archipelago | a group or chain of islands |
canal | long and narrow strip of water made for boats or for irrigation |
canyon | deep and narrow valley with steep walls |
cape | a strip of land projecting into a body of water |
reservoir | lake used to store water for community use |
plateau | an area of high, flat land |
delta | flat, low-lying land built up from soil carried downstream by a river and deposited at its mouth |
reef | a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water |
plain | area of level land, usually at low elevation and often covered with grasses |
peninsula | land surrounded by water on three sides |
prime meridian | an imaginary line at 0 degrees longitude that circles the planet from north to south and divides the earth into western and eastern hemispheres. |
oasis | a fertile area of land in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface) |
glacier | a large ice mass that moves slowly down a mountain or over land |
gulf | an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land |
isthmus | a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas |
strait | a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water |
latitude | distance measured in degrees north and south of the equator. |
equator | an imaginary line at 0 degrees latitude that circles the earth from east to west and divides the planet into northern and southern hemispheres. |
longitude | distance measured in degrees east or west of the prime meridian. |
landlocked | surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land |
relative location | the position of a place in relation to another place |
absolute location | the exact location of a place on Earth using degrees north or south of the equator and east or west of the prime meridian |
rural | relating to farm areas and life in the country |
urban | having to do with cities or towns |
subsistence farming | farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced |
tributary | small stream or river that flows into a larger river |
sea | a body of salt water that is partly enclosed by land |
migration | the movement of persons from one country or locality to another |
push factors | negative conditions and perceptions that compel people to leave their homes and migrate to a new location |
pull factors | positive conditions and perceptions that effectively attract people to new locations from other areas |
hemisphere | one half of the earth |
compass rose | A tool on a map showing cardinal (N,E,S,W) directions |
map key | an explanation of what the symbols on a map represent |
cartography | the making of maps and charts |
estuary | the area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean |
range | a series of hills or mountains |
valley | area of low land between hills or mountains |
topography | physical features of a region |
wetland | A land area that is covered with a shallow layer of water during some or all of the year. |
indigenous | native to a certain area |