1. What are Landforms & Water Features?
Grade 8
Social Studies

2. What are landforms?
Landforms are the natural shapes or features called landforms.
There are many different types of landforms found on the earth.

3. What are water features?
These features are the natural shapes involving water
There are many different types of water features found on the earth.

4. mountain
A mountain is a place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it.
                                     

5. valley
                                          
A valley is a lowland area between higher lands such as mountains.
               

6. canyon
A canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides.
                                                        

7. plain
A plain is a flat area on Earth’s surface.

8. plateau
A plateau is a flat area higher than the land around it.

9. island
An island is land that is completely surrounded by water.

10. lake
A lake is water that is completely surrounded by land.

11. ocean
Oceans are the largest bodies of water on earth.

12. coast
A coast is the area where the ocean touches the land.

13. desert
A desert is a hot dry place with little or no rainfall.

14. river
A river is a long flowing body of water.

15. Different Landforms
Social Studies 8

16. Types of Landforms 1. Mountain 6. Lake 2. Valley 7. Ocean
3. Plain Coast
4. Plateau Desert
5. Island River

17. mountain
A mountain is a place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it.
                                     

18. valley
                                          
A valley is a low area between higher lands such as mountains.
               

19. plain
A plain is a flat area on Earth’s surface.

20. plateau
A plateau is a flat area higher than the land around it.

21. island
An island is land that has water all around it.

22. lake
A lake is water that has land all around it.

23. ocean
Oceans are the largest bodies of water on earth.

24. coast
A coast is the area where the ocean touches the land.

25. desert
A desert is a hot dry place with little or no rain.

26. river
A river is a long flowing body of water.

27. Now let’s review!

28. A _________ is water with land all around it.
Ocean
Island
Lake
Hint

29. What is the largest body of water on Earth?
Ocean
Lake
River
Hint

30. A _______ is higher than the land around it.
Island
Mountain
Valley
Hint

31. What is a flowing body of water?
Plateau
Lake
River
Hint

32. I am land and have water all around me. What am I?
Island
Coast
Desert
Hint

33. By Nicholas For Mrs. Rentz
Landforms
By Nicholas
For Mrs. Rentz

34. Mountains
A place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it.

35. Peninsulas
A piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with the mainland by an isthmus.

36. Islands
An area of land that is surrounded by a large body of water.

37. Plains
A flat area on Earth’s surface.

38. Valleys
A lowland area between higher land like mountains.

39. Plateaus
A flat area higher than the land around it.

40. Gulfs
A big body of water surrounded by a land area almost completely.

41. Rivers
A moving body of water.

42. Bays
A body of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, affording access to the sea.

43. A large inland body of fresh water or salt water.
Lakes

44. Questions
Which body of water moves?

45. Questions
Which is higher, a mountain or a valley?

46. Questions
What’s the name of a body of land that’s surrounded by water?

47. Questions
What’s the thing that connects a peninsula to a larger body of land?

48. Questions
What’s the name for a body of water that’s only partially enclosed by land?
(Hint: This body of water has a wide mouth.)

49. Landform Definitions
Social Studies 8

50. Butte butte A butte is a flat-topped rock or hill formation
with steep sides.

51. Butte http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butte
Buttes are prevalent in the western United States and on the Hawaiian Islands, especially around Honolulu. The word "butte" comes from a French word meaning "small hill".
Buttes are formed by erosion when a cap of hard rock, usually of volcanic origin, covers a layer of softer rock that is easily worn away. This hard rock avoids erosion while the rock around it wears down. One example of a noted butte is Chimney Rock.

52. Canyon
canyon A canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a river.

53. Grand Canyon in Arizona http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorge
“The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona and stretches to Colorado. The Grand Canyon is a national park and has become a national landmark. People from all over the world travel to see the Grand Canyon.” It was formed by the Colorado River running through and eroding the land.

54. Cape
cape A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.

55. Delta
delta A delta is a low, watery land formed at the mouth of a river.
It is formed from the silt, sand and small rocks that flow downstream in the river and are deposited in the delta.
A delta is often (but not always) shaped like a triangle (hence its name, delta, a Greek letter that is shaped like a triangle).

