Download File - AP World History Review

AP WORLD
GEOGRAPHY
Ms. Sheets
University High School
From www.worldatlas.com
Geography of the World
Africa
Africa, the planet's
2nd largest continent
and the second mostpopulous continent
(after Asia) includes
54 countries. South
Sudan is the
continent's newest
country.
With a 2011
population of
1,032,532,974, it
accounts for 14% of
the world's
population.
Africa:
Topographical
Map
Africa contains the
Nile River system,
the world's longest,
and the massive
Sahara Desert, the
world's largest.
Africa: Satellite
View
Notice where desert
is, and where the
natural separation is
created between
North Africa and SubSaharan Africa. This
area is called the
Sahel Grasslands.
North Africa and
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Mauritania, Mali, Niger,
Chad and Sudan occupy
the region called the
Sahel Grasslands and
are therefore the
transition zone from
North Africa to SubSaharan Africa.
West Africa; East
Africa; Central
Africa; Southern
Africa
Countries of note:
North Africa:
Libya; Tunisia; Algeria
West Africa:
Mali; Ghana
East Africa:
Sudan; Ethiopia;
Kenya
Central Africa:
Congo
Southern Africa:
Angola; South Africa
Asia
As the largest and
most populous
continent in the world
with 3.8 billion
people, Asia is
composed of a wide
variety of ethnicities,
cultures,
environments,
history, and
governments.
The continent makes
up 8.7% of the
Earth's total surface
area, and 29.5% of
its land area.
East Asia
Countries of note:
China; Mongolia;
North Korea; South
Korea; Japan; Taiwan
Southeast Asia
Countries of note:
Vietnam; Philippines;
Singapore; Indonesia
South Asia
Countries of note:
Afghanistan; Pakistan;
India; Bangladesh
Southwest Asia
(Middle East)
The Middle East sits
where Africa, Asia and
Europe meet. The
countries are all part of
Asia, but for clarity they
are shown here as a
separate landmass.
**Egypt is also
included in Southwest
Asia, according to the
AP World Exam**
Countries of note:
Egypt; Israel; Iraq;
Turkey; Iran; Saudi
Arabia
The “Greater
Middle East”
This is not a region
recognized on the AP,
but this is nevertheless
significant as the
Greater Middle East
draws attention to the
cultural similarities in the
highlighted regions.
Europe
Europe is the planet's 6th
largest continent AND
includes 47 countries and
dependencies, islands
and territories. Europe's
recognized surface area
covers 2% of the Earth's
surface, and about 6.8%
of its land area.
Europe is not a continent,
but part of the peninsula
of Eurasia . However, it's
still widely referred to as
an individual continent
because of its cultural and
historical distinctiveness.
The European continent is
separated from Asia by
Russia's Ural
Mountains and by the
Caspian and Black Seas.
It is separated from Africa
by the Mediterranean Sea.
Europe:
Topographical
Map
Notice how mountain
ranges have created a
separation between Italy
and the rest of Europe.
Similarly the Pyrenees
separate the Iberian
peninsula from France.
Europe: Rivers
Map
Major rivers like the
Volga, Danube, Seine
and Rhine allowed for
travel and contact
through Europe’s history.
Western
Europe
Countries of note:
United Kingdom;
Denmark; Germany;
France; Portugal;
Spain; Italy; Austria
Scandinavia
Countries of note:
Denmark; Sweden
Eastern Europe
Countries of note:
Russia; Poland;
Ukraine; Greece;
Serbia
Oceania
Oceania, the
planet's smallest
continent, is without doubt
one of the most diverse
areas on the planet.
Geography experts now
consider the continent of
Australia to be more
accurately defined as
Australia/Oceania.
Collectively it combines all
of Australia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, as
well as the thousands of
coral atolls and volcanic
islands of the South
Pacific Ocean and the
islands that run along the
northern and southern
edges of the Equator,
called Micronesia.
Oceania
Countries of note:
Australia; New Zealand
North America
North America, the
planet’s 3rd largest
continent, includes 23
countries, and territories.
It contains all Caribbean
and Central America
countries, Bermuda,
Canada, Mexico, USA,
as well as Greenland the world’s largest
island.
North America is
bordered in the north by
the Arctic Ocean, in the
east by the Atlantic
Ocean, in the southeast
by the Caribbean Sea
and Gulf of Mexico, and
in the west by the Pacific
Ocean.
North America:
Topographical
Map
Countries of note:
Canada; US; Mexico
North America:
Satellite Map
Caribbean
The Caribbean, long
referred to as the West
Indies, includes more
than 7,000 islands; of
those, 13 are
independent island
countries (shown in red)
on the map, and some
are dependencies or
overseas territories of
other nations.
Countries of note:
Cuba; Haiti; Dominican
Republic; Jamaica
Central
America
Central America, a part
of North America, is a
tropical isthmus that
connects North America
to South America. It
includes 7 countries and
small offshore islands.
The land is fertile and
rugged, and dominated
by volcanic mountain
ranges that have a few
active volcanos.
Countries of note:
Guatemala; Panama
South America
South America, the
planet's 4th largest
continent, includes 12
independent countries
and 3 major territories;
the Falkland Islands,
Galapagos Islands and
French Guiana.
Countries of note:
Colombia; Peru;
Brazil; Bolivia;
Argentina; Chile
Satellite Map of
South America
The continent contains
the world's highest
waterfall, Angel Falls in
Venezuela; the largest
river (by volume),
the Amazon River; the
longest mountain range,
the Andes, and the
driest place on earth,
the Atacama Desert in
Chile.
Topographical
Map of South
America
In addition, it includes
the largest rainforest,
the Amazon Rainforest;
the highest capital
city, La Paz, Bolivia; the
highest commercially
navigable lake in the
world, Lake Titicaca;
and, excluding research
stations in Antarctica,
the world's
southernmost
permanently inhabited
community, Puerto Toro,
Chile.
Latin America
Latin America includes
South America, the
Caribbean, and Central
America.