Deck 2: North America

Question 1

The Appalachian Mountains were created when the North American Plate collided with:

A) Europe.
B) Asia.
C) Africa.
D) South America.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

As a result of programs implemented in the 1930s during the Great Depression, the U.S. high school graduation rate increased from 20percent to ______ percent.

A) 25
B) 40
C) 50
D) 60

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The Rocky Mountains were created by the collision of the North American Plate with the:

A) Pacific Plate.
B) Oceanic Plate.
C) Rocky Plate.
D) Atlantic Plate.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

All of the following are root causes of high unemployment in California's Central Valley EXCEPT for:

A) anti-immigrant legislation.
B) a long drought.
C) the "eat local" movement.
D) a naturally arid environment.

Question 5

What population has been most devastated by the troubles in California's Central Valley?

A) affluent Californians who have lost money on property investments
B) U.S. residents who depend on Central Valley produce
C) low-wage Hispanic male agricultural workers
D) service industry workers

Question 6

Hispanic people may have ancestors of African, Asian, or Native American descent.

Question 7

Most Canadians are content to be called:

A) Canadian.
B) Quebecois.
C) Mounties.
D) Canucks.

Question 8

Farmers have been forced to remove approximately ____________ acres from production.

A) 80,000
B) 1 million
C) 4.7 million
D) 2.2 billion

Question 9

Drought in the Central Valley region is due to natural dry cycles and ___________.

Question 10

The rubbing of the North American Plate against the Pacific Plate causes ____________________ along the Pacific Coast of North America.

A) volcano eruptions
B) global warming
C) earthquakes
D) mudslides

Question 11

Which term does the text use to refer to all Spanish-speaking people from Middle and South America?

A) Latino
B) Hispanic
C) South American
D) Hispaniola

Question 12

According to the textbook, members of which of the following groups can be properly referred to as North Americans?

A) Canadians
B) Japanese
C) Irish
D) South Africans

Question 13

The term "North America" is synonymous with the United States.

Question 14

"American" is the term used to describe residents of which country?

A) the United States
B) Canada
C) Mexico
D) Peru
14 ________________________ is the preferred term for Spanish speakers living in the Southwest.

Question 15

Unemployment in Mendoto was at _____ percent in 2009.

A) 41
B) 10
C) 85
D) 7

Question 16

A shift toward purchasing locally grown produce was a response to:

A) drought.
B) global climate change.
C) limited availability of California grown crops.
D) the global economic recession.

Question 17

Which mountain range dominates western North America?

A) White Mountains
B) Rocky Mountains
C) Central Andes
D) Appalachian Mountains

Question 18

The term "American" as used in the textbook refers to the people of the United States.

Question 19

Mendota, a town in California's Central Valley, is known for which of the following industries?

A) mining
B) technology
C) agriculture
D) service

Question 20

Drug abuse, family violence, and malnutrition are often the result of:

A) migration.
B) education.
C) an uptick in the stock market.
D) unemployment.

Question 21

The Appalachian Mountains are much older than the Rocky Mountains.

Question 22

Which of the following features on the North American physical landscape is the work of glaciers that once covered large parts of the continent as recently as 10,000 years ago?

A) Great Lakes
B) Rocky Mountains
C) Florida Everglades
D) Cascade volcanoes

Question 23

A low, flat, transition zone between land and sea, characterized by swamps, lagoons, and sandbars, is called a _______________.

Question 24

Underground water basins are called __________________.

Question 25

The Rocky Mountain and Appalachian Mountain ranges are found only within the United States.

Question 26

A climate that is dry and warm in summer, cool and moist in winter is:

A) Mediterranean.
B) Tyrrhenian.
C) American.
D) Pacific.

Question 27

The Great Lakes are depressions left by glacial scouring.

Question 28

What name is given to the entire mountainous mass in western North America?

A) Canadian Shield
B) Tehuantepec zone
C) the Great Glacial Highlands
D) Rocky Mountain zone

Question 29

Which of the following mountain chains is the oldest, and hence the most eroded?

