Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Illustrated Glossary of Geography Terms word absolute location definition exact location of a place on the earth, described by global coordinates archipelago a group of small islands atlas a book of maps bay a part of the sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land, generally smaller than a gulf cave a large natural hole in the side of a cliff or hill, or under the ground canyon a deep valley with very steep sides of rock that usually has a river running through it canal a long passage dug into the ground and filled with water, either for boats to travel along, or to take water to a place picture Page 1 of 8 channel an wide strait or waterway that connects two larger areas of water; the deepest part of a river, harbor, or sea, especially where it is deep enough to allow ships to sail in cliff a large area of rock or a mountain with a very steep side, often at the edge of the sea or a river continents the seven large land masses on the earth crater a round hole in the ground made by something that has fallen on it or by an explosion; the round open top of a volcano dam a special wall built across a river or stream to stop the water from flowing, especially in order to make a lake or reservoir or to produce electricity delta flat, low-lying land built up from soil carried downstream by a river and deposited at its mouth Page 2 of 8 desert a large region of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand downstream in the direction that the water in a river or stream is flowing elevation the height of a place above the level of the sea Equator an imaginary line drawn around the middle of the Earth that is exactly the same distance from the North Pole and the South Pole forest a large region of land that is covered with trees glacier a large mass of ice which moves slowly down a mountain valley Page 3 of 8 grasslands a large region of land covered with wild grass (also: prairie) gulf a large area of sea partly enclosed by land, generally larger and more deeply indented than a bay harbor an area of water next to the land where the water is calm, so that ships are safe when they are inside it, usually refers to a man-made structure hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, with sloping sides and rounded top, generally smaller than a mountain island piece of land, smaller than a continent, that is completely surrounded by water lake a large area of fresh water surrounded by land Page 4 of 8 latitude the distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees longitude the distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees map a drawing of a particular area, for example a city or country, which shows its main features, such as its roads, rivers, mountains, etc. mesa a hill with a flat top and steep sides, in the southwestern US, said to look like a table, smaller than a plateau (mesa = table, in Spanish) mountain land with steep sides that rise sharply (1,000 feet or more) from surrounding land; generally larger and more rough than a hill mountain peak the top of a mountain mountain range a group of mountains, usually in a line Page 5 of 8 mouth (of a river) the part of a river where it joins the sea ocean one of the four major areas of salt water on the Earth's surface that surround the continents peninsula a body of land that is surrounded by water on three sides physical feature plains a natural part of the land; landforms & bodies of water a large region of flat dry land, usually a low elevation and often covered with grasses plateau a large area of flat land that is higher than the land around it port a place where ships can be loaded and unloaded Prime Meridian the imaginary line drawn from north to south on the earth, from which east and west are measured in degrees on a map Page 6 of 8 relative location where a particular place is, in relation to other areas, buildings, etc. relief (map) if you show a part of the Earth's surface in relief, you show the differences in height between different parts of it (elevation) river a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean river bank the land next to a river sea a large body of salty water that is completely or partly surrounded by land shore the land along the edge of a large area of water such as an ocean or lake source (of a river) the place where a stream or river starts Page 7 of 8 strait a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water, generally more narrow than a channel stream a natural flow of water that moves across the land and is narrower than a river upstream along a river, in the opposite direction from the way the water is flowing valley an area of lower land between two lines of hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it volcano a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust When a volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth. waterfall a place where water from a river or stream falls down over a cliff or rock Page 8 of 8