Landforms and Water Bodies Mr. Summers Cultural Geography

1. Ocean One of four large water bodies.

2. Sea A continuous body of salt water, usually a region within an ocean.

3. Lake A large/small body of water surrounded by land.

4. Stream A small body of water flowing on the earth’s surface.

5. Gulf A large area of sea or ocean partially enclosed by land.

6. Bay A body of water partly enclosed by land but having a wide outlet to the sea, often smaller than a gulf.

7. Strait A narrow passage of water between two larger bodies of water.

8. Fjord A long narrow inlet of sea between steep cliffs.

9. River A large natural stream of water.

10. Tributaries A river or stream which flows into a larger river.

11. River Mouth The place where the river enters a larger body of water.

12. Glaciers A large mass of slow moving ice, formed from compacted snow.

13. Seawall A man-made wall built to separate and protect a harbor from the sea.

14. Reservoir A body of water stored for public use.

15. Dam A barrier built across water to control the flow of water.

16. Irrigation To supply land with water through pipes, ditches or streams.

17. Canal A man-made water way or channel.

18. Channel A deep part of a river or harbor.

19. Inlet A narrow passage of water leading inland.

20. Lagoon A shallow body of water separated from the sea by sandbars or coral reefs.

21. Delta An angular deposit of soil at the mouth of a river.

22. Sound A long body of water, wider than a strait or channel which usually connects two bodies of water.

23. Port A town with a harbor.

24. Harbor A sheltered body of water deep enough to serve as a port for ships.

25. Aqueduct A large pipe/conduit bringing water from a distance or a bridge-like structure.

26. Continent One of seven large land masses.

27. Isthmus A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land.

28. Peninsula A long projection of land into water and surrounded by water on three sides.

29. Island A land mass smaller than a continent surrounded by water.

30. Cape A point or head of land projecting into the sea or other body of water.

31. Coast Sea shore.

32. Sea Level The level of the oceans’ surface.

33. Mountain A natural elevation of the earth’s surface greater in height than a hill.

34. Plain An extensive level of treeless land.

35. Plateau Elevated piece of land generally longer than a mile.

36. Canyon An opening into the earth’s surface with steep cliff walls.

37. Hills A well-defined natural elevation smaller than a mountain.

38. Foothill A low hill area near the base of mountains.

39. Valley A long narrow lowland between ranges of mountains or hills.

40. Mountain Range A series of mountain ridges.

41. Highland A mountainous region of a country.

42. Divide An extensive stretch of higher ground from each side of which the river systems of a continent flow.

43. Volcano An opening in the crust of the earth through which molten lava, dust, rock, ash and gas are ejected.

44. Lava

45. Buttes A hill with a flat or round top which rises sharply from the surrounding area.

46. Mesa A flat-topped hill with cliff-like sides generally shorter than a mile.

47. Prairie An extensive area of rolling grassland.

48. Pass A narrow passage between mountains.

49. Cliffs A high, steep face of rock.

50. Timberline Altitude beyond which trees do not grow.

51. Forest The dense growth of trees covering a large area.

52. Quarry An open excavation from which stone is taken.

53. Sink Hole A natural depression on the earth’s surface showing that there is an open area underground which is sinking.

54. Sediment Material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid.

55. Flood Plain A plain along a river; formed by sediment from floods.

56. Alluvial Fan Sloping where a stream slows down, into a level plain.

57. Longitude Imaginary lines that run through both poles (N/S). The central line of longitude is called the Prime Meridian and it runs through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. Lines tell us how far east and west we are from the PM.

58. Latitude Imaginary lines which tell us how far north or south one is from the Equator; the imaginary line exactly ½ way between N and S poles.

59. Prime Meridian Central line of longitude that runs through N and S poles; Greenwich, England.

60. Equator Central line of Latitude.

61. Tropic of Cancer 23 ½ degrees North of the Equator.

62. Tropic of Capricorn 23 ½ degrees South of the Equator.

63. Hemisphere The division of the globe in halves (N/S are above/below Equator; E/W of Prime Meridian.