56. Delta

57. Desert http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/desert.shtml
desert A desert is a very dry area.

59. Geyser geyser A geyser is a natural hot
spring that occasionally sprays water and steam above the ground.
Old Faithful is a famous geyser located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho .

60. Mountain
A mountain is a very tall high, natural place on Earth - higher than a hill. The tallest mountain on Earth is
Mt. Everest.

61. Plains http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/plainmr.htm
plain Plains are flat lands that have only small changes in elevation.

62. Plant life on plains- Why are plains usually well populated?
“Plant life on plains is controlled by the climate. Thick forests usually thrive on plains in humid climates, grasslands cover fairly dry plains such as the Great Plains in the United States. Plains are usually well populated because the soil and terrain are good for farming, and roads and railways are easily built between rural towns and cities.”

63. Coatal Plains
A coastal plain is a stretch of lowland along a seacoast which slopes toward the sea.
Atlantic Coastal Plain is a good example of a fertile and well populated coastal plain.

64. Plateau
plateau A plateau is a large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land.

65. Prairie http://www. enchantedlearning. com/biomes/grassland/prairie
A prairie is a wide, relatively flat area of land that has grasses and only a few trees.
A prairie is a temperate grassland, plains of grass that get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Most of the interior of North America was a prairie.

66. Tundra http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/tundra/tundra.shtml
A tundra is a cold, treeless area; it is the coldest biome.
“Arctic tundras are frozen, windy, desert-like plains in the Arctic that are dotted with bogs and ponds. Permafrost (a layer of frozen subsoil) covers the ground, so there is very little drainage of water. The short growing season lasts for only 50 to 60 days. Arctic tundras are located in the far north of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Europe, and Russia.”

67. Tundra
“Alpine tundras are located high in mountains worldwide, above the tree line. The growing season is about 180 days, and nighttime temperatures are usually below freezing. The soil is well-drained (unlike the Arctic tundra).”

68. Volcano
A volcano is a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust. When a volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth.

69. Volcano http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/volcano/

70. Landforms
Social Studies 8

71. Learner Expectation Content Standard: 3.0
Geography enables the students to see, understand and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and environments. Students will use the knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography.
Learning Expectations:
3.01 Understand how to use maps, globes, and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective.
3.03 Demonstrate how to identify and locate major physical and political features on globes and maps.

72. IN THIS ACTIVITY YOU WILL:
Learn about the different types of landforms.
Create landforms with modeling clay.
Write a Four Square describing a landform of their choice.

73. LANDFORMS Landforms are the kinds of land a place has.
Landforms include mountains, valleys, plateaus, deserts,plains, islands, and peninsulas.

74. MOUNTAINS
Mountains can be tall and sharply pointed like the Rocky Mountains.
Mountains can be lower and more rounded like the Appalachian Mountains.

75. VALLEYS Valleys are lowlands that lie between mountain ranges.
They are often good places for communities because water runs down from the mountains and they have rich soil to grow crops.

76. PLATEAUS Plateaus are landforms that have STEEP SIDES and a FLAT top.
They may stretch for miles in every direction.

77. DESERTS
A desert is dry land with few plants and little water.

78. ISLANDS
An island is a piece of land that has water on all sides.

79. PLAINS The area of flat land along a sea or ocean is a coastal plain.
Plains are flat sometimes grassy lands that stretch for miles and can be good habitats for animals like zebras, lions, and elephants, giraffes.

80. PENINSULAS
A peninsula is a piece of land that has water on ONLY THREE sides and attached to another piece of land.
A good example of a peninsula is FLORIDA.

81. REVIEW OF LANDFORMS MOUNTAINS: High steep,rocky land
VALLEYS: Low land in between mountains
PLATEAUS:Steep, sloped land with a flat top
DESERTS: Dry, sandy land
PLAINS: Flat, grassy land that stretches for miles
ISLANDS: Land surrounded by water
PENINSULAS:Land with water on 3 sides

82. Sources Jefferson County Website
Harcourt Horizons: People and Communities volume 1
Florida Picture:

83. CREATIVE ACTIVITY
Give a lump of modeling clay.
Allow students to mold and create each type of landform discussed. If needed go back through Power Point.

84. Writing Activity
Students will choose their favorite landform to write a Four Square assignment and present it to the class.