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134 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What two areas does geography divide into?
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Systematic/Topical
and Regional |
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What does Geography speak about?
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how things are distributed and why they are there
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Of the highest order, degree or extreme; the greatest or the least
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Superlatives
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What is (roughly) the pop. of CA?
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38 million (more than any other state)
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Where does CA rank in terms of size?
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#3; Alaska is #1, Texas is #2
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CA has highest point of elevation in the US outside of Alaska. What is it?
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Mt. Whitney
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CA has the lowest point of elevation in the entire Western hemisphere. What is it?
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Death Valley
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What is the record temp. for Death Valley?
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129 degrees Fahrenheit.
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CA is home to the oldest living thing(s) in the world. What is it?
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Bristlecone Pines
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CA is home to the largest/biggest living think on Earth. What is it?
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Sequoias (AKA General Sherman Trees)
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CA is home to the tallest trees on earth. What type of trees?
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Redwoods
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CA produces more _____ ______ than any other state.
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food products
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CA is #1 in ____ ________
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Modern Technology
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What is the largest city in northern CA
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San Jose
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In terms of people has more ____ groups and also more ______ than any other state.
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ethnic groups and immigrants
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CA has more ________ activism than any other state
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military
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What is CA's largest city?
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Los Angeles
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What is CA's second largest city?
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San Diego
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What is CA's third largest city?
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San Jose
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What is CA's fourth largest city?
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San Francisco
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What major industry in CA has declined?
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Aerospace
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In terms of distribution, which half of CA receives more water?
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Northern CA
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What is one major problem for public transportation in CA
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space
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When and by who was the name "California used for the first time"?
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in 1510 by Montalvo
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Who is Kevin Starr
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a CA historian
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What is Kevin Starr famous for?
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his multi-volume series on the history of California, "Americans and the California Dream."
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How many different languages are spoken in LA?
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80
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What is happening to CA culturally?
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It is becoming less diverse
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What is happening to CA's society?
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CA is becoming a "two-tier society"; upper and lower class
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What is a major problem with the availability of jobs in CA?
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jobs are being outsourced
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When were the boundaries of CA decided?
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in 1849 during the Constitutional Convention
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What major war ended with the US taking California?
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the Mexican-American war from 1846-1848
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Through what treaty did the US acquire CA along with Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico?
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on Feb. 2nd, 1848
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On what date was gold found in CA?
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January 24th, 1848
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What was unique about CA compared to almost all other western states?
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CA never went through a territory stage
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What brought such a large pop. to CA?
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Gold
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Why were the boundaries of CA drawn the way they were?
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To secure gold deposits
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Where is Northern CA boundary?
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42 degrees north
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What is the main source of SoCal's water supply?
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Colorado River
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From south east to north west, how long is CA?
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828 miles
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What is the main reason CA is good for trade?
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CA has a coast
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What are the two largest ports in CA?
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Los Angeles and Long Beach
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How thick is Earth's crust?
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5-40 miles
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how thick is Earth's mantle?
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1800 miles
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What is the radius of Earth's core?
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2100 miles
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What is causing the Atlantic Ocean to spread out?
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Seafloor Spreading/Plate Divergence
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When heavy and light plates collide and the light plate goes on top
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Subduction
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What is a result of Subduction?
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Trenches
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how are mountains and deep trenches created?
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through Convergence
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What is convergence?
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When plates collide
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What causes plates to move?
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Convection in the Earth's mantle
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Where are volcanoes located, generally?
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on top of subduction zones
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A convergent plate boundary where one plate subducts beneath the other, usually because it is denser
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subduction zone
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What is the source of coast ranges?
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trench material
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Area under crust of earth made of granite
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batholith
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give an example of a batholith
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The Sierra Nevada
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What is happening to the San Andreas fault?
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the West side is moving North West
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Rupture or crack in Earth's surface in which there's been movement or displacement
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Fault
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A horizontal movement of plates is known as ______ (name 3)
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strike-slip, lateral, or horizontal fault
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Earthquake that burned down most of SF due to gas lines breaking
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SF Earthquake of 1906
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What is notable about the Northride 'Quake of 1994
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it is one of the top 4 major natural disasters in history
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A fault in which the hanging wall has moved upward at a 45 degree angle relative to the footwall. occurs where two blocks of rock are forced together by compression
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Compression, Reverse, or Thrust fault
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Fault that separates the Great Basin and Mojave Desert
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Garlock fault
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What type of fault is the Garlock fault?
