In geography, what does it mean to say that people modify their environment?

Families in a region with long, snowy winters wear heavy coats and insulated boots from November through March. Is this adapting to the environment or modifying the environment?

A region has a long, hot, dry season. Which action is people adapting to that environment rather than changing it?

The Erie Canal opened in 1825 across New York State. What did this modification make possible?

The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, was cut across the narrow Isthmus of Panama to join the Atlantic and Pacific. What did the canal let ships stop doing?

Hoover Dam was completed across the Colorado River in 1936, backing up Lake Mead behind it. What did that reservoir give the dry Southwest?

The Grand Coulee Dam was finished on the Columbia River in 1942. Farmers in the dry basin of eastern Washington gained what from the project?

California's Imperial Valley gets under three inches of rain a year, yet its farms grow vegetables all year long. How do growers there make that possible?

On steep hillsides, farmers build terraces, which are wide flat steps cut into the slope. Which problem does terracing solve?

Much of New Orleans lies below sea level, with the Mississippi River on one side and Lake Pontchartrain on the other. Which structure was built to hold that water back?

Before 1973, drivers crossing the Continental Divide in Colorado climbed a winding, snowy mountain pass. Engineers then changed the route so the highway no longer climbed the pass. What did they build?

Four families live in a hot desert region. Which of their actions changes the environment itself instead of changing how the people live in it?

In a place with heavy snowfall, builders give houses steep roofs so snow slides off instead of piling up. Is this adapting to the environment or modifying the environment?

Building a dam across a river is an example of people modifying their environment.

In a hot, sunny region, builders give houses wide, overhanging roofs and open windows so the inside stays cool. Is this adapting to the environment or modifying the environment?

Which word names the careful use of a natural resource so that it lasts for a long time?

A port city's harbor is too shallow for today's huge cargo ships. Which modification lets those ships reach the docks?

The Central Arizona Project canal, finished in 1993, carries Colorado River water 336 miles across desert to cities and farms near Phoenix and Tucson. Which need did it meet?

Dams on the Columbia River blocked the routes salmon swim to reach the streams where they lay eggs. Engineers added fish ladders. What does a fish ladder do?

Two farm families face dry summers. The Ruiz family digs a ditch to bring stream water to their field. The Baker family plants a crop that needs little water. Which family modified the environment?

What does it mean when people adapt to their environment?

In the early 1900s, people dug canals to drain water out of parts of the Florida Everglades. What were they trying to create?

Draining a wetland to build homes is an example of adapting to the environment.

Which action is the best example of adapting to a cold environment?

Why have people built irrigation systems in dry areas?

Which action is an example of modifying land for transportation?

In a northern region, summers are short and frost comes early in the fall. Which action shows farmers adapting to that growing season?

Which environmental feature most influenced the use of steamboats for trade in early United States history?

What is one possible benefit of building levees along a river?

What is one possible negative effect of clearing forests for farms or towns?

Moving herds of animals up to cooler mountain pastures each summer is an example of adapting to the environment.

Which action is most clearly an example of modifying the environment for settlement?

In the 1930s, farmers on the Great Plains planted long rows of trees called windbreaks along their fields. Which problem were the windbreaks meant to reduce?

Terrace farming on steep hillsides is a way people modify the environment.

Which example shows people adapting their homes to the environment?

What is one reason people build canals?

What is one possible negative effect of building a dam across a river?

Which action would most likely help reduce harm caused by modifying the environment?

How did the construction of railroads modify the environment in the United States?

Which statement correctly compares wearing a raincoat in a rainy town with building a levee along that town's river?