Chapter 34—The Pacific World and Antarctica

• Aborigine: original inhabitant; 1 of the original inhabitants of Australia

• Lagoon: shallow body of water separated from the sea by coral reefs/sandbars
• Cyclone: violent, rotating windstorm
• Outback: remote, sparsely settled, arid, rural country, esp. the central + western plaints + plateaus of Australia
• Artesian well: well that is drilled deep enough to tap layer of porous material filled w/groundwater
• Geyser: natural hot spring that shoots column of water + steam into air
• Trust territory: dependent colony/territory supervised by another country by commission of the U.N.
• Crevasse: deep crack in glacial ice
• Ice shelf: massive extension of glacial ice over the sea, often protruding hundreds of miles
• Pack ice: floating sea ice formed by mix of icebergs w/other ice formed in super chilled ocean waters
• Convergence zone: area of severe storms where frigid waters circulation around Antarctica meet warmer waters of
Atlantic, Pacific, + Indian oceans
• Krill: small, shrimplike creatures; food for whales + fish

1. Describe the lives of the Aborigines prior to the arrival of the Europeans.
• Nomadic hunters + gatherers
• Lived in small groups + spoke as many as 250 distinct lang.
• Customs varied form 1 group to another, but shared some things in common
2. How did European settlement change Australia?
• During the next 80 years, more than 160,000 men, women, + children were transported from Britain to
Australia’s distant shores
• Meanwhile, Aborigines suffered tremendous losses, killed by European diseases/weapons
• # of Aborigines today sank from 300,000 in the 1700s to only about 50,000 today
3. What is most responsible for settlement patterns in Australia?
• Hot dry climate + forbidding interior
• Pop. small b.c. relatively few people moved to remote continent from other nations
4. Where does 90% of Australia’s population live?
• 100 miles of the ocean
5. Using the map on pg. 719, what are the climates of Australia?
• Tropical wet and dry, tropical wet, humid subtropical, semiarid, arid, marine west coast, mediterranean
6. Create a graphic organizer over the major regions of Australia (hint: Perth & Adelaide, Urban Rim, Canberra,
Tasmania, Sunshine Coast, and the Tropical North)
• Perth + Adelaide
o Next to Great Sandy, Gibson, + Great Vicotria deserts
o Region sparsely pop., w/<2 persons per sq. mile
o Vast empty area—Perth stands out as 1 of world’s most remote cities, located on western coast
o Adelaide—city of 1 mil. people, capital + major city of state of South Australia
• Australia’s Urban Rim
o 3 of most important cities—Sydney, Melbourne, + Canberra—lie in Urban Rim
o Moist winds from Pacific Ocean + Tasman Sea rise + cool as approach highlandsdeposit
moisture in frequent rains
o Sydney—capital of state of New South Wales, Australia’s oldest + largest city
o Melbourne—capital of Victoria + 2nd largest city
• Canberra
o Australia’s capital
o Only major planned city—location selected to balance competing political interests in different
states
• Tasmania
o Hobart capital of island of Tasmania
o Isl. Hangs of s.e.ern coast of Australia like a geographic punctuation mark
o Mountainous + heavily forested; Hobart is cradled in deep blue peaks
o Hobart much smaller than mainland cities of Sydney/Melbourne
• Sunshine Coast
 o Showered w/frequent rains from moist trade winds—e. coast of Queensland is wettest region
o Includes Queensland’s’ capital city, Brisbane
o Heart of Australia’s vacation land—humid subtropical climate + many lovely beaches attract
millions of tourists
o Contains Great Barrier Reef—forms a lagoon
• The Tropical North
o Sparsely pop., too hot + dry to support human activities
o Capital, Darwin, lies on northern coast, where climate is tropical, w/wet + dry seasons
o Closest city to Asia
o Location has disadvantages—bombed by Japanese in WW2, twice devastated by cyclones
7. What can most of Australia be described as?
• Outback
8. Describe how the Aborigines treated + used the land.
• Rich oral tradition that preserved religious beliefs + explained how ancestors created world
• When humans were created, ancestors gave them responsibility for taking care of the earth
• Handed down ancient knowledge about sacred sites of each ancestor from parent to child as priceless gift
• Learned to take form the land what they needed to survive w/out destroying precious earth
9. Describe how the Europeans viewed and used the land.
• Wanted to make land produce something that could be sold for money
• 1851—gold rush, new immigrants swarmed out of cities
• Today, gold is 1 of many mineral resources mine din various locations
• Many gold seekers stayed to build farms + sheep ranches—today account for most economic activity
10. What are the physical characteristics of New Zealand?
• Lies 1k miles east of Australia across rough + windy Tasman Sea
• backbone = string of volcanic mountains formed along border between Australian + Pacific tectonic plates
• mountains form South Island + North Island
11. From where did the Maori come?
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12. How did European settlement impact the Maori’s way of life and sense of identity?
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13. What makes up New Zealand’s agriculture?
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14. Describe the importance of urban areas in New Zealand.
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15. What are the 2 types of islands in the Pacific?
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16. Using the map on pg. 729, what region is the largest?
• Polynesia
17. When were the 3 different island regions of the Pacific settled, and who settled them?
• Melanesia—1st, beg. More than 40,000 years ago; by people from Southeast Asia
• Micronesia—bet. 3000 2000 B.C.; by voyagers from the Philippines, Indonesia, + some islands north of New
Guinea
• Polynesia—East Indians who were brought in late 19th century to work on sugar plantations
18. Describe the economic activities in the Pacific Islands.
19. Compare the various forms of governments found in the Pacific Islands.
• Tonga chose to remain a kingdom
• W.ern Samoa adopted parliamentary system, but most representatives are selected by traditional village
leaders
• Vanuatu operates w/fully representative democracies
20. Using the chart on pg. 731, which Pacific World country is most developed, and which is the least developed?
• Most—Australia
• Least—Marshall Islands
21. Create a graphic organizer about how ice affects Antarctica.
• Alters climate
• Affects wildlife b.c. few plants + animals can survive in frigid conditions
• Ice greatly limited human activity, no permanent human settlements
22. What resources exist in Antarctica?
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23. Explain the importance of the Antarctic Treaty.
• 1961—12 countries ratified Antarctic Treaty
• Peaceful use of continent + sharing of scientific researched—Banned military activity, nuclear explosions, +
disposal of radioactive waste