geography vocab #3

Question 1

altitude/elevation

Answer 1

the distance above sea level

Question 2

latitude

Answer 2

measures the distance North or south of the equator

Question 3

landforms

Answer 3

a feature on earth’s surface that is part of the terrain

Question 4

topography

Answer 4

the study and description of the physical features of an area

Question 5

oceans

Answer 5

the vast saltwater bodies covering most of the earth’s surface

Question 6

lakes

Answer 6

a body of water that is surrounded by land

Question 7

winds

Answer 7

the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the earth by the sun and the earth’s own rotation

Question 8

rotation

Answer 8

the circular motion of an object around its center

Question 9

tilt

Answer 9

the angle between the planet’s rotational axis and its orbital plane

Question 10

axis

Answer 10

an imaginary line an object turns around

Question 11

revolutioni

Answer 11

the movement of the earth around the sun

Question 12

equinox

Answer 12

either of the two moments in the year when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length

Question 13

solstice

Answer 13

an event in which a planet’s poles are most extremely inclined toward or away from the star it orbits

Question 14

prevailing winds

Answer 14

winds that blow from a single direction over a specific area of the earth

Question 15

precipitation

Answer 15

water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail

Question 16

rain shadow

Answer 16

a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather

Question 17

windward

Answer 17

faces the prevailing, or trade, winds

Question 18

leeward

Answer 18

the side distant from or physically in the lee of the prevailing wind, and typically the drier