Challenge A -Geography terms Flashcards
Altitude
1.Space extended upward; height; the elevation of an object above its foundation; as, the altitude of a mountain, or column; or the elevation of an object or place above the surface on which we stand, or above the earth; as, the altitude of a cloud or a meteor; or the elevation of one object above another; as, of a bird above the top of a a tree.
Archipelago
A group or chain of many islands in a sea (usually shaped like an arch)
Arm
An inlet from a sea or other body of water
Atoll
A coral island or islands, consisting of a belt of coral reef, partly submerged, surrounding a central lagoon or depression; a lagoon island.
Bank
The steep or sloping border of any stream
Basin
A low place in the surface of the land, usually with a body of water occupying the lowest part
Bay
And inlet of the ocean or part of the ocean bordering on land and partly surrounded by land
Bayou
Slow, sluggish stream; usually used to describe inlets from the Gulf of Mexico or from the Mississippi River
Beach
A pebbly or sandy shore of the sea or of a lake that is washed by the waves
Bluff
A steep, high bank beside a body of water
Bog
Very wet, spongy ground not able to support much weight, usually made up of decayed plants
Branch
A small stream or creek emptying into a larger stream
Breakers
Waves breaking into foam as they approach or dash against the shore
Brink
The very edge at the top of a bluff, cliff, or precipice
Brook
A natural stream of running water smaller than a river or creek
Canal
A constructed channel filled with water used for navigation, irrigation, or drainage
Canyon
A deep, narrow valley having high, steep slopes
Cape
A narrow piece of land projecting into the sea
Cave
A deep, hollowed out area under the Earth’s surface
Cavern
A large cave of room size or larger
Channel
A narrow strip of water
Chasm
An empty, deep gap in the surface of the earth
Cinder cone
A cone shaped mass of material made by volcanic eruption
Cliff
The steep, rocky face of a bluff
Coast
Land along the sea
Continent
Any one of the seven largest areas of land on the Earth’s surface
Continental shelf
The shallow sea area bordering the continents
Country
A nation or area of land that is politically controlled by one government
Cove
A small, sheltered inlet from anybody of water
Crag
A projecting point of rock, usually perpendicular or nearly so
Crater
The aperture or mouth of a volcano
Creek
A small inlet, bay or cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river
Cultivated Land
Tilled; improved in excellence or condition
Current
A flowing or passing; a stream; applied to fluids; as a current of water, or of air. The gulf stream is a remarkable current in the Atlantic. A current sets into the Mediterranean.
Dale
A low place between hills; a vale or valley
Dam
A mole, bank or mound of earth, or any wall, or a frame of wood, raised to obstruct a current of water, and to raise it, for the purpose of driving millwheels, or for other purposes. Any work that stops and confines water in a pond or basin, or causes it to rise
Dell
A small, retired valley; a ravine
Delta
A tract of land shaped like the letter delta (as, the delta of the Ganges, of the Nile, or of the Mississippi
Desert
An uninhabited tract of land; a region in its natural state; a wilderness; a solitude; particularly, a vast sandy plain, as the deserts of Arabia and Africa. But the word may be applied to an uninhabited country covered with wood.
Dike
- A ditch; an excavation made in the earth by digging, of greater length than breadth, intended as a reservoir of water, a drain, or for other purpose.
- A mound of earth, of stones, or of other materials, intended to prevent low lands, from being inundated by the sea or a river. The low countries of Holland are thus defended by dikes.
Divide
A dividing ridge of land between the tributaries of two streams; a watershed
Downstream
Down the stream; as, floating downstream. The direction the current is flowing.
Drainage Basin
an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point at a lower elevation, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean.
Dune
A low hill of drifting sand usually formed on the coast, but often carried far inland by the prevailing winds.
Earth
Earth, in its primary sense, signifies the particles which compose the mass of the globe, but more particularly the particles which form the fine mold on the surface of the globe; or it denotes any indefinite mass or portion of that matter
Elevation
(1913)
3.That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill.
(1828)
7. An elevated place or station.
8. Elevated ground; a rising ground; a hill or mountain.
Estuary
An arm of the sea; a frith; a narrow passage, or the mouth of a river or lake, where the tide meets the current, or flows and ebbs
Fall Line
A break between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls. Many times a fall line will recede upstream as the river cuts out the uphill dense material, often forming “c”-shaped waterfalls
Field
- Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.
- A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.
Fjord
A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating between high banks or rocks, as on the coasts of Norway and Alaska
Foothill
A low hill at the foot of high hills or mountains
Ford
- A place in a river or other water, where it may be passed by man or beast on foot, or by wading.
- A stream; a current.
