Geography Terms

Front 1

elevation

Back 1

The distance above sea level

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equator

Back 2

An imaginary line around the middle of the earth. It divides the earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres

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equinox

Back 3

occurs twice a year when the sun appears directly overhead to observers ath the equator. The periods of sunlight and darkness are nearly equal

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escarpment

Back 4

a steep slope or cliff

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estuary

Back 5

a broadened seaword end of a river. Most estuaries contain a misture of fresh water from the river and salt water from the ocean

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fjord

Back 6

a deep, narrow inlet of the sea between high steep cliffs

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forest

Back 7

a large area of land where many trees grow. A forest or woodland gets alot of rainfall every year

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front

Back 8

the boundary between two air masses of different temperature and humidity. There are three basic types of fronts: warm, cold and stationary

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geyser

Back 9

a hot spring through which jets of water and steam erupt

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glacier

Back 10

a huge land mass of ice that moves slowly over land

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grassland

Back 11

a region where grass is the naturally dominant vegitation

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ground water

Back 12

water beneath the earth's surface from rain and melted snow that seeps down through soil and into pores and cracks in rocks

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gulf

Back 13

a large area of the ocean or sea that lies within a curved coastline. It's a portion of the ocean that penetrates into land.

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habitat

Back 14

the natural environment of a plant or animal.

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harbor

Back 15

a sheltered body of water where ships anchor and are safe from the winds an waves of storms at sea

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aquifer

Back 16

alayer of water-bearing rock through which groundwater moves

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archipelago

Back 17

a group of islands

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atoll

Back 18

a coral reef in the open ocean that appears as a low, ring-shaped island or ring islets

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bay

Back 19

part of a lake or sea that is partly surrounded by shore land

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butte

Back 20

tall, steep-sided towers of rock; smaller than a mesa

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canyon

Back 21

a deep, narrow valley having high, steep sides or cliffs

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cape

Back 22

a narrow part of land along a shore that sticks out into the water

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census

Back 23

a count of the population of an area; plants, animals, or humans

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channel

Back 24

a wide strait or waterway between two land masses that lie close to each other

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coast

Back 25

land along the sea

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core

Back 26

one of the three main layers of the earth; it is the innermost layer

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crust

Back 27

one ofthe three main layers of the earth; it is the outermost layer

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delta

Back 28

land made by soil that drops from a river at its mouth; the place where it meets the sea

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desert

Back 29

very dry area of land that receives 10 inches or less percipitation a year

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divide

Back 30

the high land that separates two river basins

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hill

Back 31

a small area of land that is higher than the land around it

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inlet

Back 32

a small strip of water that reaches from a sea or lake into the shore land

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island

Back 33

land that is surrounded by water and smaller than a continent

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isthmus

Back 34

a narrow piece of land that joins two larger land areas and separates tow bodies of water

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lagoon

Back 35

a pool of shallow water linked to the sea by a land inlet

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lake

Back 36

a body of usually fresh water that is surrounded by land

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latitude

Back 37

the distance north or south of the equator

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longitude

Back 38

the distance east or west of the prime meridian

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magma

Back 39

molten rock inside the earth

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mantle

Back 40

one of the three main layers of the earth; it is the middle layer