Geography - Write a short note on Amazon Basin, Gran Chaco and Pampas.

Write a short note on Amazon Basin, Gran Chaco and Pampas.

Answer:

The western part Brazilian highlands is an extensive alluvial plain known as Gran Chaco. South of the Gran Chaco is the pampas which is the most productive agricultural region. The pampas are covered with fine grained stone less deposit similar to loess. To the south of pampas lies the Patagonia desert. The river Paraguay flows into a large estuary at the Atlantic Ocean call Rio de la Plata.

Geography - If you wanted to sail a boat from South America across the ocean to Africa, would you probably leave from Peru or Brazil? Explain.

If you wanted to sail a boat from South America across the ocean to Africa, would you probably leave from Peru or Brazil? Explain.

Answer:

You would leave from Brazil because Africa is across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Geography - Which has a warmer climate: the Falkland islands or the Galapagos Islands? Explain.

Which has a warmer climate: the Falkland islands or the Galapagos Islands? Explain. 

Answer:

The Galapagos Islands are warmer because they are closer to the equator. The Falklands are colder because they are near the Antarctic.

Figure - Layers of Earth's Atmosphere

Layers of Earth's Atmosphere.

Regional Map of Ghana

Regional Map of Ghana.

List Of All 16 Regions In Ghana And Their Capitals

Map - Regions In Ghana And Their Capitals.

The 16 regional capitals;

Oti Region - Dambai

Bono East Region - Techiman

Ahafo Region - Goaso

Bono Region - Sunyani

North East Region - Nalerigu

Savannah Region - Damango

Western North Region- Sefwi Wiawso

Western Region - Sekondi

Volta Region - Ho

Greater Accra Region - Accra

Eastern Region - Koforidua

Ashanti Region - Kumasi

Central Region - Cape Coast

Northern Region - Tamale

Upper East Region - Bolgatanga

Upper West Region - Wa

Ancient Kingdoms of Africa _ African empires, Africa map

Ancient Kingdoms of Africa _ African empires, Africa map.

Figure - A Pyramid Map of the World’s Biomes

Figure - A Pyramid Map of the World’s Biomes.

How to Identify Cloud Types

Low clouds

Stratus clouds are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the sky. Usually no precipitation falls from stratus clouds, but they may drizzle. When a thick fog “lifts,” the resulting clouds are low stratus. Nimbostratus clouds form a dark gray, “wet” looking cloudy layer associated with continuously falling rain or snow. They often produce light to moderate precipitation.

Middle clouds

Clouds with the prefix “alto” are middle-level clouds that have bases at 6,500 to 23,000 feet up. Altocumulus clouds are made of water droplets and appear as gray, puffy masses, sometimes rolled out in parallel waves or bands. These clouds on a warm, humid summer morning often mean thunderstorms by late afternoon. Altostratus clouds, gray or blue-gray, are made up of ice crystals and water droplets. They usually cover the sky. In thinner areas of them, the sun may be dimly visible as a round disk. Altostratus clouds often form ahead of storms that produce continuous precipitation.

High clouds

Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy clouds blown by high winds into long streamers. They are considered “high clouds,” forming at more than 20,000 feet. They usually move across the sky from west to east and generally mean fair to pleasant weather. Cirrostratus, thin, sheetlike clouds that often cover the sky, are so thin the sun and moon can be seen through them. Cirrocumulus clouds appear as small, rounded white puffs. Small ripples in the cirrocumulus sometimes resemble the scales of a fish, creating what is sometimes called a “mackerel sky.”

Vertical clouds

Cumulus clouds are puffy and can look like floating cotton. The base of each is often flat and may be only 330 feet above ground. The top has rounded towers. When the top resembles a cauliflower head, it is called “cumulus congestus.” These grow upward and if they continue to grow vertically can develop into a giant cumulonimbus, a thunderstorm cloud, with dark bases no more than 1,000 feet above ground and extending to more than 39,000 feet. Tremendous energy is released by condensation of water vapor in a cumulonimbus. Lightning, thunder and violent tornadoes are associated with them.

Sources: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and the National Weather Service

Image - Sedimentary Rocks - Examples

Image - Sedimentary Rocks - Examples.

