World Geography

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A layer of water-bearing rock through which groundwater moves

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Aquifer

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A group of islands.

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Archipelago

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

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Atoll

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part of a lake or sea that is partly surrounded by the sore land.

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Bay

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Tall, steep-sided towers of rock. Smaller than a mesa.

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Butte

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A deep, narrow valley having high, steep sides or cliffs.

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Canyon

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

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Cape

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A count of the population of a country, usually conducted by the government. it records the number of people and data such as age, gender, and occupation. A census can also be taken of plant or animal life.

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Census

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

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Channel

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Land along the sea.

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Coast

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One of three main layers of the earth. The middle layer of hot rock, the mantle, is sandwiched between the inner layer, called the core, and the outer layer, called the crust.

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Core

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One of three main layers of the earth. The middle layer of hot rock, the mantle, is sandwiched between the inner layer, called the core, and the outer layer, called the crust.

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Crust

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Land made by soil that drops from a river at its mouth, the place where it meets the sea.

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Delta

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Very dry area of land that receives ten inches or less of precipitation a year. Deserts are found on every continent and cover about one-third of the earth's land area.

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Desert

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The high land that separates two river basins. A river drains the water from the land, and that land is its basin.

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Divide

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Contraction of ecological system, a term used in classifying the earth's natural communities according to how living and non-living things and their environment function as a unit.

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Ecosystem

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A distance above sea level.

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Elevation

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An imaginary line around the middle of the earth. Halfway between the North and South Poles, it divides the earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres. it is the 0 degree line of latitude.

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Equator

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

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Equinox

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A steep slope of cliff.

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Escarpment

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A broadened seaward end of a river. Most estuaries contain a mixture of fresh water from the river and salt water from the ocean.

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Estuary

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A deep, narrow inlet of the sea between high, steep cliffs.

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Fjord

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

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Forest

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A 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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Front

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A hot spring through which jets of water and steam erupt.

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Geyser

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A huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land.

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Glacier

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A region where grass is the naturally dominant vegetation. It occurs where there is not enough regular rainfall to support the growth of a forest, but not so little rain as to form a desert.

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Grassland

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

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Groundwater

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A large area of the ocean or sea that lies within a curved coast line. It is a portion of the ocean that penetrates into land of a plant or animal - the place . Gulfs vary in size, shape, and depth. They are sometimes connected to the ocean by one or more narrow passages called staits.

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Gulf

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The natural environment of a plant or animal - the place where the plant commonly grows or the animal normally finds food and shelter.

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Habitat

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

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Harbor

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A small area of land that is higher than the land around it.

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Hill

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

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Inlet

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Land that is surrounded by water and smaller than a continent

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Island

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What are the 4 major types of islands?

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Continental, oceanic, coral and barrier

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A narrow piece of land that joins two larger land areas.

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Isthmus

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

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Lagoon

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a body of water, usually fresh water that is surrounded by land

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Lake

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distance north of south of the equator

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Latitude

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The distance east or west of the prime meridian. The lines meet at the poles are known as meridians.

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Longitude

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Molten rock inside the earth. It originates in the lower part of the earth's crust and in the upper portion of the mantle.

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Magma

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One of three main layers of the earth. The middle layer of hot rock, the mantle, is sandwiched between the inner layer, called the core, and the outer layer, called the crust.

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Mantle

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A type of wetland forming a grassy fringe near river mouths, and along coastlines protected from open ocean. They are alternately flooded and exposed by the movement of the tides.

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Marsh

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Broad, flat-topped landforms with steep sides. Found mostly in dry regions.

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mesa

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Land that rises very high, much higher than the land at its base. Mountains are much higher than hills.

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Mountain

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A row of mountains that are joined together. A mountain range makes a giant natural wall.

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Mountain Range

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An area made fertile by a source of fresh water in an otherwise arid region. Water in an oasis comes from underground springs or from irrigation.

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Oasis

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A three-sided piece of land jutting out into a lake or ocean.

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Peninsula

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Permanently frozen layer below the earth's surface consisting of soil, gravel, and sand usually bound together by ice.

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Permafrost

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A large, relatively flat land, often covered with grasses (Grand Prairie)

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Plain

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A large, relatively flat area that stands above the surrounding land. Plateaus occupy about one-third of the earth's land and occur on every continent.

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Plateau

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A term that covers all forms in which water falls to earth from the atmosphere. The main types of precipitation are rain, snow, sleet, and hail.

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Precipitation

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The line of 0 degree longitude, the starting point for measuring distance east and west around the glove. It runs through Greenwich, England.

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Prime Meridian

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Developed in the United States by seismologists Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenburg, it is used to indicate the amount of energy released at the focus of an earthquake.

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Richter Scale

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A large, moving body of fresh water that starts at a source in higher land. It drains the water from an area called a basin. The river moves from the higher to the lower land and carries the water to its mouth, where it ends. That mouth is typically at a lake, ocean, sea, or another river.

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River

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A moist, densely wooded area usually found in a warm, tropical wet climate.

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Rain Forest

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A material that makes up most of the earth. Rock is a natural substance composed of solid matter. Rocks are divided into three categories according to how they were formed.

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Rock

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Igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic

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Types of rock

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A tropical grassland with clumps of grasses and widely scattered trees found in warm, tropical regions where rainfall is seasonal; a prolonged dry season alternates with a rainy season.

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Savanna

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A large body of salt water nearly or partly surrounded by land. A sea is much smaller than an ocean.

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Sea

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A type of matter that water, ice, and wind transport and deposit. Silt is made up of particles of rocks and minerals that are smaller than fine sand.

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Silt

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A long and wide body of water. A sound connects two larger bodies of water or separates an island from a larger body of land.

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Sound

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A passageway of water that connects two large bodies of water.

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Strait

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An area of land permanently saturated with water and sometimes covered by it. Typically dominated by trees.

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Swamp

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The lay of the land- the shape of the surface features of a geographic area.

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Topography

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A forest of the cold, subartic regions that begins south of the tundra vegetation. Coniferous, or cone-bearing trees, such as spruce, pine, fir, are common in taiga.

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Taiga

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A stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river.

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Tributary

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ocean waves triggered primarily by movement of the ocean floor during strong earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions in or near the ocean may also cause them.

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Tsunami

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A cold region characterized by low vegetation. Plant species are limited in number and are adapted to short growing seasons and cold temps. There are two kinds of tundra.

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Tundra

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The alpine tundra of high mountain ranges and the Arctic tundra of the polar area.

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Water, seeping down through the soil under the force of gravity, reaches a zone where the pores in rocks and sediments are saturated, or filled with water. The area where zones of saturated and unsaturated rocks and sediments meet marks the water table.

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Water Table

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Seven Continents

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Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia

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4 major oceans

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Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic

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5th ocean is the Southern Ocean

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Smallest Continent

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Austrailia

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Largest Continent

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Asia

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Largest Lake

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Caspian Sea

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Asia

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Largest Desert

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Sahara

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Africa

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Highest Waterfall

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Angel Falls

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Venezuela

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Largest island

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Greenland

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Longest river

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Nile

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Africa

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Largest Ocean

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Pacific