GEOGRAPHY: Land and Water Vocabulary Sue Pope and Bev McCaskey

I CAN STATEMENTS I can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. I can use visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

History Geography Standard Students are to learn the specific vocabulary for land and water forms that comprise the various topography found on Earth

LAND TERMS

Butte An isolated hill with sloping sides and a flat top

Cliff Cliffs of Moher, Ireland A cliff is the area formed when the land abruptly falls away

Basin A region drained by a river system

Biome A plant an animal community that covers a large area of the earth’s surface

Tundra A vast, treeless Arctic region with permafrost and small, low plants

Plateau/ mesa A plateau or mesa is characterized by steep rocky sides and a flat top similar to a table

Prairie A large area of tall, wet, treeless grassland on fertile soil

Crater A cavity at the mouth of a volcano

Plain A plain is known for being a flat land with few hills and no mountains

Levee Banks of the earth intended to prevent an area from being flooded

Archipelago A large group of closely scattered islands

Ice cap An extensive, permanent, usually level cover of ice and snow

Valley A valley is the sheltered area between hills or mountains It may be wide or narrow

Savanna A large grassland with few scattered trees and shrubs

WATER TERMS

Lock A portion of a waterway enclosed with gates to raise or lower water level

Caldera A large crater formed by volcanic explosion or by collapse of a volcanic one Mount Pinatubo, Philippines

Cape A point of land that projects into water Cape Cod

Dam A dam is an artificial barrier used to block a river

Spring A natural flow of water that wells up from the ground

Isthmus An Isthmus is a narrow strip of land that joins two larger bodies of land together

Oasis An oasis is an area that has water in the midst of a desert

Gulf A deep ocean inlet with a narrow mouth

Reef A reef is formed from coral or rocks It is home to many plants and shellfish

Reef Some islands were first reefs that over the centuries rose above the level of the sea An atoll is an island formed from coral As soil accumulated, migrating birds dropped plants and small animals on the island

Seamount A submarine mountain

Glacier A glacier is a sheet of ice that expands and contracts over land At the coast, a glacier may break off a huge chuck of ice – This is known as calving

Loch A deep, long lake created by sheet glaciers

Geyser A natural hot spring that intermittently ejects steam and hot water into the air

Atoll A ring-shaped island formed by coral buildup on the rim of an underwater volcano

Iceberg An iceberg is formed when a glacier calves The iceberg then floats in the ocean

Reservoir A reservoir is a man-made lake. It is primarily used for drinking and irrigation water.

Oxbox A U-shaped bend in a river

Fjord A long, narrow, often deep sea inlet with steep cliffs

Strait A strait is a narrow shipping lane caused by nature The strait of Gibraltar separates the continent of Europe from the continent of Africa

Tributary Tributaries are the arms of the river. They drain the land of excess water. The water flows to the main river on the continent which carries it to the ocean.

Term Practice Learning Style Auditory ler Visual hcards Kinesthetic ter Challenge cerace