Chapter 5 Geography

Front 1

delta

Back 1

landform at the mouth of a river created by deposits of sediment

Front 2

strait

Back 2

narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water.

Front 3

peninsula

Back 3

landform bordered by water on three sides

Front 4

lagoon

Back 4

a small body of water separated from the larger sea by a barrier of sand or coral reefs

Front 5

headwaters

Back 5

the first and smallest streams to form from the runoff of precipitation flowing down the slopes of hills and mountains

Front 6

fjord

Back 6

a narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high, rocky cliffs created by glaciers

Front 7

continental divide

Back 7

the crest of the Rocky Mountains that divides the rivers of North America into those that flow east and those that flow west

Front 8

bay

Back 8

body of water that penetrates a coastline

Front 9

seismograph

Back 9

can reveal how much energy has been released during an earthquake

Front 10

subduction

Back 10

is when one plate dives under another

Front 11

plate tectonics

Back 11

the interaction of plates

Front 12

reef

Back 12

narrow, low ridge of rock, or more commonly of coral, that is connected to a coast (fringing reef) or lies off a coast (barrier reef).

Front 13

ocean currents

Back 13

ocean streams that are propelled by prevailing winds and earth rotation

Front 14

isthmus

Back 14

narrow strip of land, with water on both sides, that connects two larger land masses

Front 15

gulf

Back 15

part of an ocean or sea that is partially enclosed by a curving coastline

Front 16

estuary

Back 16

an ocean inlet that merges with the mouth of a river

Front 17

cape

Back 17

a point of land extending into the sea

Front 18

atoll

Back 18

circular coral island that encloses a lagoon

Front 19

lava

Back 19

magma that reaches the earth's surface

Front 20

richter scale

Back 20

indicates an earthquakes magnitude

Front 21

glaciers

Back 21

thick masses of ice that glide across the earth

Front 22

plateau

Back 22

broad expanse of generally high and flat land, also called a tableland

Front 23

mesa

Back 23

tall, flat-topped mountain with steep vertical sides

Front 24

island

Back 24

body of land completely surrounded by water

Front 25

canyon

Back 25

deep, narrow depression in the earth's surface

Front 26

archipelago

Back 26

either a group of islands or a body of water that has many islands in it

Front 27

lithosphere

Back 27

rigid shell of the earth, broken into plates

Front 28

magma

Back 28

lava inside beneath the earth's surface