1. Agriculture
1.1. Physical Conditions for Agriculture
1.1.1. The Effect of Climate
1.1.1.1. Climate forms the soil and how fertile it is.
1.1.1.2. A suitable climate is necessary for the vegetation and livestock to grow.
1.1.1.3. Wind, water, ice, and small sediments are all the needed ingredients for soil.
1.1.1.4. The climate at certian locations effect the erosion. Water, ice, and wind erode certian types of rock to form soil.
1.1.2. The Effect of Soil
1.1.2.1. Soils have different levels.
1.1.2.2. Soil is described using a soil profile, a cross section of the higher layers of the crust.
1.1.2.3. A soil profile is marked with rows of bands in different colour, usually becoming a lighter brown the deeper it goes.
1.1.2.4. Generally, the darker and thicker the higher soil layers are, the more fertile the soil is.
1.1.2.5. In polar and some continental climates have permafrost, limiting the depth plant roots can grow to. Therefore, vegetation is very sparse in those areas.
1.1.3. The Effect of Natural Vegetation
1.1.3.1. Usually, natural vegetation is cleared for human civilization.
1.1.3.2. The pattern of natural vegetation that's found in a region has resulted interactions with landforms, climate, and soil.
1.1.3.3. Sometimes the natural vegetation is used to determine the fertility of the soil.
1.1.3.4. Natural vegetation is also an important ingredient for fertile soil, because they leave decomposing and organic matter on the floors, therefore, making the hummus layer.
1.2. The change of Seasons
1.2.1. Seasons effect the time farmers are able to farm.
1.2.2. The earth is on a title, spinning on it's axis and orbiting around the sun every day.
1.2.3. The earth spins to the east, resulting the sun to come up in the east every morning.
1.2.4. All the time, one half is facing the sun( day time), and the other gets nightime.
1.2.5. The earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle.
1.2.6. When the earth orbites around the sun, it creates the seasons,
1.2.7. The seasons affect when the farmers plant, grow, harvest, or plow.
1.3. Human Factors in Farming
1.3.1. Cutural food effects what is farmed. For example, south asains have a lot of rice production.
1.3.2. There are 3 types of farming, intensive, extensive, and subsistence farming.
1.3.3. Intensive farming:Rice, vegetables, and poultry are raised.
1.3.4. Extensive farming: wheat, corn and beef cattle are produced.
1.3.5. Subsistence agriculture: producing only enough for the farmers own family.
1.4. Subsistence Agriculture
1.4.1. Takes place in China, India, or locations unsuitable for commercial agriculture.
1.4.2. There are 3 types of subsistence farmers.
1.4.3. Nomadic Herders: Mainly in Africa, central asia, and middle east. Farmers rely on their livestock, for example, a goat would give them milk, meat, and clothing. They trade them for other foods such as coffee. They find watering holes and grasses to feed their livestock.
1.4.4. Shifting cultivators: Mainly practiced in the tropical rainforests. They cut down parts of the jungle to plant thier own food, such as yam and corn. When the soil grows less fertile, they move on to another area.
1.4.5. Small Landholders: Mainly in Mexico, South america, Africa, and south asia have small farms that plant corn, rice, vegetables, and raise animals. Everyone in the family contributes into the farming.
1.5. Commercial Agriculture
1.5.1. Commercial agriculture is farming that produces many varities of crops, livestock, and other products to sell for a profit.
1.5.2. The farmers do not use the products they grow, but buy what they need at the markets.
1.5.3. Location and climate effect commercial agriculture, because it controls soil fertility and natural vegetation.
1.5.3.1. Soft and tender fruits can't grow in could conditions. Fruit Orchards are only found in places protected frow winds and freezing.
1.5.4. Raw Materials:Most farmers don't raise poultry frow eggs, but they buy chicks from breeders and raise them. They fatten livestock and then sell them for meat.Crop farmers buy speacial seeds and treat them with chemical fertilizers. They also use Pesticides.
1.5.5. Labour and machinery: Rely on machinary to do the work. Mainly in north america, most vegetables are planted using machines, or sometimes they are planted in greenhouses.
