Ch. 2 Louisiana Geography – Flashcards
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What is the definition of geography?
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the study of places, their locations, their physical and cultural locations.
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What are the 2 types of geography?
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physical and; cultural
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What is physical geography?
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oceans, weather, climate and towns.
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What is cultural geography?
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How the people have interacted or adapted to Where they live. (Where we live determines How we live)
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What is one way LA's physical geography has shaped its cultural geography?
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Louisiana's rich natural resources encouraged people to work in agriculture, forestry, fishing, trapping and the oil fields
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Geographical Location of Louisiana
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*shaped like a boot. *relatively small in size (#31 out of 50 states) *3660 sq. miles of water (one of the wetest states) * 1/4 of all LA is wetlands. (33% of the nations wetlands)
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What state is to the east of Louisiana?
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Mississippi
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What state is to the north of Louisiana?
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Arkansas
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What state is to the west of Louisiana?
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Texas
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What is the south border of Louisiana?
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The gulf
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What is the east border separating Louisiana from Mississippi?
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The mississippi
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What is the west border separating Louisiana from Texas?
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The Sabine river
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What are time zones?
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Time zones are 24 divisions of the surface of the globe used to mark the divisions of time into 24 hours.
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Time Zones
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Alaska (Standard), Hawaii (Aleutian), Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern. *As you travel west; time goes backwards.
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Why are time zones necessary?
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Time zones make it so that the sun is overhead at 12 noon. For example, if there were no time zones, in China it could be 2am and sun would be shining but 2am here it would be dark.
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What time zone do you live in?
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Central
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If you travel east you _______ an hour
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gain
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If you travel west you ______ an hour
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lose
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What are the 3 land regions of Louisiana?
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Uplands, Floodplains and Coastal Marshes
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What are some characteristics of uplands?
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*Areas of LA with the highest elevation *Hills *Mostly coniferous trees, some deciduous tress are found in the uplands. *example: Kisatchie National Forest
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What are some characteristics of coastal marshes?
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*low wet grassland *marsh vegetation includes grasses and other plants, but not usually trees.
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What are some characteristics of floodplains?
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*low flat valley in which river flows. *streams, bayous, slough and banks (swamps included) *both deciduous and coniferous trees.
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What percentage of our nation's wetlands is in LA?
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1/3
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prairie land
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When the French 1st came to LA, one third of the area was what kind of land?
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What is LA's highest point?
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The Piney Hills
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Deciduous trees
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oaks, sweetgum, pecan, hickory, magnolia, cyprus; they lose their leaves in winter.
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Coniferious trees
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Needle-bearing evergreen trees - don't lose leaves.
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Prairie
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*1/3 of the LA. (flat piece of ground covered by grass) *excellent farmland *between Lake Charles and Opelouses.
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What is the largest river in the United States?
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Mississippi River
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The Mississippi River begins its journey to the Gulf of Mexico in which state of the U.S.A?
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Minnesota
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What are the major LA rivers?
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Red River, Atchafalaya River, Ouachita River, Sabine, Pearl and Calcasiue Rivers
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Name 3 of the 5 main rivers that drain into the Mississippi
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1.) Missouri River, 2.) Arkansas River, 3.) Red River, 4.) Ohio River, 5.) Tennessee River
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Bayous
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Bayou Teche Bayou Lafourche
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*5th largest sea in the world *Its warm rich waters affect our climate and economy
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Gulf of Mexico
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What 2 islands on the LA side of the Mississippi River belong to the state of Mississippi?
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Davis Island and Giles Island
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What inland route provides SHIPS safe passage from Texas to Florida?
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Intracoastal Waterway
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Name 4 influences that affect a region's long term climate.
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1.) latitude 2.) longitude 3.) nearness to large landmasses 4.) nearness to large bodies of water
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Describe LA's population density as it compares to the rest of the United States.
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...
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What happened to Louisiana's prairies?
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Agriculture and urban development destroyed most of the natural prairie.
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What are Louisiana's most important bodies of water?