Image - The Geologic History of Earth

The Geologic History of Earth. Note the timescales. We are currently in the Holocene, which has been warm and moist and a great time to grow human civilization. But the activity of civilization is now pushing the planet into a new epoch which scientists call the Anthropocene.

Ray Troll/Troll Art.

Image - Landforms and Bodies of Water

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is the path that all water follows as it moves around Earth in different states. Liquid water is found in oceans, rivers, lakes—and even underground. Solid ice is found in glaciers, snow, and at the North and South Poles. Water vapor—a gas—is found in Earth’s atmosphere.

Diagram of the water cycle

The water cycle on Earth

Water is essential to life on Earth. In its three phases (solid, liquid, and gas), water ties together the major parts of the Earth’s climate system — air, clouds, the ocean, lakes, vegetation, snowpack, and glaciers.

The water cycle shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere. It is a complex system that includes many different processes. Liquid water evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds, and precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow. Water in different phases moves through the atmosphere (transportation). Liquid water flows across land (runoff), into the ground (infiltration and percolation), and through the ground (groundwater). Groundwater moves into plants (plant uptake) and evaporates from plants into the atmosphere (transpiration). Solid ice and snow can turn directly into gas (sublimation). The opposite can also take place when water vapor becomes solid (deposition).

References:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Hydrologic Cycle

The water, or hydrologic, cycle describes the pilgrimage of water as water molecules make their way from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back again, in some cases to below the surface. This gigantic system, powered by energy from the Sun, is a continuous exchange of moisture between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land.

Studies have revealed that evaporation—the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas—from oceans, seas, and other bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams) provides nearly 90% of the moisture in our atmosphere. Most of the remaining 10% found in the atmosphere is released by plants through transpiration. Plants take in water through their roots, then release it through small pores on the underside of their leaves. In addition, a very small portion of water vapor enters the atmosphere through sublimation, the process by which water changes directly from a solid (ice or snow) to a gas. The gradual shrinking of snow banks in cases when the temperature remains below freezing results from sublimation.

Together, evaporation, transpiration, and sublimation, plus volcanic emissions, account for almost all the water vapor in the atmosphere that isn’t inserted through human activities. While evaporation from the oceans is the primary vehicle for driving the surface-to-atmosphere portion of the hydrologic cycle, transpiration is also significant. For example, a cornfield 1 acre in size can transpire as much as 4,000 gallons of water every day.

After the water enters the lower atmosphere, rising air currents carry it upward, often high into the atmosphere, where the air is cooler. In the cool air, water vapor is more likely to condense from a gas to a liquid to form cloud droplets. Cloud droplets can grow and produce precipitation (including rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and hail), which is the primary mechanism for transporting water from the atmosphere back to the Earth’s surface.

When precipitation falls over the land surface, it follows various routes in its subsequent paths. Some of it evaporates, returning to the atmosphere; some seeps into the ground as soil moisture or groundwater; and some runs off into rivers and streams. Almost all of the water eventually flows into the oceans or other bodies of water, where the cycle continues. At different stages of the cycle, some of the water is intercepted by humans or other life forms for drinking, washing, irrigating, and a large variety of other uses.

References:

NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM).

List of tributaries of the Niger River

This is a list of the Tributaries of the Niger River.

• Alibori River
• Sirba River
• Tinkisso River
• Milo River
• Niandan River
• Sankarani River
• Bani River
• Mekrou River
• Sokoto River
• Kaduna River
• Benue River
• Forcados River
• Nun River

Wolf River (Mississippi)

The Wolf River is a river in Harrison, Hancock and Pearl River counties, Mississippi, in the United States. 

It was named for the presence of the red wolf.

Hobolochitto Creek

Hobolochitto Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi.

Hobolochitto is a name derived from the Choctaw language. Variant names are "Abolo Chitto", "Abolochitto River", "Bola Chitto", "Bolla Chitto", and "Hobolo Chitto".

Oakohay Creek

Oakohay Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi.

Oakohay is a name derived from the Choctaw language purported to mean "mud potato". Variant names are "Coahay Creek", "Cohay Creek", "Oakahay Creek", "Ochahay Creek", and "Ocohay Creek".

Biloxi River

The Biloxi River is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi.

The Biloxi River is named for the Biloxi Indians, but the ultimate meaning of the word "Biloxi" is obscure. Variant names are "Oka Chambala River" and "Viloxy River".