BYU GEO101 Exam 1 – Flashcards

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What is Geography?
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The study of space and place. The study of the WHY of the WHERE
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What do geographers study?
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- Where things are located on the earth's crust
- Why things are located in certain places
- How places differ from one another
- How people interact with the environment
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Two principle branches of Geography
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Physical and Human
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Physical Geography focuses on...
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Climates, landforms, vegetation, soils, and water. Forecast weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands and wetlands.
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Human Geography focuses on...
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how people and their activities are distributed in space and how they use space on earth's surface. Urban and regional planning, transportation and tourism.
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Earth's Four Spheres
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- Atmosphere
- Biospere
- Hydrosphere
- Lithosphere
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Hydrosphere
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Water realm of the earth
+ Ocean, rivers, etc
- Drought, flood
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Lithosphere
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Solid mineral realm, crust plus uppermost part of earth's mantle
+ rock, soil
- volcanic activity, earthquakes
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Biosphere
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Plants and animals

+ organic materials that contribute to healthy earth

- endangered species, habitat loss, deforestation

- framentation of species rapidly diminishes numbers

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Atmosphere
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Envelope of gases that encircle the earth
+ oxygen
- Global warming, inversion
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What is the name of the earth's shape?
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Oblate spheroid
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Diameter of the earth
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Pole to pole 7,900
Equator 7927
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First person to use word Geography
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Erasthenes.
-devised latitude and longitude
-calculated earth's tilt relative to sun (23.5 degrees)
-devised leap year
- calculated earth's circumference
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Latitude
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Like the lines of a ladder.
Measures north-south from the equator.
Also called parallels
about 69 miles per degree
Goes to 90 degrees
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Longitude
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Measures east-west. Prime Meridian is 0 degrees
Also called meridians.
Up to 180 degrees
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Seven Parallels
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Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Arctic Circle
Anarctic Circle
North Pole
South Pole
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Equator
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Starting point for measuring lattitude
Exactly midway between the poles
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Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
"The Tropics"
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-23.5 degrees north and south from the equator
-North of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun will never be directly over your head
-Vertical rays of the sun are between the Tropics because the sun is high all year round
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Meridians
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Prime meridian and International Dateline.
They go from pole to pole
Int'l dateline opposite the prime meridian
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Location of Prime Meridian
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Greenwich, England
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How long is a calendar day?
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48 hours
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Great Circle
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Any line that divides the planet into two equal halves -Equator -Circle of illumination -Prime meridian if combined with int'l dateline
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Rotation of the Earth
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The earth makes one rotation on its axis every 24 hours (it rotates eastward on its axis)
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Revolution of the Earth
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Earth makes one revolution around the sun every 364.25 days
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Equinox
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March 21, September 21
-Suns rays are on the equator
-12 hour day and 12 hour night over the whole earth.
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Solstice
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June 21, December 21
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Analemma
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Graph that shows vertical rays for every day of the year (similar to figure 8)
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Earth's orbit is more _________ than ________
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oval, circular
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Aphelion
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Point where planet is farthest from the sun.
July 4th - 94.5 million miles from the sun
Ang layo
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Perihelion
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Point when earth is closest to the sun
-Jan 3rd, 91.5 million miles
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Time zones
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Every time zone is 15 degrees wide (at equator)
Earth rotates 15 degrees every hour
The middle of every zone is based on 15 degrees longitude
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Antipode
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Opposite.
Reverse the latitude - north becomes south
Subtract longitude from 180
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Rays of the sun on equator
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March 21 and September 21
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Bishop Rock Lighthouse
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Lighthouse that was built after Scilly Island crash. Captian Chavel
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Harrison's Chronometer
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Harrison is the clockmeter who invented the chronometer. Based on 15 degrees per longitude.
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Types of maps
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-General Reference
-drawn to scale
-projections
-Isolines (countour intervals)
-Remote sensing and GIS
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What is included in a general reference map?
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Major lakes, cities, airports
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What is a type of thematic map?
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-Political map
-bird migration map
-it's a map that tells a story or history of something
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What are the types of scale maps?
