Transcript The Physical World

THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
MRS. LACKS
PANGAEA
PLATE MOVEMENT
• Spreading: plates spread apart, forming a diverging plate
boundary; such areas are likely to have a rift valley,
earthquakes, or volcanic action (ex. Mid-Atlantic Ridge, rift
valley on land – Iceland, Africa)
• Collision: plates collide & mountains form (ex. Himalayas
formed millions of years ago when the Indo-Australian plate
crashed into the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about two inches
per year)
• Subduction: plates dive under one another (ex. Andes
Mountains formed over millions of years as the Nazca Plate slid
under the South American plate)
• Faulting: plates slip past one another (ex. California San
Andreas Fault)
COLLISION
• The 6,000 km plus journey
of the India landmass
(Indian Plate) before its
collision with Asia (Eurasian
Plate) about 40 to 50 million
years ago.
FAULTING
WAVES, WATER, & WIND
• Water: #1 type of
erosion
• no plants = more
erosion
• forms V shaped
valleys, river valleys,
canyons
• Waves: erosion on
Barrier Is
• Wind: sand is
moved by wind
JOCKEY’S RIDGE
DUST BOWL
Dust storms in Texas, 1935
Buried machinery in barn lot.
Dallas, South Dakota, May 1936
THE POWER OF ICE
• acts like a
bulldozer
• most of
Greenland and
Antarctica are
covered by ice
(up to 2 miles)
• Most prevalent
in highlands,
even on the
Equator
SOIL & FORESTS
• renewable resources
• Soil: takes a long time to form
• includes rocky sediment and organic material
• climate affects weather which affects soil
• Humus: mix of bacteria, insects, worms that
breakdown plants and animals
• Leaching: soil is less fertile due to rainwater washing
out minerals and nutrients
• Similar climates = similar vegetation
SUSTAINING SOIL RESOURCES
• Contour plowing: farming
at an angle; works across
a hill rather than up and
down the hill; stops erosion
• Soil Exhaustion: caused by
same crop being planted
in the same spot every
year
• Rotation: planting different
crops in the same spot
• Irrigation: artificial
watering
• soil salinization: salt builds
up in the soil
FORESTS
• Deforestation:
destruction/loss of
forests – clearing the
land for farming or
ranching
• Reforestation: replanting
trees
DEFORESTATION
AIR
• Smog: smoke and fog form chemicals in the air
• leads to pollution
• L.A., Mexico City
• Acid Rain: chemicals in polluted air combine with water
vapor and form acid rain
• destroys trees – pollutes – eats away stone and natural
rock formations
• Causes industrial pollution
• acid producing agents in the ocean and volcanic
activity are among the causes of acid rain.
• Countries: Germany, China, US, Scandinavia, Canada
• Global Warming – theory that trapped heat in the
atmosphere is causing a rise in temperatures
SMOG: CHINA
A comparison of Beijing air on a day after rain and a sunny but
smoggy day
SMOG: JAPAN
SMOG: LA
The effects of acid rain in the
Jizera Mountains of the Czech Republic
WATER
• Aqueducts: bring water to the cities
• Aquifers: ground water is mined
• Wells
• ground water is usually renewable
• Fossil water: ground water in the desert that is used
for irrigation (not being replaced)
Pont du Gard, France, a Roman
aqueduct built circa 19 BC. It is one
of France's top tourist attractions
and a World Heritage Site.
Aqueducts
The Central Arizona Project
Aqueduct, the largest and
most expensive aqueduct
system ever constructed in
the United States.
WEATHER & CLIMATE
• Climate is what you expect
• Weather is what you get
WEATHER & CLIMATE
• weather – condition of atmosphere over a short
time
• climate – weather over a long time
• latitude affects climate – middle and high have
distinct seasons
• polar – cold all year
• tropics – warm all year
• temperature – measurement of heat
PRECIPITATION
• evaporation – water changes from liquid to gas
• humidity – amount of water vapor in the air
• the higher the temp.= higher ability to hold water
• condensation – when air cannot hold more it
condenses
• gas to liquid - fog, dew, frost, cloud
• will fall as snow, rain, hail, sleet
ELEVATION & MOUNTAIN EFFECTS
• orographic precipitation: moist air rises up the side
of a mountain, condenses, then falls as
precipitation
• Windward: wet side of mountain – gets the wind
• Leeward: dry side of the mountain
• where desert would form
• called the rain shadow
STORMS
• hot air rises and mixes with cold air
• Tornadoes: most of these occur in the US
• Hurricanes: over 74 mph
• start over Africa/Caribbean Sea
• travel to the west due to the winds – trade winds
• Typhoons
• western pacific
• same type of storm as hurricanes
HURRICANES & TYPHOONS
SIX TYPES OF CLIMATE
AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
KÖPPEN CLIMATE SYSTEM
• The most widely used climate classification systems
• divides the Earth into 6 climate zones designated by
letters
•
•
•
•
•
•
A- Humid Low Latitude
B- Dry
C- Warm Mid-Latitude
D- Cold Mid-Latitude
E- Polar
H- Undifferentiated Highlands
HUMID LOW LATITUDE CLIMATES
• tropical humid (wet)
• rains all year
• hot all year
• convectional rainfall (rains same time every day –
rains-evaporates-rains –hot air)
• tropical wet and dry
• tropical savanna
• 3 seasons = wet, dry, fire
• affected by monsoon winds
DRY CLIMATES
• arid – dry – can have constant high pressure
• located about 30º north and south of the equator
• less than 10” of rain per year
• rain shadow
• interior of continents
• dry coastal areas – cold currents keep air stable
(coast of Chili)
• semiarid – 10-20” of rain per year
• transition between arid and
humid regions
• grasses grow well (Great Plains)
• used for growing grains
MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES (TEMPERATE)
• Mediterranean Climate – hot, dry summer and cool, moist
winter
• Mediterranean Sea, California, Spain, Chili, Australia
• usually west coast of a continent
• Mediterranean scrub woodland vegetation
• short trees and shrubs
• Humid Subtropical Climate – hot, wet summer and cool winter
• eastern side of continent – where there is warm water –
example: Eastern Shore
• vegetation includes deciduous forest – broadleaf tress
where leaves die
• coniferous forest – tress are cone bearing with needles
MID-LATITUDE CLIMATES (TEMPERATE)
• Marine West Coast – mild all year – influenced by
the ocean
• on the west coasts in the upper middle latitudes –
W. Europe, NW US and Canada
• can support dense coniferous forests – called
“Temperate Rainforests”
• Humid Continental – hot summer, cold winter
• interior and east coast of upper middle latitude
continents
POLAR (HIGH LATITUDE CLIMATES)
• subarctic – long, cold winter and short warm summer
• generally above 50º north
• supports vast evergreen forests (called boreal forests)
• Skagway = 200 year old trees
• tundra – coastal areas of high latitudes
• temperature is above freezing only in the short summer
• permafrost – permanently frozen soil
• In the short summer, top layer turns to bog, swamp,
marsh since water cannot seep into the frozen ground
(buildings collapse)
• vegetation includes lichens, moss, grasses and low
shrubs
HIGHLANDS CLIMATE
• highlands climates – on the side of mountains
• changes as you go higher in elevation
• Ex. K-2
CLIMATE PROJECT
• With a group, create a collage representing your
assigned continent
• You need to make sure important physical features
(mountains, rivers, rainforests, etc) are represented
on your continent as well as all different climate
zones
• You will present this information to the class for a
grade