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rivers, bayous, the Gulf, and the Intracoastal Waterway
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Oxbow lakes - name a characteristic and give and example
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*meander that have cut themselves off from the main river. The meander becomes a lake. Example" False River
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Depression lakes - - name a characteristic and give and example
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*created when land sinks along a fault line. The depression then fills with water and creates a lake. * example: Lake Pontchartrain
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Raft lakes - - name a characteristic and give and example
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* are only found along the Red River. A long time ago a huge log jam clogged the Red River and prevented bayous from draining into the river. The bayous flooded and created lakes in low spots. *example: Lake Bistineau
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Coastal Lakes - name a characteristic and give and example
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*found along the Gulf Coast, formed when a Chenier slowed the flow of rivers into the Gulf, causing great pools of water to build up behind them. *example: White Lake
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Reservoirs - name a characteristic and give and example
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*man-made lakes found mostly in North LA. *Dams were constructed to create lakes. These help control floods, supply water to cities, and provide places for recreation. *example: Caney Lake
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The 2nd longest river in LA
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Red River
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The longest distributary (branch flowing away) of the Mississippi River
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Atchafalaya River
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The Acadians (Cajuns) settled along the banks of Bayou ____________
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Teche
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This bayou was a channel of the Mississippi River and still serves as a modern day distributary to the Gulf. It means "the fork" in Cajun.
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Lafourche
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How does Louisiana controls its rivers?
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Levees and dams
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Why does Louisiana controls its rivers?
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To prevent flooding
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A huge dam called the _____________ was built at the head of the Atchafalya River. It keeps the Mississippi from changing course down the Atchafalaya River.
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Old River Control Structure
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The ________ was constructed upstream from New Orleans. During floods, some of the Mississippi River water can be diverted through this into Lake Pontchartrain
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Bonnet Carre Spillway
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These river control projects help protect the levee system by diverting water out of the Mississippi River
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Bonnet Carre Spillway, Morganza Spillway, Bennett Johnston Waterway
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What is climate?
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The AVERAGE weather over a period of time
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What is weather?
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Temperature, wind and precipitation on a DAILY basis.
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What is the climate of LA? (You need to know the name of our climate!)
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humid subtropical
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What is our climate affected by?
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*Being near the Gulf of Mexico *Southern latitude (being close to the equator)
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Where do the highest and lowest temperatures occur in LA?
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In the corner of the state farthest away from the Gulf. Example: Shreveport, Plain Dealing, Minden.
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How does climate vary within our state?
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North LA: *Spring temperatures often reach over 100 degrees *Once in awhile has snow in the winter South LA: *does not get as hot in the spring. *Winters are mild, usually never snows All of the state has high humidity, and frequent thunderstorms.
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What are hurricanes?
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Enormous violent storms that start in oceans like the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean
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Hurricane season runs from ____________ to ___________
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June 1st November 30th
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Louisiana has its worst storms in what months?
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August and September
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Storms that last 24 hours are called a
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tropical disturbance
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Storms with winds between 39-74 mph are called
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tropical storms
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Storms with winds over 74 mph are called
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hurricanes
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A synonym for a hurricane found in Asia is a
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typhoon
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Category 1 storm wind speeds
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74-95 mph
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Category 5 storm wind speeds
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over 155 mph
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Effects of a hurricane
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*mass destruction *many lost lives *fallen trees *buildings crash down
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In the past 100 years ____ hurricanes have hit the state, mostly in the southeast
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29
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How are hurricanes similar to tornadoes?
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*both cause damage *
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How are hurricanes different from tornadoes?
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*tornadoes occur any time of the year *tornadoes are created by thunderstorms *tornadoes are usually less than a mile in diameter *tornadoes usually occur in spring *tornadoes are measured using the Fujita scale on a scale of 1-5
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How has the population of LA changed?
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Hurricane Katrina and Rita caused 1 million people (1/4 of the state's population) to to evacuate. Many have not returned.
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Characteristics of culture of south Louisiana
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*first settled by French-speaking Catholics *has a strong French culture *French is spoken as a second language *Catholic church is prominent *Traditional Cajun foods, architecture and music are popular
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Characteristics of culture of north Louisiana
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*mostly settled by English speaking Protestants. *there is little French influence
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Characteristics of culture of west Louisiana
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*Spanish settlers moved here from Mexico
