LANDFORM & WATER FEATURES

Continents:  How many continents are there?  What are their names?  What was the name of the 1 gigantic continent believed to exist before the “big bang”?

Map of the World

Continents:  North America  South America  Europe  Asia  Africa  Australia  Antarctica  Isthmus- a narrow piece of land that connects two larger pieces of land

Major Landforms:  The earth has 4 major types of land forms.  Mountains: Largest in height, 2 steep sides, minimum of 1000 feet in elevation  Hills: Gradually rounded.  Plateaus: Higher than surrounding land and usually has a cliff (kind of looks like a table top) Only has 1 steep side.  Plains: Flat areas with very little relief (or elevation). Costal plains have even less elevation than Interior plains.

Secondary Landforms:  Peninsula: A continent that is surrounded by water on 3 sides.  Archipelago: A group of closely scattered islands.  Continental Shelf: Underwater extension of a continent.

Water Features:

Oceans:  How many oceans are there in the world?  How many can you name?  Which one is closest to you from where you are sitting now?

Oceans:  Pacific  Atlantic  Indian  Arctic  Pacific Ocean is the largest.

Seas, Gulfs, & Bays:  They are smaller than oceans but still salt water.  Mediterranean Sea is the earth’s largest.  Salt water can not be consumed. It is very difficult to turn saltwater into freshwater.

Lakes, Streams,& Rivers  Most lakes, streams, and rivers contain freshwater.  Lakes do not have fast flowing water.  Streams- small body of water flowing through land.  Rivers- a number of streams combined form a river.  Early settlements were along Lakes and rivers to tap into the freshwater source.  Brackish- where freshwater meets saltwater (the mix of the two)  Ex. Where the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico

Earth’s Highs and Lows

Earth’s Highs  The highest part on the earth is Mt. Everest in Nepal (Asia) which is about 29,000 ft. above sea level.

Earth’s Lows  The lowest point is the Dead Sea in Israel which is about 1,300 ft. below sea level.  The dead sea is 9X saltier than any body of water in the world.  Marine life can not survive.  People become very buoyant (floatable) in the dead sea.

Earth’s Depths  The deepest part of the earth is the Mariana Trench off the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean which is about 36,000 ft. below sea level.