1. Physical Geography Notes
WG 2a-b

2. Climate
The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period
Characteristics
Temperature
Precipitation
Seasons
Elements
Influence of latitude
Influence of winds
Influence of elevation
Proximity to water
Influence of ocean currents

4. World Climate Zones Low Latitudes Middle Latitudes High Latitudes
Semiarid
Arid
Mediterranean
Humid continental
High Latitudes
Subarctic
Arctic
Low Latitudes
Tropical wet
Tropical dry
Arid
Semiarid
highland

6. Vegetation Regions Rain Forest Savanna Desert Steppe
Middle latitude forest
Taiga
Tundra

7. Weather Phenomena Monsoon Typhoon Hurricane Tornado
South and South East Asia
Typhoon
Pacific Ocean
Hurricane
Atlantic Ocean
Tornado
Central United States

8. Climate has an effect on…
Crops
Clothing
Housing
Natural hazards

10. Human interaction with the environment

11. Physical and Ecological Processes
Earthquake
Flood
Volcanic Eruption
Erosion
Deposition

12. Water Diversion/Management
Canals
Reservoirs
Irrigation

13. Examples: Aral Sea
In the 1960s, the Soviet Union undertook a major water diversion project on the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The region’s two major rivers, fed by snowmelt and precipitation in faraway mountains, were used to transform the desert into farms for cotton and other crops. (Irrigation)

14. Examples: Colorado River
Hoover Dam is a reservoir on the Colorado River that provides water for southern Nevada, Arizona, southern California and northern Mexico. About 96 percent of the water in Lake Mead is from melted snow that fell in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Examples: Colorado River

15. Examples: Aswan High Dam
Environmental impacts from the dam include: eliminating annual flood of Nile River (which deposited nutrient rich soil downstream), erosion of Nile Delta, and impact on agriculture
Examples: Aswan High Dam

16. Landscape Changes Agricultural Terracing Polders Deforestation
China, Southeast Asia
Polders
Netherlands
Deforestation
Nepal, Brazil, Malaysia
Desertification
Saharan Africa, Central Asia

17. Influence of Technology
Agriculture
Fertilizer, mechanization
Energy Usage
Fossil fuels, nuclear power
Transportation
Road building, railways
Automobiles
Parking lots, growth of suburbs
Airplanes
Airport expansion, noise, international travel