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Quizzes > Geography

Intervening Obstacle Quiz for AP Human Geography

Quick, free APHG quiz on intervening obstacles. Instant results.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Rajan AroraUpdated Aug 25, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art world map migration arrows compass book icons on coral background for AP Human Geography quiz

Use this intervening obstacle quiz to practice identifying how distance, cost, and policy can block or redirect migration in AP Human Geography. Brush up on key terms with the intervening obstacle definition aphg, then check your broader skills with an APHG practice quiz. Learn from instant feedback so you can move faster through migration questions on test day.

What term describes a geographic feature or condition that hinders migration from one place to another?
Intervening opportunity
Intervening obstacle
Pull factor
Push factor
An intervening obstacle is any environmental or cultural feature that hinders migration. It differs from push or pull factors, which motivate migration. Unlike intervening opportunities, which facilitate migration, obstacles block or delay it.
Which of the following is an example of an environmental intervening obstacle?
Crossing a desert
Job availability
Family ties
Language differences
Crossing a desert is a classic environmental obstacle that can physically hinder migrants. Language differences are cultural obstacles, not environmental. Job availability and family ties are pull factors rather than obstacles.
A visa requirement at an international border is an example of what type of intervening obstacle?
Political
Economic
Environmental
Social
Visa requirements are imposed by governments and serve as political barriers to migration. They restrict who can legally enter and reside in a country. Such political obstacles are common in international migration flows.
Language barriers encountered by migrants are considered what type of intervening obstacle?
Physical
Political
Cultural
Economic
Language barriers relate to differences in culture and communication rather than physical terrain. They can slow integration and act as cultural hurdles. Political obstacles involve laws and policies, while physical refers to natural landscapes.
Which of the following best describes an intervening opportunity?
A family connection in the origin country
A closer location with a better economic option
A natural barrier preventing movement
A national policy restricting migration
An intervening opportunity is a nearer destination that satisfies migrants’ needs before they reach their intended goal. It facilitates migration rather than blocking it. Opportunities might include job offers or land availability.
Which is NOT considered an intervening obstacle in migration?
A hostile climate
Push factor
A strict visa policy
A mountain range
A push factor motivates migration away from a location, rather than obstructing movement. Mountains, strict visa policies, and hostile climates all physically or politically block migration. Push factors differ by encouraging rather than impeding relocation.
Migrants deciding to stop in an intermediate city en route to their final destination due to a job opportunity is an example of:
Chain migration
Seasonal migration
Intervening opportunity
Step migration
When migrants choose a closer destination that meets their needs, this is an intervening opportunity. Chain migration involves family links, and step migration is moving in smaller steps. Seasonal migration is temporary movement for labor or climate reasons.
Which of the following best explains the concept of step migration?
Moving via a series of shorter relocations
Crossing an international border illegally
Leaping directly to a large city in one move
Returning periodically to the origin
Step migration involves migrants moving in stages from rural areas to towns and then to cities. It reflects gradual relocation rather than a single long-distance move. Each intermediate move may be influenced by intervening opportunities or obstacles.
Political borders serve as intervening obstacles primarily through:
Favorable trade agreements
Visa and passport controls
High remittance flows
Cultural assimilation
Visa and passport requirements are political mechanisms that regulate who can enter a country. They can delay or prevent migration, acting as obstacles. Cultural assimilation and remittances are separate migration processes.
According to Ravenstein's Law of Distance Decay, migrants are more likely to:
Move longer distances due to higher wages
Migrate only for cultural reasons
Stay within the same country or nearby regions
Prefer crossing oceans to continents
Ravenstein noted that most migrants travel shorter distances, with numbers decreasing as distance increases. This reflects the distance decay principle. Cultural reasons can be factors, but distance remains a primary barrier.
In the migration context, the presence of a mountain range between origin and destination is considered:
A transit hub
An intervening opportunity
A pull factor
An intervening obstacle
Mountain ranges physically block or slow migration, making them intervening obstacles. Pull factors attract migrants, while transit hubs facilitate movement. Intervening opportunities provide alternative destinations rather than blocking flows.
The term "chain migration" refers to:
A government-imposed migration quota
Seasonal labor movement
Movement of migrants along kinship links
Migrants returning home after working abroad
Chain migration occurs when migrants follow relatives or community members to a new location. It forms social networks that reduce cultural obstacles. Quotas and seasonal work are different migration processes.
How do economic intervening obstacles differ from environmental ones?
Economic obstacles include language barriers
Environmental obstacles include strict visa laws
Economic obstacles include high costs and low wages
