1. Geography and the United States Chapter 1

2. geography  The study of our physical surroundings and how humans interact with them.  Often geography is used to mean the physical surroundings themselves, such as “the geography of the US.”  People who study geography care called geographers.

3. climate  Aspects of weather, such as temperature, rainfall, and wind that are measured over time in an area.

4. globe  A sphere that is a model Earth and most accurately represents it.

5. latitude  An imaginary line called a parallel that circles Earth from west to east.  Parallels of latitude measure in degrees how far north or south of the equator a place on Earth is located.

6. longitude  An imaginary line called a meridian that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.  A meridian of longitude measures in degrees how far east or west of the prime meridian a place on Earth is located.

7. geographic terms  A word that names a landform or body of water.  Examples of geographic terms include bay, sea, peninsula, and island.

9. physical features  A part of Earth’s surface that is a landmass or a body of water.  Physical features of the United States include the Rocky Mountains, the Mississippi River, and the Great Plains.

10. compass  A tool or instrument for finding directions by first locating north.

11. compass rose  A circle showing the principal directions printed on a map or chart.

12. Northern Hemisphere  The half of the earth that is north of the equator.

13. Southern Hemisphere  The half of the earth that is south of the equator.

14. Eastern Hemisphere  The half of the earth that contains Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

15. Western Hemisphere  The half of the earth that contains the Americas.

16. continents  Any of the world's main continuous expanses of land (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America).

17. oceans  A very large expanse of sea, in particular, each of the main areas into which the sea is divided geographically: "the Atlantic Ocean".

18. landforms  A physical feature of Earth’s surface such as a mountain or a plain.

19. mountain range  A line of mountains connected by high ground.

20. source  A place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained

21. valley  A low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it.

22. mouth  The place where the river empties into another body of water.

23. river  A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another stream.

24. cape  A narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea.

25. plain  A large area of flat land with few trees.

26. bay  A broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inward.

27. peninsula

28. island  A piece of land surrounded by water.

29. lake  A large body of water surrounded by land: "boys were swimming in the lake".

30. delta  A triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river.

31. tributary  A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.

32. gulf  A deep inlet of the sea almost surrounded by land, with a narrow mouth.

33. sea  The expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface.  Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet.  Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land.

34. lowlands  Low-lying country