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Chapter 2
NORTH AMERICA
INTRODUCTION
Multiple-Choice
1. Mendota, a town in California’s Central Valley, is known for which of the following
industries?
a) mining
b) technology
c) agriculture* [Pg. 60]
d) service
2. Drug abuse, family violence, and malnutrition are often the result of:
a) migration.
b) education.
c) an uptick in the stock market.
d) unemployment.* [Pg. 60]
3. All of the following are root causes of high unemployment in California’s Central
Valley EXCEPT for:
a) anti-immigrant legislation.* [Pg. 60]
b) a long drought.
c) the “eat local” movement.
d) a naturally arid environment.
4. Unemployment in Mendoto was at _____ percent in 2009.
a) 41* [Pg. 60]
b) 10
c) 85
d) 7
5. 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.* [Pg. 60]
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6. Farmers have been forced to remove approximately ____________ acres from
production.
a) 80,000
b) 1 million* [Pg. 60]
c) 4.7 million
d) 2.2 billion
7. 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* [Pg. 60]
d) service industry workers
8. 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* [Pg. 60]
Short-Answer
9. Drought in the Central Valley region is due to natural dry cycles and ___________.
Answer: global climate change [Pg. 60]
I. THE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING
Multiple-Choice
10. Which term does the text use to refer to all Spanish-speaking people from
Middle and South America?
a) Latino
b) Hispanic* [Pg. 61]
c) South American
d) Hispaniola
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11. Most Canadians are content to be called:
a) Canadian.* [Pg. 61]
b) Quebecois.
c) Mounties.
d) Canucks.
12. According to the textbook, members of which of the following groups can be
properly referred to as North Americans?
a) Canadians* [Pg. 61]
b) Japanese
c) Irish
d) South Africans
13. “American” is the term used to describe residents of which country?
a) the United States* [Pg. 61]
b) Canada
c) Mexico
d) Peru
Short-Answer
14 ________________________ is the preferred term for Spanish speakers living in the
Southwest.
Answer: Latino [Pg. 61]
True-False
15. The term “North America” is synonymous with the United States.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 61]
16. The term “American” as used in the textbook refers to the people of the United
States.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
17. Hispanic people may have ancestors of African, Asian, or Native American
descent.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
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Physical Patterns
Multiple-Choice
18. Which mountain range dominates western North America?
a) White Mountains
b) Rocky Mountains* [Pg. 61]
c) Central Andes
d) Appalachian Mountains
19. The Rocky Mountains were created by the collision of the North American Plate
with the:
a) Pacific Plate.* [Pg. 61]
b) Oceanic Plate.
c) Rocky Plate.
d) Atlantic Plate.
20. 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* [Pg. 61]
d) mudslides
21. The Appalachian Mountains were created when the North American Plate
collided with:
a) Europe.
b) Asia.
c) Africa.* [Pg. 61]
d) South America.
22. The Great Lakes were formed by:
a) plate tectonics.
b) melting glaciers.* [Pg. 61]
c) global warming.
d) the Appalachian mountains.
23. Much of the lowland in Louisiana and Mississippi is filled in by:
5
a) the Mississippi River delta.* [Pg. 61]
b) the Grand Canyon.
c) the Appalachian mountain range.
d) overflow from Canada.
24. The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet in:
a) Canton, Ohio.
b) Biloxi, Mississippi.
c) Chicago, Illinois.
d) Cairo, Illinois.* [Pg. 61]
25. 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* [Pg. 61]
26. 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.*[Pg. 61]
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.
27. 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.* [Pg. 61]
d) Early European settlers cleared and flattened a hilly landscape so that they could
more easily farm the area.
6
28. 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* [Pg. 61]
b) Rocky Mountains
c) Florida Everglades
d) Cascade volcanoes
29. Which of the following mountain chains is the oldest, and hence the most
eroded?
a) American Rockies
b) Canadian Rockies
c) Appalachians* [Pg. 61]
d) Sierra Madres
Short-Answer
30. The most recent ice age started about _____________ years ago.
Answer: 25,000 [Pg. 61]
31. A low, flat, transition zone between land and sea, characterized by swamps,
lagoons, and sandbars, is called a _______________.
Answer: delta [Pg. 61]
32. Underground water basins are called __________________.
Answer: aquifers [Pg. 61]
33. What is the name given to the range of mountains that stretch along the eastern
edge of North America?