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Strike-slip fault
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Fault caused by tension or stretching
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Normal Fault
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Give an example of a Normal Fault
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The Great Basin
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a ridge of land that has been forced upwards between two parallel faults; mountain ranges
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Horst(s)
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Valleys
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Grabens
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give an example of a Graben
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Death Valley
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A logarithmic scale used to express the total amount of energy released by an earthquake
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Richter Scale
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how much greater is 3 than 2? 10 than 5?
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3 is 10x greater than 2; 10 is 100,000x greater than 5
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Where is the best place to build a house, generally?
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on top of bedrock
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What does a seismograph do?
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Counts the # of seconds between primary waves and S-waves
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What is the largest mountain in CA?
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Mt. Shasta
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Where is Mt. Shasta located?
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the Cascades
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How was Mt. Shasta created?
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through volcanic activity
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the high points in a fold; usually a mountain or hill
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Anticline
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the low point in a fold of earth
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syncline
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Where is oil found, generally?
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in Synclines
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Where are synclines and anticlines found, generally?
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near the coast
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Typical conditions over a number of years
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Climate
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Day to day conditions in an area
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Weather
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What type of climate does CA have?
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Mediterranean
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The North and South poles are what degrees on latitude?
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90 degrees north and south, respectively
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Latitude goes which directions?
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East and West
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Longitude goes which directions?
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North and South
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what is another name for longitude lines?
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meridians
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How is air pressure measured?
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Barometer
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What covers CA in the summer?
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A high pressure system
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What determines rainfall in CA?
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The Hawaiian High
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Describe CA's summers
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Hot, Dry with little rainfall
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Describe CA's winters
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Cool and wet with plenty rainfall
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This keeps pollution in the clouds making the sky hazy
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High Pressure Temperature Inversions
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What is the result of a low pressure system?
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cold, rain
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Cyclone refers to a ____ ______ _____
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Low pressure system
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A low pressure system rotates which direction?
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counter-clockwise
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Jet Streams pull storms which direction?
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from west to east
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How high in the air is the jet stream?
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appx. 50,000 feet
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What happens when cold and warm air meet?
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a boundary with a warm or cold front
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what is produced from a warm front?
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slow and steady rainfall
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what is produced from a cold front?
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warm, heavy downpour
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What is Continentality?
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how far inland an area is
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How does continentality affect temperature? Why does this happen?
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the further inland, the more the temp. fluctuates; Water is the great moderator
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What is the wettest month of the year for CA?
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January
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What is the hottest month of the year for the CA coast?
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September
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Where does NorCal's extra water go?
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SoCal
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plants that have adapted to dry conditions/desert climate; how do they adapt
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xerophyte;
by preserving water through waxy leaves or deep roots to receive water |
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hydrophytes
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plants that stay wet by growing in water
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give 2 examples of hydrophytes
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willows, cottonwood trees
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plants that grow in areas with a moderate amount of water or moisture
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mesophytes
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plants that tolerate cold conditions for a long period of time
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microthermal plants
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plants that can't tolerate cold conditions for a long period of time
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macrothermal
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plant that grows where it is affected by salinity, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores
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halophyte
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cone-bearing tree: any tree that has thin leaves needles and produces cones. Many types are evergreen. Pines, firs, junipers, larches, spruces, and yews are conifers; can be found as high as 3,000 ft.
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Conifer
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Pine found in the white mountains; oldest one is 4500 years old
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Bristlecone Pine
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Tree where groves are found on West side of Sierra Nevada and King's Canyon
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Sequoias
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Name the 4 types of Live Oaks
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1) Coast Live Oak
2) Valley Oak 3) Blue Oak 4) California Black Oak |
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Grassland w/scattered trees
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Savannah
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Largest, Greatest oak tree
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Valley Oak
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What is the most valuable vegetation in CA?
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Timber
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What percentage of CA's land is Chaparral?
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10%
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What side of the Sierra Nevada is the steepest?
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East Side
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What are the #1 and #2 greatest effects on vegetation
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#1: Rainfall
#2: Temp. |
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What three natural processes create mountains?
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volcanism, faulting, folding
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Where are coniferous trees the most plentiful?
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North Coast Ranges
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Who introduced oaks to the Valley?
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The Spanish
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What are coasts made of?
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Sedimentary rocks formed in trenches
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What kind of fog does the Valley get?
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radiation fog/tule fog
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what are two types of Chaparral?
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manzanita and chamise
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how is rainfall distributed in CA?
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it decreases as you go from NorCal to SoCal
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when air is pushed up the mountain
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Oragraphic Lifting
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Which side of a mountain receives more rain?
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Windward side
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A tree, shrub, or plant having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year.
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Evergreen
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trees and shrubs that shed all leaves annually at the end of the growing season and then having a dormant period without leaves
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Deciduous
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