A) American Rockies
B) Canadian Rockies
C) Appalachians
D) Sierra Madres

Question 30

The Rocky Mountains are much older than the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 31

Much of the lowland in Louisiana and Mississippi is filled in by:

A) the Mississippi River delta.
B) the Grand Canyon.
C) the Appalachian mountain range.
D) overflow from Canada.

Question 32

The Appalachian mountain range resulted from the collision of tectonic plates.

Question 33

The Appalachian Mountains stretch from New Brunswick, New Jersey to Georgia.

Question 34

Which geographic phenomenon is most responsible for the constant threat of earthquakes along the Pacific coast?

A) Magma underneath Earth's surface is pressing up on the crust with increasing pressure.
B) The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are presently rubbing up against each other.
C) Pressure from increased ocean mass caused by global warming is creating structural instability underneath the continent.
D) Great quantities of industrial chemicals have leached into earth's crust, causing a breakdown in its composition.

Question 35

What process resulted in the formation of the North American central lowland that lies in between the two major mountain ranges of the continent?

A) A colossal volcanic eruption split North America in half, and the central lowland, once an intercontinental sea, was filled in by glacial activity.
B) Earthquakes opened and flattened what was once a mountainous area.
C) Material that erodes from the Rocky Mountains has been deposited by wind, rain, and rivers.
D) Early European settlers cleared and flattened a hilly landscape so that they could more easily farm the area.

Question 36

The Appalachian Mountain range stretches from Maine to the Southern United States.

Question 37

The Great Lakes were formed by:

A) plate tectonics.
B) melting glaciers.
C) global warming.
D) the Appalachian mountains.

Question 38

The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet in:

A) Canton, Ohio.
B) Biloxi, Mississippi.
C) Chicago, Illinois.
D) Cairo, Illinois.

Question 39

Levees and other flood-control measures in Louisiana are causing the Mississippi delta to sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

Question 40

What is the name given to the range of mountains that stretch along the eastern edge of North America?

Question 41

Central North America is ____________ in the eastern and southern parts, and ___________ in the northern and western parts.

A) wettest; driest
B) oldest; newest
C) temperate; intemperate
D) overpopulated;, underpopulated

Question 42

What is the main source of moisture east of the Rocky Mountains?

A) the Pacific Ocean
B) the Gulf of Mexico
C) the Atlantic Ocean
D) the Great Lakes

Question 43

Which of the following impact the climate variability found in North America?

A) population growth in South America
B) out-sourcing of production operations
C) tectonic plate activity
D) landforms on the continent that influence the movement of air masses

Question 44

The warm ocean current that flows up the eastern seaboard of North America from the tropics is known as:

A) El Niño.
B) La Niña.
C) the Gulf Stream.
D) the Jet Stream.

Question 45

The logging method by which all trees on a given plot of land are cut down, regardless of age, health, or species, is:

A) defoliation.
B) clear-cutting.
C) paper harvesting.
D) logging rotation.

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT an environmental challenge facing North America?

A) climate stabilization
B) depletion and pollution of water resources
C) habitat loss
D) hazardous waste

Question 47

European colonization of North America began around the year:

A) 1400.
B) 1500.
C) 1600.
D) 1800.

Question 48

The snakehead fish was brought to America from _____________.

A) Europe
B) Australia
C) Northern Africa
D) Asia

Question 49

Temperatures in the continental interior of North America are hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than in North American coastal areas because:

A) in coastal areas, temperatures are moderated by the oceans.
B) there is less vegetation in the continental interior.
C) the coasts are less heavily populated than the interior.
D) the coastal interior is closer to the equator.

Question 50

The main source of moisture east of the Rockies is:

A) the jet stream.
B) Canadian precipitation.
C) evaporation from the Great Lakes.
D) the Gulf of Mexico.

Question 51

A Mediterranean climate is generally dry and warm in the winter, and cool and moist in summer.

Question 52

All of the following are results of clear-cutting EXCEPT:

A) the destruction of animal habitats.
B) a reduction in species diversity.
C) the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
D) unemployment in the logging industry.

Question 53

A particularly strong threat to the North American environment comes from the mining of ___________ in the remote interior.

A) natural gas
B) coal
C) lumber
D) paper

Question 54

A Mediterranean climate is generally dry and warm in the summer, and cool and moist in winter.