Environmental obstacles include job shortages
Economic obstacles relate to financial constraints such as travel costs and lack of job prospects. Environmental obstacles include terrain, climate, and natural disasters. Language barriers are cultural obstacles, and visa laws are political.
The gradual removal of environmental intervening obstacles can be attributed to:
Increased birth rates
Improvements in transportation
Stricter immigration policies
Remote sensing technology
Advances in transportation, like highways and air travel, reduce the impact of natural barriers. Remote sensing maps terrain but doesn't directly remove obstacles. Immigration policies and birth rates are unrelated.
Which model predicts that larger places attract more migrants but may fail when significant intervening obstacles exist?
Demographic Transition Model
Malthusian Theory
Gravity Model of Migration
Zelinsky's Migration Transition
The Gravity Model uses population size and distance to predict migration flows. It breaks down when barriers like mountains or strict policies disrupt expected movement. Other models describe demographic changes or theories of population.
A migrant from Central America attempting to reach the US must often navigate which of the following intervening obstacles?
The Darién Gap
The Alps
The Himalayas
The Sahara Desert
The Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia is a dense, roadless jungle that hinders migration northward. The Sahara, Alps, and Himalayas are obstacles on other continents. This region is notorious for being dangerous and difficult to cross.
Which of the following is an example of an intervening obstacle created by international law?
Terrain elevation
The Dublin Regulation in Europe
Urban congestion
Seasonal climate change
The Dublin Regulation determines which EU member state is responsible for processing an asylum claim, often forcing refugees to move back. It’s a legal barrier rather than a physical one. Elevation, climate, and congestion are non-legal obstacles.
In Zelinsky's Migration Transition, which stage is characterized by high rates of international migration due to industrialization?
Pre-Industrial Stage
Late Transitional Stage
Early Transitional Stage
Post-Transitional Stage
Zelinsky’s Stage 2, the Early Transitional Stage, sees rapid industrial growth and high emigration as people seek economic opportunities abroad. Stage 1 has limited migration, Stage 3 shifts to internal movement, and Stage 4 focuses on urban to suburban flows.
How might climate change serve as a developing intervening obstacle in 21st-century migration?
By increasing the frequency of extreme weather events
By promoting chain migration
By eliminating border controls
By reducing global communication networks
Climate change intensifies hurricanes, floods, and droughts, disrupting travel routes and settlements. These extreme events act as environmental obstacles. It does not directly alter border policies or communication networks.
Which US legislation serves as an intervening obstacle by establishing numeric limits on immigration?
Social Security Act
Dawes Act
Homestead Act
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed national origin quotas, drastically limiting annual entries. It created a legal barrier that remains a key historical obstacle. The Homestead and Dawes Acts dealt with land distribution, and Social Security covers retirement benefits.
Which scenario best illustrates an intervening obstacle affecting refugee movements?
Access to social networks in destination
A family sponsoring a relative abroad
A warzone checkpoint restricting exit
Attractive job market overseas
Checkpoints in conflict zones physically block or delay refugees fleeing violence. Sponsorships and social networks facilitate migration, while job markets are pull factors. Therefore the checkpoint is an obstacle.
In which migration pattern do migrants pass through a series of countries, encountering multiple intervening obstacles?
Step Migration
Remittance Migration
Circular Migration
Forced Migration
Step migration can involve migrants moving through several countries in stages, each with its own obstacles. Forced migration is compelled by crises, remittance migration focuses on flows of money, and circular migration is seasonal back-and-forth movement.
Evaluate how time-space compression has altered the impact of environmental intervening obstacles. Which statement is most accurate?
It reduces travel time, lessening obstacles like mountains
It makes migrants return home more frequently
It intensifies environmental barriers due to urbanization
It has completely eliminated all environmental constraints
Time-space compression from technology and transport lowers the effective distance of physical barriers. Mountains and deserts remain but are easier and faster to traverse. It does not remove all constraints, nor does it force returns.
Under Zelinsky's Migration Transition theory, explain how intervening obstacles shift as a country moves from Stage 2 to Stage 3. Which factor becomes more prominent?
Colonial ties
Economic opportunities in suburbs
Strict emigration laws
Environmental barriers
In Stage 3, rising incomes and urban growth create new suburban job centers, acting as intervening opportunities. Earlier, Stage 2 focused on international emigration. Environmental barriers lessen while economic pulls within the country grow.
Critically analyze why chain migration can mitigate the effects of cultural intervening obstacles. Which mechanism best explains this mitigation?
Direct government subsidies for migrants
Strict border patrols
Environmental adaptations
Established migrant networks easing integration
Chain migration builds on kinship and community ties, providing information and resources that reduce language and cultural hurdles. Networks help newcomers find housing, jobs, and social support. Government subsidies and patrols do not address cultural integration directly.
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Study Outcomes