Answer: the Appalachians [Pg. 61]
True-False
34. The Appalachian Mountains are much older than the Rocky Mountains.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
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35. The Rocky Mountains are much older than the Appalachian Mountains.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 61]
36. The Appalachian Mountains stretch from New Brunswick, New Jersey to Georgia.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 61]
37. The Rocky Mountain and Appalachian Mountain ranges are found only within
the United States.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 61]
38. The Appalachian Mountain range stretches from Maine to the Southern United
States.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
39. Levees and other flood-control measures in Louisiana are causing the
Mississippi delta to sink into the Gulf of Mexico.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
40. The Appalachian mountain range resulted from the collision of tectonic plates.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
41. The Great Lakes are depressions left by glacial scouring.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
Matching
42. created by glacial scouring, with abundant lakes [e]
43. dry region of widely spaced mountains covered mainly by desert scrub [d]
44. long-lot field pattern [f]
45. leading producer of fruits and vegetables [a]
46. landform along North America’s eastern edge [c]
47. supplies Atlantic coast with warm, moist air [b]
a) Central Valley [Pg. 60]
b) Gulf Stream [Pg. 62]
c) Appalachian Mountains [Pg. 61]
d) Great Basin [Pg. 115]
e) Canadian Shield [Pg. 115]
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f) St. Lawrence River [Pg. 107]
Essay
48. In terms of locations and landforms, explain how the last glaciation affected the
physical landscape of North America. [Pg. 61]
Climate
Multiple-Choice
49. A climate that is dry and warm in summer, cool and moist in winter is:
a) Mediterranean.* [Pg. 61]
b) Tyrrhenian.
c) American.
d) Pacific.
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.* [Pg. 62]
51. Central North America is ____________ in the eastern and southern parts, and
___________ in the northern and western parts.
a) wettest; driest* [Pg. 62]
b) oldest; newest
c) temperate; intemperate
d) overpopulated;, underpopulated
52. 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.* [Pg. 62]
d) the Jet Stream.
53. 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:
9
a) in coastal areas, temperatures are moderated by the oceans.* [Pg. 62]
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.
54. What is the main source of moisture east of the Rocky Mountains?
a) the Pacific Ocean
b) the Gulf of Mexico* [Pg. 62]
c) the Atlantic Ocean
d) the Great Lakes
55. 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* [Pg. 61]
Short-Answer
56. The warm ocean current that flows up the eastern seaboard of North America
from the tropics is called the _____________.
Answer: Gulf Stream [Pg. 62]
True-False
57. A Mediterranean climate is generally dry and warm in the summer, and cool and
moist in winter.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 61]
58. A Mediterranean climate is generally dry and warm in the winter, and cool and
moist in summer.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 61]
59. The interior of North America is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter
than the coastal areas.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 62]
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60. The interior of North America is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
than the coastal areas.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 62]
Environmental Issues
Multiple-Choice
61. Which of the following is NOT an environmental challenge facing North
America?
a) climate stabilization* [Pg. 61]
b) depletion and pollution of water resources
c) habitat loss
d) hazardous waste
62. European colonization of North America began around the year:
a) 1400.
b) 1500.* [Pg. 70]
c) 1600.
d) 1800.
63. 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.* [Pg. 65]
c) paper harvesting.
d) logging rotation.
64. 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.* [Pg. 65]
65. Huge heaps of mining waste are called:
a) scrap metal.
b) pilings.
11
c) tailings.* [Pg. 65]
d) oxide dregs.
66. A particularly strong threat to the North American environment comes from the
mining of ___________ in the remote interior.
a) natural gas
b) coal* [Pg. 65]
c) lumber
d) paper
67. Fracking is an environmentally destructive form of ______ extraction.
a) coal
b) gold
c) oil* [Pg. 65]
d) diamond
68. 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.* [Pg. 65]
69. The snakehead fish was brought to America from _____________.
a) Europe
b) Australia
c) Northern Africa
d) Asia* [Pg. 65]
70. Experts estimate that at least ______________ non-native plants and animals have
invaded North America.
a) 200
b) 1000
c) 4000* [Pg. 65]
d) 10,000
71. North America is home to ____ percent of the world’s population.
a) 5* [Pg. 66]
b) 25
c) 33
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d) 50
72. Of all the greenhouse emissions produced worldwide, North America accounts
for approximately ____________.
a) one-tenth
b) one -quarter* [Pg. 66]
c) one-third
d) one-half
73. _______ 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* [Pg. 66]
d) Mineralization
74. The result of pollutants dissolving in falling precipitation _______ can kill trees,
fish, and wildlife.
a) thermal inversions
b) smog
c) acid rain* [Pg. 66]
d) the introduction of a non-native species into the area
75. 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* [Pg. 68]
76. 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.* [Pg. 68]
d) California residents drink more water per capita than residents of any other state.
77. 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* [Pg. 66]
b) 2 percent
13
c) 53 percent
d) 75 percent
78. 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* [Pg. 68]
b) river
c) crater lake
d) qanat
79. A dead zone is:
a) an area near the mouth of a major river system in which there is little to no
life.*[Pg. 69]
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.
80. The chief source of river pollution in North America is:
a) nuclear waste.
b) storm-water runoff.* [Pg. 69]
c) mudslides.
d) limestone and quartz.
