Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Geography

Classification of Natural Resources

Natural resources are classified into:

• Renewable Natural Resources: Those that can be maintained or even increased. They are of two types:
  • Apparent Renewable Resources: Water, soil, air.
  • True Renewable Resources: Flora and fauna (with the ability to reproduce).
• Non-Renewable Natural Resources: Those that exist in specific quantities and can be depleted through overexploitation. Major non-renewable natural resources include:
  • Minerals
  • Metals
  • Oil
  • Natural gas
  • Groundwater storage
• Infinite or Inexhaustible Natural Resources: Those that are not exhausted, regardless of the number of productive activities that humans perform. These include:
  • The Sun
  • Energy of ocean waves and wind
  • Nuclear or atomic energy

Environmental Offer and

Spanish Agriculture

Types of Agriculture

Market Agriculture

Tupo agriculture focuses on producing a large surplus for sale. It achieves high yields and productivity through mechanization, seed selection, fertilizers, and pesticides, often using intensive land management.

Traditional/Subsistence Agriculture

This type of agriculture yields low output, primarily for family consumption. It's characterized by extensive land use, limited mechanization, and minimal use of modern techniques like seed selection or pesticides.

Sharecropping

In this lease arrangement, the farmer cultivates land they don't own, paying the owner a pre-agreed share of the harvest.

Lease

A type of ownership where the farmer doesn't own the land and pays the owner a monetary fee.

Livestock

Cattle

With... Continue reading "Spanish Agriculture: An Overview of Practices and Policies" »

Land Use Forms and Influence on Ownership Structure

We understand the process of restocking, demographic occupation, and economic exploitation of the territory reconquered from the Muslims between the 8th and 15th centuries. Different models of recruitment marked the ownership structure and social organization throughout peninsular history. Traditionally, four models of recruitment are identified: Repopulation by Aprisio, Concejil, of Military Orders, and by Distribution or Nobility.

• The first was the most used in the 8th and 10th centuries and affected the lands north of the Douro River and the foothills of the Pyrenees. It involved the occupation of land inhabited by the presura system. The result was the emergence of small and medium-sized

Key Concepts of Urban Development

Defining a City

A city is characterized by a high number of inhabitants (typically more than 10,000), a high-density concentration, and continuity of habitat. Key economic activities include services such as transport and trade, as well as industry. Cities exert influence on other regional centers. They feature a distinct type of architecture and urbanism, characterized by tall buildings, skyscrapers, wide boulevards, and a significant dynamism of social relations. Cities are also centers of concentrated functions.

Urban Stakeholders

Various stakeholders play a role in urban development:

• Private Land Owners: Landowners and developers.
• Employers: Industries and service providers.
• Public Authorities: Municipal, provincial,

Analysis of Industrial Density in 1975

Worker Density per Square Kilometer

• Over 30: Madrid, Baleares, Comunidad Valenciana, Catalonia, Basque Country, Asturias, and Cantabria
• 16 to 30: Andalusia, Navarra, Murcia, and Galicia
• 8 to 15: Aragon
• 4 to 7: Extremadura, Castile and León, Castilla La Mancha, and the Canary Islands

Industrial Contrasts: Center vs. Periphery

Spanish industry is primarily located in the periphery, with the exception of Madrid. Key industrial areas include Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, and major inland capitals.

Land Ownership Distribution by Province

Large Estates (Over 50% of Total Land Ownership)

Cáceres, Badajoz, Huelva, Córdoba, Jaén, Ciudad Real, Albacete, and Guadalajara

Smallholdings (Over 50% of Total

Inequality and Development

Market failures have the worst consequences for people, such as an increase in income inequality and persistent poverty.

Global Inequalities

• Inequalities within a State: In most countries around the world, these have increased over recent years.
• Inequalities between countries: These inequalities are greater than those that occur within any country.

Underdevelopment

When we travel to a developing country, we know we are in a different country, which is poorer than ours, and we could categorize it as underdeveloped, developing, poor, or less developed.

Characteristics of the Poorest Countries

• Low income per capita: These countries have a very low per capita income.
• Strong social and income inequalities: They usually have significant

Prehistory

The prehistory period begins with the development of early hominids in Africa. The prehistory is traditionally divided into the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, based on stone tool technology. The Paleolithic era starts with the appearance of humans, primarily located around the great lakes of Africa, which offered a favorable climate. Paleolithic communities were small, nomadic groups with basic social structures, practicing predation (hunting and fishing). They sought shelter in caves, where rock art originated. There are two main styles: Franco-Cantabrian (large, polychrome, static, and non-compositional) and Levantine-African (abstract, monochrome, dynamic, and small).

Rock art also included portable art, such as decorated tablets,... Continue reading "Prehistory and Ancient Civilizations: A Concise History" »

Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon

Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon married in 1469. Their marriage marked the beginning of the Hispanic Monarchy. This entity comprised the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, although each maintained its own institutions of government.

Castilian Supremacy

Castile was the most powerful territory; its institutions were similar throughout the kingdom. In the Crown of Aragon, the king's power was more limited. Castilian supremacy encouraged the dissemination of their customs, laws, and language throughout the rest of the territories.

Religious Uniformity and the Inquisition

The Catholic Monarchs secured from the papacy the right to have the Spanish Inquisition depend on the monarchy. They fashioned a... Continue reading "Isabella & Ferdinand: The Spanish Monarchy Begins" »

Livestock: Animal Husbandry

Animal husbandry provides resources for human use, such as meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, and honey. The most numerous livestock species are cattle, pigs, and sheep. The agricultural sector has undergone profound changes in the last century. Scientific research has resulted in selected breeds that provide high yields and are resistant to many diseases affecting livestock.

Ranching

Ranching is characteristic of large farms where livestock graze in fields of natural grasslands. It requires minimal investment in labor, facilities, and animal feed. However, productivity is low. The types of livestock are typically cattle and sheep, whose products are intended for sale in developed countries and for self-consumption in... Continue reading "Livestock, Fishing, Aquaculture, and Logging: Sustainable Practices" »