Part II

THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTION

Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs addressing the task

below, and a conclusion.

Theme: Human and Physical Geography

Throughout history, geographic features have influenced the development of

civilizations and regions. Geographic features have both promoted and limited

interactions with other civilizations and regions.

Task:

Select two different geographic features and for each

• Discuss how this geographic feature influenced the development of a specific

civilization or region

• Discuss how this geographic feature promoted and/or limited the interaction

of this civilization or region with another civilization or region

You may use any geographic feature from your study of global history and geography.

Some suggestions you might wish to consider include Nile River, Atlantic Ocean, Himalayas,

Sahara Desert, Great Northern Plain, location of Japan, Mediterranean Sea, Russian steppes,

Brazilian rain forest, and Indian Ocean monsoons.

You are not limited to these suggestions.

Do not use a specific geographic feature within the United States in your answer.

Verified Answer :

mountains: ancient greece
- independent city-states developed due to no unity in the country
- people grew up in different cultures and with different lifestyles, an example of this would be athens and sparta (athens was democratic and sparta was a military state)
- limited interaction amongst the greek because it was difficult to navigate around the mountains

mediterranean sea: ancient italy
- location on a penninsula made trade more efficient
- sea location made imperialism easier as well
- unity in the country due to having mostly flat land
- people developed under the same lifestyle and culture because of that
you can really do anything for this thematic topic, i decided to choose ancient greece and ancient italy because it seemed like the easiest topics i could choose.
i hope this helps!