1.5.6. Transportation: Grains like wheat and corn are the main crops outside of south asia. Canadian wheat farms use trnasportation such as tractors, plows, combine-harvesters, etc. Speacial trains are used to deliver grain to port terminals.
1.5.7. Market Forces: Customers determines on whether the farmer has failed or succeeded. The customers tastes decide how much of each product will be sold. Prices are determinde by the supply and popularity.
1.5.8. Mainly focuses on one product at a time
1.6. Speacialized Agriculture
1.6.1. Grows things like coffee beans, some flowers and plants, fruits, cotton, tabacoo, etc.
1.6.2. Climate and market: For example, Florida is famous for it's oranges, and florida happens to have the right climate, becuase it's hot enough. The market asks for more orange juice, and as a result, 80% of those oranges get squeezed and made into orange juice.
1.6.3. Location and raw Materials: Nurseries grow trees, flowers, and other plants. Nurseries are generally found in urban area. Greenhouses are used to plant flowers and speacial grass. They use fertilizers, peat moss, and mlch.
1.6.4. Location and labour: For example, coffee is produced in tropical climates, where there is plenty of sunlight but not super hot wheather. Coffee trees grow well in drained soils, and on 1000 - 2500 m above sea level. Lots of hand labour is used to pick the beans, before it's mechanically sorted and roasted.
1.6.5. Fair Trade: Farmers recieve very little money for their produce. Espeacially specialty farmers. For example, only 10 cents out of one dollar from a cup of coffee would be given to the grower. There is a pricing system, caleed fair trade that gives the growers a fair reasonable price, about twice as much as an individual farmer would get.
2. Landform Patterns
2.1. Fold Mountians
2.1.1. Fold Mountians are made from sedimentary rock.
2.1.2. Fold montians are formed when 2 plates crash into each other, and when one plates goes up, and one goes down, it causes the layers of rock on top of the plates to thrust up, fold, and crinkle like a carpet.(After a long period of time)
2.1.3. Fold mountians used to be under the water, in the ocean. That's why oceans fosills are found at the top.
2.1.4. An example of a fold mountian would be The Rocky Mountians.
2.2. Ancient Shield Reigons
2.2.1. Ancient Shield Reigons are made of igneous and metamorphic rock.
2.2.2. It's also refferd to as Pangaea, the theroy of when all the continents were stuck together.
2.2.3. An example of an ancient shield reigon is the Canadian Shield.
2.2.4. When Pangea seperated and broke up, the shield reigons are now spread out on earth.
2.2.5. They have now worn away from erosion.
2.2.6. An example of an ancinet shield reigon would be the Canadian Shield.
2.2.7. The Pangaea theory was made from Alfred Wegener, whose idea was thought crazy before, but now, makes sense.
2.3. Plains and Lowlands
2.3.1. Plains and Lowlands are made up of sedimentary rock.
2.3.2. They are quiet and undisturbed
2.3.3. The erosion from the shield reigons was carried by the river into the seas. It settled there and as a result created layers of sedimentary rock. As land grew around it it amde the plains and lowlands.
2.3.4. The plains are mainly located in leveled land and central North America, like the Great Plains in Alberta.
2.3.5. Lowlands are located by the coastlines, like where we live, and the st. lawrence lowlands.
2.4. Rivers
2.4.1. Rivers systems are networks of streams and lakes that come together and form a river.
2.4.2. Rivers carry lots of sediment and bring it to the ocean.
2.4.3. Rivers were also used for transportation in the olden days.
2.4.4. An example of a river is the St. Lawrence River, The Yangtze river, and the Nile River.
2.4.5. Rivers from from a high place(like a mountian), whcih is like the source, and then to low places, called the mouth or outflow.
2.4.6. Rainwater and Snow melt from the mountian tops and starts a river.
2.4.7. There are 2 different drainage patterns, dendritic and trellis.
2.4.8. Trellis Drainage is less common, but looks like a antenna on your roof, and is rectangular like. It's formed by rivers flowing through changing rock.
