Virginia SOL Virginia and US History test prep

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Preparation for the state of Virginian SOL ("Standards of Learning") History test

Released tests can be found here:

Virginia Standards of Learning

Note on table formatting

  • use align left for thumbs
  • for text at top of cell, use
    • style="vertical-align:top;"
    • after row breaks on same line as \-


Maps & Timelines[edit | edit source]

Geographic regions of North America[edit | edit source]

File:NorthAmerica-sel-regions LCPS VA-Edu..jpg
Major regions of North America from the Virginia Dept. of Education SOL framework document
Key
  • A) Coastal Plain
    • East Coast, location of the original 13 American colonies
  • B) Appalachian Mountains
    • border between the 13 colonies and the French-Indian lands to the west of the Appalachians
  • C) Canadian Shield
    • distinct climate and geographic area north of Great Lakes and New England
  • D) Interior Lowlands
    • fertile lowlands along the Mississippi River
  • E) Great Plains
    • low, flat grasslands between the Mississippi Lowlands and the Rocky Mountains
  • F) Rocky Mountains
    • great mountain range that served as barrier between the middle and western parts of the continent
  • G) Basin and Range
    • isolated region that was not directly connected by rivers to other regions and that was between the Rocky Mountains and the Coastal Ranges (mountains)
  • H) Coastal Ranges
    • Mountain range along the west coast that feeds water into the fertile valleys and lands along the coast
The Atlantic coastal plain
ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN
  • lowland coast region along Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
  • the 13 American colonies were settled in the Coastal Plain from modern Georgia to Massachusetts
    • note that Massachusetts is part of the Appalachian region, but it was settled along with the Coastal Plain
  • the western barrier to the Coastal Plain is the eastern slope of the Appalachian Mountains
AppalachianLocatorMap2
Appalachian region of United States
APPALACHIAN REGION
  • Appalachian Mountains =
    • mountain range that extends along the western border of the Coastal Plain from Georgia to New England
    • includes sub-regions
      • the Piedmont, Low Plateaus and Mountains
  • the Appalachian Mountains served as a barrier between
    • early American colonies (to the east of the Appalachians along the Coastal Plain)
    • and French and Indian lands (to the west of the Appalachians)
  • all rivers from the eastern slope flow towards the Atlantic Ocean
  • all rivers from the western slope flow towards the Mississippi River
  • after Britain defeated France in the 1854-63 French-Indian War, the entire Appalachian region (and all lands up to the Mississippi River) became British
    • however, the British King prohibited American colonists from occupying it
INTERIOR LOWLANDS
Satellite image illustrating the Great Plains.jpg
Satellite image illustrating the Great Plains
Great Plains region
GREAT PLAINS REGION
RockyMountains-Range.svg
RockyMountains-Range
ROCKY MOUNTAINS REGION
  • high mountain range above and to the east of the Great Basin
    • the "Continental Divide" is in the Rocky Mountains, marking the point at which the land descends to the east or the west
  • important rivers flow from origins in the Rocky Mountains
One of various geographical definitions of the Province
The hydrographic Great Basin (magenta outline), distinguished from the Great Basin Desert (black), and the Basin and Range Geological Province (teal).[3]
Great Basin map.gif
Great Basin map
BASIN AND RANGE
  • the "Great Basin" = a geographic depression (low area) that was once under the sea
    • no rivers or water flow out of the Great Basin
  • the VA & US SOL refers to the "Great Basin" as the "Basin"
  • the Range includes mountains from which water flows into the Great Basin
    • the western border of the Range are the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Northern and Southern Coast Ranges and other major mountain ranges of California
PACIFIC COASTAL RANGE
  • western slope of mountains that border the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains
  • and that produce important rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean
  • water flow from the mountains allows for great agricultural production in the "central valley"
    • = valley area between the mountains

Rivers of the U.S.[edit | edit source]

Map of Major Rivers in US
BIG IDEAS
  • rivers start in mountains and flow downhill
  • thus they mark the major regions
US Rivers to know:
  • Hudson River
  • Mississippi River
  • Missouri River
  • Ohio River
US map - rivers and lakes3
Virginia Rivers to know:
  • James River
  • Potomac River
  • Roanoke River
  • Virginia has approx. 49,350 miles of river
    • all Virginia rivers flow towards the Atlantic
A rough map of the Chesapeake Bay watershed with blue lines for rivers drawn on top.
The Chesapeake Bay watershed
Mississippi River Watershed Map
Mississippi river map

Virginia maps[edit | edit source]

A topographic map of Virginia, with text identifying cities and natural features.
Virginia is shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, and the parallel 36°30′ north.

Native American regions of North America[edit | edit source]

Major Regions of North America
Language families of Indigenous peoples in North America: shown across present-day Canada, Greenland, the United States, and northern Mexico
Cultural areas of North America at time of European contact
Early indian east.jpg
Eastern tribes & general language groups, pre-colonial era
BIG IDEAS
  • Native American tribes and language groups were divided into these basic geographic regions
  • these maps will not be on the Virginia SOL
    • however, they provide a good overview of distribution Native American ethnic, language and tribal groups

Colonial America & territorial expansion[edit | edit source]

1748
Map showing French possessions in North America just before the French-Indian War (1754)
BIG IDEAS
  • red = British colonies in red, including 13 American
  • striped red = British territory in Canada ceded (surrendered) by France to Britain in 1713
  • blue = French territory, called "New France"
  • orange = Spanish territory, which includes Florida and parts of modern Southwest US (an area that belonged to Mexico after Mexican independence from Spain)
  • the red (British) and blue (French) territories are separated by the Appalachian Mountains
1775
Map Thirteen Colonies 1775
BIG IDEAS
  • after the French-Indian War (1754-1763), the lands that had belonged to Franch became British
    • Canada
    • all lands east of the Mississippi River
    • France gave control of Louisiana to Spain
      • = lands west of the Mississippi River
  • English King George prohibited colonies from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains
  • he reserved that land for Native Americans ("Indian Territories")


Wars: causes & effects[edit | edit source]

Big Ideas[edit | edit source]