Forest
An extensive wood, or a large tract of land covered with trees. In America, the word is usually applied to a wood of native growth, or a tract of woodland which has never been cultivated. It differs from wood or woods chiefly in extent. We read of the Hercynian forest, in Germany, and the forest of Ardennes, in France or Gaul.
Glacier
An immense field or stream of ice, formed in the region of perpetual snow, and moving slowly down a mountain slope or valley, as in the Alps, or over an extended area, as in Greenland
Glen
A valley; a dale; a depression or space between hills
Gorge
A narrow passage or entrance; as: (a) A defile between mountains
Grove
A wood of small extent. In America, the word is applied to a wood of natural growth in the field,as well as to planted trees in a garden,but only to a wood of small extent and not to a forest
Gulch
A ravine, or part of the deep bed of a torrent when dry; a gully
Gulf
A recess in the ocean from the general line of the shore into the land, or a tract of water extending from the ocean or a sea into the land, between two points or promontories; a large bay
Harbor
A port or haven for ships; a bay or inlet of the sea, in which ships can moor, and be sheltered from the fury of winds and a heavy sea; any navigable water where ships can ride in safety
Headland
a point of land, usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends out into a body of water
Hill
A natural elevation of land, or a mass of earth rising above the common level of the surrounding land; an eminence. A hill is less than a mountain, but of no definite magnitude, and is sometimes applied to a mountain
Horizon
The line that terminates the view, when extended on the surface of the earth
Iceberg
A hill or mountain of ice, or a vast body of ice accumulated in valleys in high northern latitudes
Inlet
A bay or recess in the shore of the sea or of a lake or large river, or between isles
Irrigated Land
Land that is supplied with water artificially by means of ditches, pipes, or streams
Island
A tract of land surrounded by water
Isthmus
A neck or narrow slip of land by which two continents are connected, or by which a peninsula is united to the mainland
Junction
The place or point of union of two streams, roads, or railroads
Keys
] a small flat island, especially one that is part of a group near the coast
Knob
A rounded hill or mountain
Knoll
The top or crown of a hill; but more generally, a little round hill or mount; a small elevation of earth
Lagoon
A shallow sound, channel, pond, or lake, especially one into which the sea flows
Lake
A large and extensive collection of water contained in a cavity or hollow of the earth. It differs from a pond in size, the latter being a collection of small extent
Land
Earth, or the solid matter which constitutes the fixed part of the surface of the globe, in distinction from the sea or other waters, which constitute the fluid or movable part.
Latitude
In geography, the distance of any place on the globe, north or south of the equator. Boston is situated in the forty third degree of north latitude
Ledge
A ridge; a prominent row; as a ledge of rocks
Left Bank
A mound, pile or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding plain, on the left side of something ,either as a defense or for other purposes
Levee
A bank or causey, particularly along a river to prevent inundation; as the levees along the Mississippi
Locks
A section of a waterway, such as a canal, closed off with gates, in which vessels in transit are raised or lowered by raising or lowering the water level of that section
Longitude
The distance of any place on the globe from another place, eastward or westward; or the distance of any place from a given meridian
Marsh
A tract of low land, usually or occasionally covered with water, or very wet and miry, and overgrown with coarse grass or with detached clumps of sedge; a fen. It differs from swamp, which is merely moist or spungy land, but often producing valuable crops of grass. Lowland occasionally overflowed by the tides, is called salt marsh
Meadow
A tract of low land. In America, the word is applied particularly to the low ground on the banks of rivers, consisting of a rich mold or an alluvial soil, whether grass land, pasture, tillage or wood land
Mesa
A high tableland; a plateau on a hill
Mine
A pit or excavation in the earth, from which metallic ores, mineral substances and other fossil bodies are taken by digging. The pits from which stones only are taken, are called quarries
Moor
A marsh; a fen; a tract of wet low ground, or ground covered with stagnant water
Mountain
A large mass of earth and rock, rising above the common level of the earth or adjacent land, but of no definite altitude. We apply mountain to the largest eminences on the globe; but sometimes the word is used for a large hill. In general, mountain denotes an elevation higher and larger than a hill
Mountain Chain
a series of ranges of mountains
Mountain Range
A series of adjoining mountains or of lines of mountains of similar origin
Mouth
The part or channel of a river by which its waters are discharged into the ocean or into a lake. The Mississippi and the Nile discharge their waters by several mouths
Natural Resource
Something, such as a forest, a mineral deposit, or fresh water, that is found in nature and is necessary or useful to humans
Oasis
A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, made so by the presence of water
Ocean
The vast body of water which covers more than three fifths of the surface of the globe, called also the sea, or great sea
Pass
A narrow passage, entrance or avenue; a narrow or difficult place of entrance and exit; as a pass between mountains
Pasture
Ground covered with grass appropriated for the food or cattle
Peak
The top of a hill or mountain, ending in a point