  1. Understand Intervening Obstacles -

    Gain a clear definition of intervening obstacle AP Human Geography concepts and distinguish between physical and human-made barriers that impact migration flows.

  2. Analyze Migration Factors -

    Examine push factor AP Human Geography scenarios alongside pull factors to assess how different conditions drive human relocation.

  3. Identify Forced Migration Examples -

    Recognize forced migration AP Human Geography example cases and understand the social and political forces behind these movements.

  4. Evaluate Interregional Migration Patterns -

    Assess interregional migration AP Human Geography examples by comparing demographic and economic shifts across different regions.

  5. Apply Ravenstein's Core Theories -

    Utilize Ravenstein's principles to predict migration trends and explain how core theories fit into modern migration studies.

  6. Test Your Knowledge -

    Challenge yourself with interactive quiz questions to reinforce key concepts and measure your mastery of intervening obstacles and migration factors.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Intervening Obstacles Defined -

    Intervening obstacles are physical or political barriers - like mountain ranges, deserts, or strict visa regimes - that migrants encounter en route to their destination. Recognizing these helps you predict real-world migration paths; for example, many Central American migrants detour through Mexico's southern states to avoid stricter border controls. Mnemonic trick: remember "P³" for Physical, Political, and Procedural hurdles.

  2. Gravity Model of Migration -

    The gravity model formula M = (P1 × P2) / D² estimates migration flow based on population sizes and distance. A large city pair with high populations (P1 and P2) but low distance (D) yields the strongest predicted migration. Think "POPD squared" to recall population over distance squared.

  3. Ravenstein's Laws of Migration -

    Ravenstein's core theories include that most migrants travel short distances and that each migration stream generates a counterstream. For example, urban-to-urban moves within the EU far outnumber transcontinental shifts. A quick memory phrase: "Short Streams and Return Dreams."

  4. Push Factors in Migration -

    Push factors such as political instability, economic downturns, or environmental disasters compel people to leave their homeland. The Syrian civil war and prolonged droughts in the Sahel region showcase how multiple push factors can overlap. Use the "P.E.E." acronym - Political, Economic, Environmental - to categorize these drivers.

  5. Interregional Migration Example -

    China's rural-to-urban migration during its economic boom illustrates interregional migration on a massive scale, facilitated by hukou reforms and government incentives. Over 200 million people relocated from interior provinces to coastal megacities like Shanghai and Shenzhen between 1990 and 2020. Recall "R2U" for Rural-to-Urban flows when reviewing interregional trends.

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