Ch1 - pp. 2-10 Flashcards
Geography
The study of the earth
What percent of the earth is water ?
70%
What percent of the earth is land ?
30%
What percent of the earth do humans live on ?
15%
What are the names of the continents ?
Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America
Topography
The shape and elevation of the land
What are the names of the oceans ?
Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
Atlantic Ocean
Second largest ocean
Arctic Ocean
Smallest and coldest ocean
Indian Ocean
Warmest ocean
Pacific Ocean
The largest and deepest ocean
Latitude
The lines that run east and west around the globe.
Longitude
The lines that run north and south around the globe.
Degrees
Each line of latitude and longitude is measured by this.
Coordinates
The point where the parallel and the meridian intersect at that location.
Hydro-logic Cycle
A way of moving the moisture from the oceans to the land and back to the oceans again.
Equator
The parallel of latitude that encircles the earth halfway between the North and South poles.
Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Two half spheres of the earth made by the equator.
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
Lie 1,600 miles North and South of the equator.
Prime Meridian
At the 180 degree longitude dividing the earth into the Easter and Western Hemispheres
International Date Line
Zigzags through the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Arctic and Antarctic Circle
Lie 1,600 miles from the North and South poles.
Eastern and Western Hemispheres
Two half spheres of the earth made by the Prime Meridian.
Mountains
The most prominent landscape feature on the earth.
Hills
Between 500 and 2,000 feet in height, have rounded tops, and do not usually have such steep slopes.
Plateaus
Flat tops with gorges and canyons cutting through them.
Mesa
A formation similar to a plateau but smaller.
Buttes
Resemble mesas but are much smaller in diameter
Valleys
Low shadowy places tucked between mountains
Plains
Flat, rolling lands with few changes in elevation
Delta
A triangular-shaped land form where a river fans out into smaller streams before it reaches the ocean.
Estuary
The wide mouth of a river, where the ocean tide meets the river current
Peninsulas
Extensions of the main body of land with water on three sides
Island
Differs from a peninsula, in that water completely surrounds it.
Isthmus
Landmasses connected to each other by a narrow strip of land.
Streams
When the snow melts and rivulets of water begin running downhill, joining other rivulets along the way
Rivers
When streams join in the same manner
Waterfall
Some of the most spectacular scenes in nature, where rivers plunge and form a cliff or a shelf of rock.
Lake
A body of water surrounded by land.
Lake Superior
The world’s largest freshwater lake.
Reservoirs
When rivers are dammed to create artificial lakes.
Oasis
When the gravel thins, and the water reappears