Question 55

All of the following are threats to habitat for people and animals in North America EXCEPT for:

A) logging.
B) urban sprawl.
C) mining.
D) urban renewal.

Question 56

The interior of North America is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the coastal areas.

Question 57

Huge heaps of mining waste are called:

A) scrap metal.
B) pilings.
C) tailings.
D) oxide dregs.

Question 58

Fracking is an environmentally destructive form of ______ extraction.

A) coal
B) gold
C) oil
D) diamond

Question 59

The interior of North America is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than the coastal areas.

Question 60

The warm ocean current that flows up the eastern seaboard of North America from the tropics is called the _____________.

Question 61

The yellow-brown haze of industrial emissions and car exhaust that hovers over many cities is called _______________.

Question 62

Southern California's water needs are so intense because:

A) Mexico has illegally diverted California's water supply.
B) nearby Nevada has accessed California's aquifers.
C) the natural state of Southern California is desert.
D) California residents drink more water per capita than residents of any other state.

Question 63

__________________________ occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide fall to Earth as precipitation.

Question 64

The result of pollutants dissolving in falling precipitation _______ can kill trees, fish, and wildlife.

A) thermal inversions
B) smog
C) acid rain
D) the introduction of a non-native species into the area

Question 65

All of the following are negative impacts associated with logging EXCEPT:

A) loss of habitat and species diversity.
B) forest depletion.
C) erosion.
D) high unemployment rates.

Question 66

North America is home to ____ percent of the world's population.

A) 5
B) 25
C) 33
D) 50

Question 67

The logging method by which all trees on a given plot of land are cut down, regardless of age, health, or species, is known as ________________________________.

Question 68

The 5 percent of the world's population that lives in North America produces what share of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere?

A) 26 percent
B) 2 percent
C) 53 percent
D) 75 percent

Question 69

Which of the following describes the state of drinking water in North America?

A) It is extremely dangerous to drink water from the tap and should be avoided.
B) Municipalities sell their water to bottling companies to prevent subsidence.
C) Access to tap water is comparatively at a low cost.
D) Bottling companies take extensive precautions to prevent fresh water depletion and pollution.

Question 70

Which of the following environmental disasters occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010?

A) the Deepwater Horizon spill
B) Hurricane Katrina
C) the Love Canal
D) the Exxon Valdez

Question 71

Of all the greenhouse emissions produced worldwide, North America accounts for approximately ____________.

A) one-tenth
B) one -quarter
C) one-third
D) one-half

Question 72

In addition to irrigation, farmers on the Great Plains have turned to using fossil water from the Ogallala, the largest of what type of feature in the region?

A) aquifer
B) river
C) crater lake
D) qanat

Question 73

By reversing the flow of the Chicago River, the city of Chicago is now sending its wastewater to which water body?

A) the Hudson River
B) the Atlantic Ocean
C) Lake Michigan
D) the Gulf of Mexico

Question 74

A dead zone is:

A) an area near the mouth of a major river system in which there is little to no life.
B) an area that a farmer has allowed to be unproductive in order to raise crop prices.
C) an area in which there is no Internet access.
D) an area in which a species has been permanently lost.

Question 75

Experts estimate that at least ______________ non-native plants and animals have invaded North America.

A) 200
B) 1000
C) 4000
D) 10,000

Question 76

The Grand Banks are found offshore of:

A) Miami.
B) North Carolina and South Carolina.
C) Newfoundland and Maine.
D) Vancouver.

Question 77

_______ is a combination of industrial emissions, car exhaust, and water vapor that frequently hovers as a yellow-brown haze over many North American cities.

A) Fracking
B) Acid rain
C) Smog
D) Mineralization

Question 78

What percentage of riparian areas in North America have been lost or degraded?

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 56 percent
D) 90 percent

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT an effect of massive, interstate, water engineering projects in the Southwest?

A) Water is expensively pumped over mountain ranges.
B) Mexico is deprived of water for irrigation and other purposes.
C) The Colorado River now carries more water than ever.
D) California is able to provide much of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the United States.

Question 80

The chief source of river pollution in North America is:

A) nuclear waste.
B) storm-water runoff.
C) mudslides.
D) limestone and quartz.