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-Large scale, shows small area with lots of detail
-Small scale, shows large area with a little detail
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What the two types of map projections?
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Conformal
Equivalence
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Conformal map projection
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Has meridian and parallels crossing each other at right angle, just like on a globe. The farther you get away from the equator, the greater the distortion of the land area.
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Equivalence map projection
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Depicts accurate size of land masses, but the shape is distorted
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Cylndrical map projection
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similar to conformal - imagine cylinder of paper wrapped around an illuminated globe, only touching at the equator.
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Plane map projection
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flat paper plate, touching earth at one point.Usually the view from the arctic or antartic. The perimeter curves away, so the edges are distorted.
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Conic map projection
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flat paper, shape into cone, draw earth, lay flat. Most common state map. Curves at top and bottom reflect cone shape
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Interrupted map projection
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similar to orange peel peeled in one piece. Maintain the shape and mass. Areas of distortion are in the ocean and cut out. Looks like you cut up a globe and then laid it flat.
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isoline
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Contour lines, which connect points of equal value, like elevation
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We use this instead of sextants
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GPS. Global positioning systems. Three points can determine location within a few yeards. Uses satellites
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Remote sensing
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Any recording device that does not come in contact with the earth. Can determine temp of the ocean
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GIS
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0 Library of information that allows user to collect, retrieve, reorganize, and display geographic data from the real world. 0 Layers showing zoning, flood planes, wetlands, land cover, soils, survey control
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The Hydrologic cycle
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sun > Evaporation from water > transipration from plants > condensation > precipitation > Transporation/advection (clouds move from over water to over mountains > inflitration into the earth > Runoff - oversaturated earth
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Hydrosphere
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water realm of the earth.
Oceans have 97.2% of earths water
Glaciers 2%
Groundwater .5%
Lakes and rivers comprise .2%
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Oceans by size
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1 - Pacific 64 mil sq mile
2 - Atlantic 32 mil sq mile
3 - Indian 28 mil sq mile
4 - Arctic 5 mil sq mile
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Longest Rivers
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1. Nile
2. Amazon
3. Mississippi-Missouri
4. Yangtze
5. Ob
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Largest Lakes
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1. Caspian Sea
2. Lake Superior
3. Lake Victoria
4. Lake Huron
5. Lake Michigan
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Local lakes/dams on Colorado River
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Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
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How much water does Lake Powell lose to absorption and evaporation?
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600,000 acre feet per year.
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How much water do US golf courses consume?
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Two billion gallons every day.
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A nation that destroys its _____ destroys itslef.
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Soil. Teddy Roosevelt
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Soil is part of earth's __________.
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Lithosphere. Earth's crust and uppermost part of mantle.
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Average depths of soil on continental surfaces.
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Six inches.
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What is the study of soil called?
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pedology
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What is soil mainly composed of?
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weathered particles of rock and organic material
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Soil Profile
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O > A > E > B > C > R
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O Horizon
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Organic layer of soil.
Plant material.
Not all soils have O horizon.
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A Horizon
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Organic material, dark color
"Topsoil"
most plants germinate here
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E Horizon
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Very fine soil and minerals
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B Horizon
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Materials from E & A have been washed down into and collect.
"Subsoil"
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C Horizon
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Partially weathered or decayed, broken up bedrock, no nutrients
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R Horizon
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Rock. Solid Rock.
Once exposed, weathering will eventually turn it into A or O.
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Regolith
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Horizons O - C. (no rock horizon)
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Which soil horizons are considered part of the soil?
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O - B.
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Five soil-forming factors
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1. Parent Material
2. Climate
3. Time
4. Topography
5. Biology
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Parent material in forming soil
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The parent rock determines the quality of soil it become (after weathering). Ex. Quartz produces low calcium soil, grazing animals will have weak bones.
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How does climate affect soil formation?
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Rock breaks down more quickly in a warm humid dry environment than in a cool, dry, area. Tropical soils are very deep before you reach bedrock.
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How does time affect soil formation?
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New soils lack nutrients. Intermediate-aged soils are more fertile. Old soil is leached of nutrients.
It can take 1,000 years to generate an inch of soil. Tropical areas - an inch every few decades.
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How does topography affect soil formation?
