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Mecca
The holiest city of Islam, located in Saudi Arabia, makes pilgrimages fulfill Islamic religious duty.
Glossary
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Mechanical weathering
Natural processes that break the rock into smaller pieces.
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Median age
Divides the age distribution into two halves. Half of the population is above and half below the median age.
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Medical geography
The study of disease diffusion patterns, environmental impact on public health, and the interplay of geographic factors, migration, and population.
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Medina
An urban pattern typical of the Middle Eastern city before the 20th century.
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Mediterranean
A climate that occupies an intermediate location between a marine west coast climate on the poleward side and a steppe or desert climate on the equatorward side.
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Mediterranean scrub forest
The xerophytic vegetation typical of hot, dry summer, Mediterranean climate regions.
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Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is the no. 6th contiguous open water surface on earth, including the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It has a huge, 1,144,800 square mile (2,965,800 square km) area and 4,688 square feet (1,429 square meters) average depth. The Mediterranean Sea’s greatest known depth is 15,197 feet (4,632 meters), which can be found at Off Cape Matapan, Greece.
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Megalopolis
A region in which several large cities and surrounding areas grow together.
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Meiji Restoration
The Japanese revolution of 1868 restored the legitimate sovereignty of the emperor.
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Meningococcal meningitis
Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial disease-causing an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.
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Mercantile colonialism
The historical pattern by which Europeans extracted primary products from colonies abroad, particularly in the tropics.
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Meridian
A measurement that denotes a position east or west of the prime meridian (Greenwich, England).
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Mesopotamia
A region in southwest Asia between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers was the location of some of the earliest civilizations in the world. Part of the cultural hearth is known as the fertile crescent.v
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Mestizo
Mestizo: a person of mixed race, with one parent European and the other native Indian.
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Metamorphic rock
Rock is formed from igneous or sedimentary rock through changes occurring in the rock structure due to heat, pressure, or the chemical action of infiltrating water.
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Métis
A person of mixed French-Canadian and Native American ancestry.
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Metropolitan area
A functional area, including a city and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs, linked economically.