Tributary

A small river that flows into a larger river

Basin

An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries

Rainforest

A dense stand of trees and other vegetation hat recieves a great deal of precipitation each year

Metropolitan Area

An area that includes a city and its surrounding suburbs

Pampa

The treeless grassland of Argentina and Uruguay

Tropics

An area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn that has generally warm temperatures because it receives the direct rays of the sun for much of the year

Temperate zone

A region between with a climate that is neither too hot not too cold

Canopy

The umbrella-like covering formed by the tops of trees in rainforest

Favela

An overcrowded city slum in Brazil

Compulsory

Mandatory; enforced

Immunity

The ability to resist infection by a particular disease

Elevation

The measurement of how much above or below sea level a place is

Hacienda

A large estate

Encomeinda

The Spanish system of enslaving Native Americans and making them practice Christianity

Conflict

A serious disagreement

Stable

Staying in the same condition; not likely to change or fail

Ratio

The relationship in amount or size between two or more things

Tariff

A tax added to the price of goods that are imported

Altitude

The height above sea level

Altiplano

The high plains

Munltinational

A company that has locations in more than one country

Coup

An action in which a group of individuals seize control of a government

Souk

Famous open-air markets of the orgin

Hydroelectric Power

The electricity that is created by flowing water

Geothermal energy`

The electricity produced by natural, underground sources of steam

Shogun

A military leader who ruled Japan in early times

Dynasty

A line of rules from a single family that holds power for a long time

Samurai

A powerful, land-owning warrior in Japan

Trade deficit

A situation that occurs when the value of a country's import is higher than the value of its export

Trade surplus

A situation that occurs when the value of a country's export is higher than the value of its import

Communism

A system of government in which the government controls the ways of producing goods

Urbanization

When a city grows larger and spreads into nearby areas

Subcontinent

A large landmass that is part of a continent

Primate city

A country's main city that is so large and influential that it dominated the rest of the country

Absolute monarchy

A system of government in which the rulers has complete control

Constitutional monarchy

A form of government in which a monarch is the head of state but elected officials run the government

Wadi

A dry riverbed that fills with water when rare rains fall into a desert

Hydropolitics

The politics surrounding water access and usage rights

Outsourcing

Hiring workers in other countries to do a set of jobs

Raj

The period of time in which Great Britain controlled India as a part of the British Empire

Civil disobedience

The use of nonviolent protests to challenge a government of its laws

Delta

An area where sand, silt, clay, or gravel is dropped at the mouth of a river

Oasis

a fertile area that rises in a desert whenever water is regularly available

Desertifictaion

The process by which an area turns into a desert

Creole

A group of languages developed by enslaved people on colonial plantations that is a mixture of French, Spanish, and African

Introduced species

A nonnative species that is brought to a new enviroment

Trade language

A common language that emerges when countries trade with each other