2.4.9. A Dendritic drainage is more common. It looks like a tree, and is formed by rivers crossing a slope over a basic type of rock.
3. Natural Disasters
3.1. Tsunamis
3.1.1. Tsunamises are underwater earthquakes.
3.1.2. Tsunamises are very strong, because water weighs a lot. It can hit you with a lot of force.
3.1.3. Tsunamises are a type of wave, not a tidal wave, or a storm surge.
3.1.4. A Tsunami is when an underwater earthquake occurs, which then results into shock tremors, then, as energy flows through the ocean, outwards to the water.
3.1.5. It's simialar to dropping a rock in a body of water.
3.1.6. Tremors travel 10x faster than the tsunami that the motion makes!
3.1.7. By looking at a tremor, scientests can tell the distance the and time the tsunami would take to reach the shores.
3.1.8. Nowdays, people measure the height of the waves from a tsunami to figure out the intensity of it.
3.2. Earthquakes
3.2.1. Earthquakes shakes the planet every 3 minutes, the crust shifting, moving, and trembling.
3.2.2. Most of the earthquakes are weaker and aren't able to do damage.
3.2.3. However, bigger earthquakes can be very strong and cause lots of destruction.
3.2.4. When earthquakes occur in a highly populated area, loss of life is common.
3.2.5. Earthquakes happen because the crust is moving.
3.2.6. The earth is like an egg, there's the core, which is like the yolk. There's the mantle, which is like the egg white. Then finally there's the crust, which is somewhat like the eggshell.
3.2.7. The core is a very hot part because of the pressure from the weight of rock matieral.
3.2.8. the Mantle is a part where the magma is, flowing around.
3.2.9. The crust is a thin, weak whell broken into a few pieces, which are refferd to as plates, and they float on the mantle.
3.2.10. Studies say that the magma currents under the crust moves the plates around slowly.
3.2.11. Earthquakes take place when the plates are being dragged together, ripped apart, etc, can cause the rock to have tension, and bend unitl it snaps and moves away.
3.2.12. Lots of energy is released and the epicentre, the break point.
3.2.13. Earthquakes cause tsunamises.
3.2.14. Earthquakes are measured with the Richter Scale.
3.3. Active Volcanos
3.3.1. Volcanoes are quite amazing. Although devestating and destructive, volcanoes are spectacular to watch.
3.3.2. There are two types. Composite cone and Shied cone.
3.3.3. Composite cone is a volcano made from changing layers of cinders and magma
3.3.4. Shield cones is a volcano built fully of magma, just magma.
3.3.5. Volcanoes change the earth's surface all the time. Either blowing away a mountian, or building a new one.
3.3.6. Volcanoes occur when molten magma is able to break through and escape through the crust.
3.3.7. Magma usually escapes from crakes are lines in the crust. It comes from the pipe and onto the surface.
3.3.8. If the pipe is clogged with rock, the pressure of the magma wanting to escape results into ripping away the top of the mountian.
3.3.9. When the magma is pushed towards the top, it stacks on the top and causes the volcano to grow higher and higher.
3.3.10. Volcanoes are found around the edge of plates, where magma would easier escape.
3.3.11. Plates are pulled toward one another by the matle underneath, and when 2 colide together, the ocean plate gets dragged below the continental plate. The end of the plate is dragged back to the magma, and starts to melt. The melted material finds its way to the surface in the cracks.
3.3.12. That proceduere^ takes place mostly at the edge of the pacific ocean, across the southern parts of Asia and Europe. Also thourgh the Caribbean region, above South America.
3.3.13. The pacific ring of fire is the name for where the most acitive volcanoses take place. They are usually near plate boundaries, since those are the places magma can find it's escape route.
3.3.14. The Mid- Atlantic Ridge happens where the major plates are moving apart.The Atlantic ocean bed spreads and allows magma to flow through this crack in the crust.
