Geography Basics
What is geography?
The study of Earth’s physical features, climate, people, and how they interact.
Three countries explorers came from
Spain, England, Portugal, France
Purpose of the Line of Demarcation
To prevent conflict by dividing land between Spain and Portugal
The trend the French were late to
Exploration because they were very much involved in European politics
Non-contiguous U.S. states, the reason for their name
Alaska and Hawaii; they are not connected to the other 48 states
Name of continents when they were all connected
Pangea
Two technologies that helped explorers travel at sea
Compass and astrolabe
Treaty of Tordesillas
Portugal rejected where the original line was placed, so they came to an agreement with Spain to move the line further west.
Sir Francis Drake and his achievement for England
He was a pirate and he defeated the Spanish and led England to become the most powerful navy in the world.
Peninsula definition and which U.S. region includes a peninsula state
Land surrounded by water on three sides; the Southeast (Florida).
Four main types of geography
Physical, political, economic, and cultural.
Three main motives for European exploration.
To gain wealth, power, and find new trade routes.
Spanish explorer who conquered present-day Puerto Rico, and what he “discovered”?
Juan Ponce de Leon, "discovered" Florida
First person to record land in Australia
Willem Janszoon
Reason why the Heartland is called the “Breadbasket of America”
Because it produces large amounts of crops and food (corn and wheat)
Equator and what it divides
An imaginary line that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Reason why land trade between Asia and Western Europe became dangerous in the 1300s
Because of wars, bandits, and fighting over land
Portuguese explorer who established a direct sea route from Europe to Asia
Vasco da Gama
New York's original name and its governor at that time
New Amsterdam; Peter Stuyvesant
Two major mountain ranges around the Mexican Plateau
Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental
Latitude vs longitude lines
Latitude lines run east–west; longitude lines run north–south
Transatlantic Slave Trade
The forced transportation of enslaved Africans to the Americas
Country that began stealing Spanish gold and settlements. Name of the people who were doing this
England; Pirates
A potential shortcut through the newly found continent of Northwest America to Asia
Provinces have their own constitutional power, while Territories follow the rules set by the Canadian Parliament.