(con fed ur AY shun)
A union comprised of many different states.
ore
A mineral mined to obtain a substance that it contains.
life expectancy
The average number of years a person can expect to live.
Palestinian
A person who has a strong commitment to the creation of an independent Pelestinian state.
Meditteranean climate
A climate that has hot, dry summers and cool , rainy winters.
navigable

(NAV ih guh bul)
A lake or river that is deep and wide enough to be traveled by ships and boats.
light industry
The production of goods such as textiles, clothing, furniture, and the processing of grains and vegetables.
Sahel

(sah HEL)
A semidesert area in Africa thatlies south of the Sahara.
monotheism

(MAHN oh thee ihz um)
The belief in only one God.

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