California Geography - Study Guide

• Where and what influence did the Spanish have on California place names?

• What is the tallest and lowest point in California?

• Know all of the greatest physical diversity records, such as: what is the oldest, largest, and tallest trees in California (3 separate trees)

• How much land does the government own?

• What is subduction?
• What is igneous intrusive versus igneous extrusive (give examples)?
• What is a "batholithe" and how is it created?
• What is "melange"?
  - What mountains range is it best associated?

• What is an "exfoliated dome?"
  

• How were the Sierra Nevada formed? (know all of the geologic reasons)

• Why is the Sierra Nevada a "fault-block" mountain range?
• The Sierra Nevada is mostly composed of what rock type?

• How was the Great Basin formed?

• Why are the Klamath Mountains called the "Klamath Knot?"
  - The Klamath Mountains is mostly composed of what rock type?
  - What are the special type of soils and how does this affect local vegetation?



• What is a "refugio" plant? (give some examples)

• Where are earthquakes the most dangerous in general?
• Note some of the most powerful earthquakes in California.
• Note the orientation of most earthquake faults in the Coast Range.
• Understand the likelihood of an earthquake in the S.F. Bay Area.

• Understand the major and significant characteristics of each landform province, especially what is emphasized in class. (particularly what distinguishes each landform province apart from the others.)
  
  

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Climate names paired with Koppen climates

Note: the names will be paired with the lettering system usually except the first one below.

Example: Mediteranean Csa (C = temperate, s = summer drought, a = hot while b = cooler temps such as with fog belts)

Must know Mediterranean (Csa = hot summer and Csb = cooler summer where fog exists); know Marine West Coast (Cfb = summer rain)

Deserts (BW = also known as a true desert, where cactus exist and BS = also known as a steppe climate, where sage brush & scrubby trees exists); finally Highlands (H) where elevation counts more than latitude (like Tahoe).

You do not need to know other Koppen climates, like Tropical (A) as California has no tropical areas including Southern California, nor do you need to know D or E climates because California only has snow climate at elevation (highland climates).

• Eureka
• San Francisco
• Bishop
• Bakersfield
• San Diego
  

• What is the dominant reason for California's dry, rainless summers?

• How do the discussed causes affect California's climate
  (latitude, continentality, currents, pressure, and mountains)

• What are the three common types of precipitation?
  
  
• Where are you likely to find "orographic precipitation"? (Hint: look up what orographic means)

• What is a "rainshadow" and where can they be found?
  
  
  

• State water imbalance - what is meant by "surplus" and "deficit" as it applies to natural water supply?
  
  
• What are the 3 main government levels with the storage, manipulation and management of fresh water supply? (Hint: think national to local)
  
  
• Know the major rivers in California; expecially the biggest ones.
  
  
• How have humans perceived and then engineered their way out of limited water in certain regions of the State?

• How is groundwater typically formed? (Hint: what are a couple of needs or criteria for it to exist in the first place?)

• Understand "meander formations" (such as point bar and cut bank)
  

• Understand what is a flood plain.
• Understand where and how natural levees are formed.
• Understand what is a delta and how generally they are formed.