1. Geography & Landforms Tentative Test Date:
A Visual Study Guide
Tentative Test Date:
In addition to the vocabulary in this study guide, you will need to:
Know your own home address
How to find map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates
Be able to label the continents and oceans on a world map

2. Hemisphere
Half of the globe

3. Latitude Lines Lines that run east-west on the globe
They show the distance north or south of the equator.
The unit for measuring latitude is degrees.

4. Longitude Lines Lines that run north-south on the globe
They show the distance east or west of the Prime Meridian
The unit for measuring longitude is degrees.

5. Landforms of North America

6. LAND FEATURES: Plateau
A high, flat landform that rises steeply above the surrounding land
Larger than a mesa or a butte
Mesa means table in Spanish – see why small plateaus might be called mesas?
A butte

7. LAND FEATURES: Plain A large area of flat or nearly flat land
Plains are found at low elevations (Elevation means how high the land is, or how far above sea level.)
Sometimes plains are called “rolling.” This means they have small hills. Do you see how the plains in this picture “roll”?

8. LAND FEATURES: Peninsula
A piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water
Sometimes we say it’s surrounded on 3 sides 3 1 2

9. LAND FEATURES: Cape
A part of a coastline that extends into a body of water.
It’s like a small, pointy peninsula
This is a map of Massachusetts.
Cape Cod is colored in. See how it
points out into the ocean?

10. LAND FEATURES: Coastline
The area of land along a body of water
Sometimes it has a beach
Another word for coast is shore.

11. LAND FEATURES: Mountain
Very tall, raised area
Mountains, especially young mountains, have pointed tops, or PEAKS.
Mountains have very high elevation.

12. LAND FEATURES: Mountain Ranges
Mountains are often found in RANGES
A mountain range is a chain or row of mountains.

13. LAND FEATURES: Valley An area of low land between hills or mountains
Often, rivers flow through valleys.

14. One of Earth’s largest bodies of water that surround the continents
Atlantic – Pacific – Indian – Arctic
The Pacific is Earth’s largest and deepest ocean.
WATER FEATURES: Ocean
Sometimes a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean is included, but this is not always accepted. We’ll talk about this more when we get to Oceanography in science!

15. WATER FEATURES: River
A map of the Mississippi River’s path & a photo of a bridge crossing the Mississippi in Wisconsin.
A river is a large stream of water that flows across land.
It usually empties into a larger body of water, like a lake, sea, ocean, or even a larger river.
Rivers often flow downhill from a higher elevation to a lower elevation.

16. WATER FEATURES: Source & Mouth of a River
The SOURCE of a river is where it STARTS.
The MOUTH of a river is where it ENDS. At the mouth it empties into a larger body of water.
SOURCE
MOUTH
WATER FEATURES: Source & Mouth of a River

17. WATER FEATURES: Fun Facts About Rivers!
The world’s longest river: Nile River in Africa
But the Amazon River in South America carries more water
North America’s longest river: Mississippi River
Sometimes rivers go over waterfalls!
Fun Facts
About
Rivers!
WATER FEATURES:

18. WATER FEATURES: Tributaries
Rivers have streams and other smaller rivers that flow into them.
These are called TRIBUTARIES
WATER FEATURES: Tributaries

19. WATER FEATURES: River Deltas
Rivers drop sediment (dirt and sand) at the end of the river (the mouth.)
In large rivers, these deposits can form land.
WATER FEATURES: River Deltas

20. WATER FEATURES: Gulf
A part of an ocean or sea (so it’s salty!) that pushes into the land.
Gulfs are often larger than bays or harbors.

21. WATER FEATURES: Bay A small gulf.
Can be in an ocean, sea or large lake.
Anybody heard of the Green Bay Packers?

22. WATER FEATURES: Harbor
A protected part of a body of water along the coast where ships can safely anchor.
Many major cities have harbors because ships deliver goods to them.

23. The Southern Ocean will not be tested.
WORLD MAP
You will need to know the locations of the SEVEN CONTINENTS and FOUR OCEANS.
The Southern Ocean will not be tested.

24. Bibliography
Aerial Views. "Baltimore Inner Harbor." Aerial Views Online Store. Aerial Views Inc, n.d. Web. 18 Sept <
"Butte." Discovery Education Teacher Center. Discovery Education, Web. 18 Sept <
”Cape Cod." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. < of Massachusetts highlighting Barnstable County.svg>.
"Grassland." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. <
Hemispheres." Earth Geography Cartography Hemispheres Image - Visual Dictionary. QA International, Web. 18 Sept <
"Rivers." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 Sept <
Schott, Ron. "GSCI 100 Lecture #38 - Spring 2011." GSCI 100 Intro to Geology. Fort Hays State University, Spring Web. 18 Sept <
"Up Wallpapersup-clouds-south-america-plateau." Disney Wallpapers. Disney Pictures, n.d. Web. 18 Sept <
"USA Maps." World Atlas. World Atlas, n.d. Web. 18 Sept <
Weeks, John A., III. "The Bridges And StructuresOf The Mississippi River." The Bridges And Structures Of The Mississippi River. N.p., Aug Web. 18 Sept <
Williamson, Kory. "The Five Themes of Geography." Mr. Williamson's Page. South Dakota K-12 Data Center, n.d. Web. 05
Sept