CTA Vocabulary

Question 1

acclimatization

Answer 1

The way in which an organism adjusts to a new environment.

Question 2

acropolis

Answer 2

A Greek word meaning “high point of the city”; a raised area, natural or artificial, topped with buildings; the religious and military center of ancient Greek city-states.

Question 3

adventure travel

Answer 3

Any travel with an element of risk.

Question 4

alluvial

Answer 4

An adjective referring to the mud, silt, and sand deposited by rivers and streams.

Question 5

alpine

Answer 5

An area on mountains above the tree line but below the limit of permanent snow.

Question 6

alpine skiing

Answer 6

Another term for downhill skiing.

Question 7

altiplano

Answer 7

The high plains area of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru.

Question 8

altitude

Answer 8

The height in the atmosphere reflecting the distance above sea level.

Question 9

apartheid

Answer 9

A system of institutionalized racial segregation.

Question 10

aqueduct

Answer 10

A gravity-fed water channel originally developed by the Romans, frequently elevated and supported by arches.

Question 11

archipelago

Answer 11

A group of islands clustered together; from the Greek word meaning “chief sea.”

Question 12

arctic

Answer 12

The part of the earth where in summer the sun never sets and in winter it never rises. In biological terms, it refers to the cold polar regions where trees will not grow.

Question 13

atlas

Answer 13

A book of maps.

Question 14

atmospheric pressure

Answer 14

The weight of the atmosphere as measured by a barometer.

Question 15

atoll

Answer 15

A coral reef enclosing a lagoon; found mainly in the Pacific Ocean.

Question 16

aurora

Answer 16

The colorful light display that shimmers in the dark polar sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is called the northern lights, or aurora borealis. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is called the aurora australis.

Question 17

avalanche

Answer 17

A mass of snow, rock, ice, or other material sliding swiftly down a mountainside.

Question 18

B&B

Answer 18

See bed-and-breakfast.

Question 19

barrier islands

Answer 19

The landforms parallel to shorelines.

Question 20

basin

Answer 20

A low spot in the land or ocean floor.

Question 21

bay

Answer 21

A body of water partly surrounded by land.

Question 22

bayou

Answer 22

A sluggish, swampy backwater of a river or a lake.

Question 23

bed-and-breakfast (B&B)

Answer 23

A small establishment emphasizing personal attention and offering individually decorated rooms with special character.

Question 24

beach

Answer 24

A narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of the ocean or lake

Question 25

Benguela Current

Answer 25

The cold current flowing north along the west coast of South Africa.

Question 26

bilharzia

Answer 26

A dangerous water-borne parasitic disease acquired by skin contact with freshwater containing worm larvae; also called schistosomiasis. The worms exist in rivers, lakes, streams, and water holes throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and South America.

Question 27

blue hole

Answer 27

A deep blue ring of water in the sea coming from what was a cave on an island of limestone that has sunk into the ocean.

Question 28

bluff

Answer 28

A cliff or steep wall of rock or soil that borders a river or its floodplain.

Question 29

bog

Answer 29

An area of wetland in which soil conditions hinder the decay of plant and animal matter until the matter accumulates as peat. A bog is often called a moor in Europe and a muskeg in Canada.

Question 30

bore

Answer 30

A wall-like wave of swift running water formed in a bay or river mouth by a rapidly rising tide.

Question 31

boreal

Answer 31

An adjective referring to the evergreen forests of the Northern Hemisphere.