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Flat areas have deep soils, mountain sides have shallow soils* (slopes loses soils as it gradually migrates downward.)
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How does biology affect soil formation?
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Burrowing activities are beneficial, allowing oxygen and water down into the ground and bedrock
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Soil properties
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Color
Texture
Chemistry
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Soil colors
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Red-iron
yellow-aluminum or sulphur
dark brown-lots of organic material
white-salt
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Soil textures
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Sand - largest
soil - intermediate
silt - smallest
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Which soil types do not retain water?
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Sand and silt.
Clay retain water, and is very thick.
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What is loam?
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Has substantial amounts of sand, silt and clay. Best for agriculture because it is well-drained.
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The chemistry of soil
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Clay particles are flat.
Negative charge.
Roots absorb ion, becomes nutrient.
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Mollisols
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Most fertile and productive soil order. Dominant natural vegetation is grass.
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Mollisols examples
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Great plains of USA, Pampas region of Argentina.
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Andisols
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Ash produces this very fertile soil.
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Andisols example
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Island of Java.
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Entisols
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Materials are transported in by water. Newly forming soils. not very fertile.
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Entisols example
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Nile river flood plains
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Aridisols
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Arid areas. Almost white because of salt deposits.
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Aridisols example
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Nevada, Arizona, Mesopotamia
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Spodisols
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Leached and Acidic. Pine needles make it worse. Bluberries need acidic soils.
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Oxisols
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Tropical rainforest environments. No nutrients on top, leached. Terrible for farming. Slash and burn agriculture to create ash.
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Lithosphere
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Soil, the mineral realm of the earth
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Topography
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surface features of the earth
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Landform
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topographic features. Cliffs, beach, sandbar, ocean floor, volcanoes, etc.
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Geomorphology
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Study of Landforms
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Two kinds of relief
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Elevation differences. High relief - mountain Low relief - plains
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Contour lines
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shows elevation difference on a map.
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Uniformitarianism
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"The present is the key to the past." Observation of events taking place today shows us what has been happening for millions of years. Valid, but incomplete.
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Hutton
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Originator of uniformitarianism
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Lyell
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Populized Huttons idea of uniformitarianism
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Processes that produce landforms
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Volcano eruptions; fluvials (running water); Eolion (wind); Glaciation (movement transforms and pulverizes rock); weathering; mass wasting; coastal process
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Aquiclude
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A solid, impermeable area underlying or overlying an aquifer
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Aquifer
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An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well.
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Groundwater
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Water located beneath the earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations.
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Runoff
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The flow of water, from rain, snow melt, or other sources, over land
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Loam
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Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration (about 40-40-20% concentration respectively).[
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Artesian Well
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A well drilled through impermeable strata to reach water capable of rising to the surface by internal hydrostatic pressure
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Clay
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A general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter
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Moho
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The boudary between the crust and the mantle, where earths rocks become much denser
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Geomorphology
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The study of landforms
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Two kinds of relief
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High Relief - Mountains
Low Relief - Plains
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Asthenosphere
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200 to 50 miles below the earth's crust
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Mineral
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A naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room temperature, representable by a chemical formula
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Crust
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The crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle
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Silicates
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Oxygen and silicon
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Oxides
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oxygen plus other element
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Sulfates
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Sulfur plus another element
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Halides
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derives from salty minerals
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Native elements
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non-compound elements like gold
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