81. 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.* [Pg. 68]
d) California is able to provide much of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the
United States.
82. The Grand Banks are found offshore of:
a) Miami.
b) North Carolina and South Carolina.
c) Newfoundland and Maine.* [Pg. 71]
d) Vancouver.
83. Which of the following environmental disasters occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in
2010?
14
a) the Deepwater Horizon spill* [Pg. 65]
b) Hurricane Katrina
c) the Love Canal
d) the Exxon Valdez
84. 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.*[Pg. 65]
85. 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*[Pg. 69]
86. 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.*[Pg. 70]
d) Bottling companies take extensive precautions to prevent fresh water depletion
and pollution.
Short-Answer
87. 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 ________________________________.
Answer: clear-cutting [Pg. 65]
88. The yellow-brown haze of industrial emissions and car exhaust that hovers over
many cities is called _______________.
Answer: smog [Pg. 66]
89. __________________________ occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide fall to
Earth as precipitation.
Answer: Acid rain [Pg. 66]
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90. The largest aquifer in North America is the _______________ aquifer.
Answer: Ogallala [Pg. 68]
91. An area where water is so polluted that it supports almost no life is called a
________________.
Answer: dead zone [Pg. 69]
True-False
92. The domestic cat is one of the few native species still thriving in North America.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 65]
93. Residents of Alaska receive yearly rebates from oil revenues in that state.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 65]
94. The North American population produces less than one-tenth of the greenhouse
gases released into the atmosphere.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 66]
95. The Colorado River seems to be an almost limitless source of water for the
Southwest and will enable Los Angeles to grow much larger.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 68]
96. Dead zones tend to occur in isolated lakes in the continental interior of North
America.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 69]
97. Given the high value of water, it is safe to conclude that most Americans greatly
underpay for their current water supply.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 69]
98. It is estimated that at least 4000 non-native species have been introduced to
North America.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 65]
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99. Restrictions on logging due to environmental impacts have caused widespread
unemployment in the Pacific Northwest.
Answer: FALSE [Pg. 65]
100. The dispersants used by British Petroleum to remediate the 2010 Gulf oil spill
are so toxic that they’ve been banned in Europe.
Answer: TRUE [Pg. 65]
Essay
101. Briefly summarize the environmental issues facing North America.
Answer: Environmental issues facing North America include (a) loss of habitat for
plants and animals as a result of logging, mining and oil drilling, and urban sprawl;
(b) climate change and air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels; (c) water
resource depletion, pollution, and marketization; (d) depleted fisheries; and (e)
hazardous waste. [Pg. 62-70]
102. Briefly define clear-cutting, the cheapest and most widely practiced method of
timber harvesting in North America, and discuss three environmental costs of clearcutting, including the potential problem with clear-cut land that has been reforested.
Answer:
Clear-cutting involves the removal of all the trees on a given piece of land,
regardless of age, health, or species. The immediate environmental cost of this
practice is borne by the animals whose habitats were constitutive of those trees.
Clear-cutting also accelerates the process of soil erosion. Finally, the species
diversity of the forest that grows back on cleared land tends to be minimal, often
with only one or two species represented. Less or no species diversity means that
the entire forest, rather than a handful of trees within it, is vulnerable to a single
disease or pest. [Pg. 65]
103. Briefly discuss two kinds of air pollution that are a result of greenhouse gases.
In North American cities, industrial emissions, car exhaust, and water vapor
combine to develop smog. Smog frequently hovers as a yellow-brown haze causing a
variety of health problems. Acid rain is also caused by these same emissions. When
pollutants dissolve in falling precipitation, they make the rain acidic. Acid rain can
kill trees, fish, and wildlife when concentrated in lakes and streams. [Pg. 60]
Human Patterns Over Time
17
Multiple-Choice
104. Which of the following statements about Native Americans is INCORRECT?
a) Native Americans on the Great Plains had horses before the Europeans arrived.*
[Pg. 71]
b) Lack of immunity to European diseases killed 90 percent of Native Americans
within 100 years after contact.
c) Native Americans likely came originally from Asia, over the Bering Strait land
bridge.
d) By 1907, only 2 percent of the original Native American population was left
105. The introduction of which of the following allowed Native Americans to begin
building cities by freeing up community members to engage in activities other than
agriculture, hunting, and gathering?
a) horses
b) guns
c) cattle
d) corn, squash and beans* [Pg. 70]
106. The earliest European explorers to come to North America came from all of the
following countries EXCEPT:
a) Spain.
b) Greece.* [Pg. 79]
c) Italy.
d) Portugal.
107. Reservations now cover _____ percent of Canada.
a) 10
b) 20*[Pg. 74]
c) 50
d) 75
108. Approximately ___ percent of Native Americans were killed by infectious
diseases within 100 years of first European contact.
a) 25
b) 40
c) 65
d) 90* [Pg. 71]
