Question | Answer |
elevation | height above sea level |
plain | low-lying stretches of flat or gently rolling land |
plateau | flat areas of land but have a higher elevation than a plain |
isthmus | a narrow piece of land that connects two larger pieces of land |
peninsula | a piece of land with water on three sides |
island | a body of land smaller than a continent and completely surrounded by water |
continental shelf | an underwater plateau that lies off the coast of a continent |
trench | deep valleys that line the ocean floor and are the lowest spots in the Earth's crust |
strait | a narrow body of water between two pieces of land |
channel | a wider body of water between two pieces of land |
delta | soil and sand built up at the mouth of a river |
Core | center of the earth made of hot iron mixed with other metals and rock |
mantle | a layer of rock surrounding the core made of rock and magma |
crust | uppermost layer of the earth that includes the ocean floors and the seven continents |
continent | massive land areas |
plate tectonics | theory to explain the earths structure which states that the earth's crust is not an unbroken shell but consists of plates that move |
earthquake | violent and sudden movement of the earth's crust |
tsunami | huge waves caused by undersea earthquakes |
fault | cracks in the earth's crust |
weathering | process of breaking surface rock into boulders, gravel, sand and soil |
erosion | the process of wearing away or moving weathered material |
glacier | giant, slow-moving sheets of ice |
geography | the study of the earth in all its variety |
land form | individual features of land such as mountains or valleys |
Global Positioning System | a group of satellites that travel around the earth used to label exact positions or places on a map |
geographic information system | special computer software used to collect different kinds of information |
artifact | tools, pottery, paintings and other items left behind by past societies |
fossil | human remains |
environment | natural surroundings |
solar system | made up of the sun and nine planets |
orbit | path a planet travels around the sun |
atmosphere | layer of air surrounding the earth that supports life |
axis | imaginary line that runs through the earth's center between the North and South Poles |
revolution | 365 1/4 days or one complete orbit around the sun |
leap year | a year that contains one extra day which occurs every four years |
summer solstice | day, in the northern hemisphere with the most hours of sunlight and fewest hours of darkness |
winter solstice | day, in the northern hempisphere with the fewest hours of sunlight |
equinox | when day and night are of equal light in both hemispheres |