3.3.15. The ridge is located through Iceland, and new volcanic islands have formed recently.
3.3.16. Volcanoes are very dangerous. The lava will kill instantly.
3.4. Torandaoes
3.4.1. Only happens on land
3.4.2. Toranadoes are caused when hot air rises, and cool air rush down towards the ground. When they colide together, they spiral around and start to make a vortex of air. They start to pick up anything in it's way, and soon it's just a funnel of flying debris.
3.4.3. Tornadoes clear everything in it's path.
3.4.4. Normally happens in spring, because there's warm air from Mexico, and still some cool air from the arctic nearby. A tornado would form if they both colide togerther
3.4.5. If you're outside, it's best to find a ditch and huddle into a ball.
3.4.6. If you're in a house, it's best to go to the lowest floor, like a basement.
3.4.7. Tornadoes are deadly.
3.4.8. Most tornadoes take place in north amreica. It's called the tornado alley.
3.4.9. The severity of tornadoes are measured by the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
3.4.10. Global warming effects tornadoes, since global warming = more hot air. There is more warm air coming from the gulf of mexico now, concluding into more severe tornadoes.
3.5. Hurricanes
3.5.1. Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones are all the same, except they happen in diffrent places. They are all considered tropical storms.
3.5.2. These tropical storms take place on water, on both sides of the equator
3.5.3. A tropical storm is created when hot humid air from the ocean is replaced by cold air. At that stage, it's a tropical disturbance, but when it grows bigger, it spins faster. Now it's a tropical storm.
3.5.4. There's so much energy from a tropical storm that it could power North America for half a year!
3.5.5. Hurricanes take place in Caribbean and eastern North America.
3.5.6. The severity of tropical storms are measured using the saffir-simpson scale.
3.5.7. Cyclones effect the Indian ocean.
3.5.8. Typhoons stir in the Pacific Ocean.
3.5.9. Tropical storms can cause tremendous amounts of destruction, drowning everything in it's way.
3.5.10. Global warming effecs the number of tropical storms, because more warm air from the ocean= more tropical disturbances=more tropical storms.
3.5.11. Studies have shown that the number of tropical storms in catigory 4 & 5 have doubled over the past 30 years!
3.5.12. Since 1790, ocean temperatures have increased slightly.
4. Climate
4.1. The Effect of Latitude
4.1.1. Different laditudes changes the temperature, because of the sunshine, effecting different locations, some more, and some less.
4.1.2. Polar Climate: When the sun reaches the polar climate, they are scattered since they hit the earth at a sharp angle, and as a result, creates the northern lights in winter. Polar climate has cold winters and cool summers. For example, Siberia has polar climate.
4.1.3. Tropical climate: The suns rays hit the equator all year. Therefore, it's hot and humid in every season. Singapore is an example.
4.1.4. Temperate Climate: The suns rays hit the surface at a small angle, but enough to make the energy less intense as the locations near the equator. Temperate climate is mild and moderate for the whole year. In addition, the seasons are opposite from Canada's. An example is Australia.
4.2. The Effect of Moving Air
4.2.1. The sun causes different temperatures of wind, like warm or cool.
4.2.2. When warm air rises, it becomes cold and forms into water droplets, then clouds.
4.2.3. Desert Climate: There's a lot of rain by the equator, so when the air moves away, it cools, and when it reaches it's destination(at desert Climate) it's already become wind. Therefore, there is little rain in the desert climates, for example Egypt.
4.3. The Effect of Water Bodies
4.3.1. It is usually a moderate temperate near large bodies of water.
4.3.2. Maritime Climates are warm summers and cool winters.
4.3.3. Continental climate have hot summers and cold winters, like us here in Toronto.
4.4. The Effect of Mountains
4.4.1. Mountain climate has cooler because it has a higher altitude. Also, they have lots of precipitation.
4.4.2. The back of mountains are cooler than the sides, since they get sun rays.
4.4.3. The mountains close to coastlines get lots of precipitation.
4.5. The Effect of Ocean Currents
4.5.1. Warm or cold currents change the temperature of the coastlines.
4.5.2. Warm currents flow away from the equator, and cool currents do the opposite.