Post on 12-Nov-2014
A Visual Guide to Geographic Terms
Your notebook should look like this
Basin
The Land Drained by a river; land surrounded by higher land. In some cases a basin has a lake that has no outlet to the ocean.Examples: Mississippi river valley, Nile river valley
Bay
An inlet of the sea or other body of water, usually smaller than a gulf but of the same general character; part of a body of water that extends into landExamples: Bay of Bengal, Massachusetts Bay.
Canal
An artificial waterway constructed for navigation or for the movement of water.Examples: Suez Canal, Panama Canal
Cape
A point or extension of land jutting into the water that is usually smaller or thinner than a peninsula.Examples: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope
Delta
Soil deposited at the mouth of a river. Alluvial plain formed at the mouth of a river where the stream loses velocity and deposits part of its load of sediment.Examples: Mississippi Delta (Bayou), Ganges River Delta
GulfA large area of sea or ocean that is partially enclosed; larger than a bayExamples: Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf
Island
A body of land smaller than a continent, surrounded by waterExamples: Hawaii, New Zealand
Mountain Range
A row of connected mountains.Examples: Rockies, Andes, Himalayas
Peninsula
A portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body of land.Examples: Florida, Scandinavia, Italy
Plain
Large area of level or nearly level land. Plains have different names in climates and cultures, such as tundra, steppes, prairies, pampas, savannas, llanos, flood plains of rivers, coastal plains, arid plains, and tablelandsExamples: Great Plains, Salisbury Plain
Plateau
Elevated, level or nearly level portion of Earth’s surface, larger in summit area than a mountain and bounded on at least one side by steep slopes.Examples: Andean Altiplano, Chang Tang of Tibet
River source/ River Mouth
The source is the place where the river begins, usually in the highlands. The mouth is the part of a river where its waters empty into a larger body of water. Examples; Nile delta and Lake Victoria
Sea
A body of salt water that is smaller than an oceanExamples: Arabian Sea, Aral Sea, Red Sea
Strait
A narrow channel that connects two larger bodies of waterExamples: Bering Strait, Strait of Gibraltar, Straight of Hormuz
Valley
An area of generally flat land extending many miles inland and drained or watered by a large river and its tributaries.Example: Willamette Valley, Napa Valley
Map Enlargement Project: Step #2
Using a ruler, draw lines connecting the two hash marks.
Map Enlargement Project: Step #3
Put hash marks every ½” along both the sides of the page
Map Enlargement Project: Step #4
Using a ruler, connect the two hash marks, forming a grid.
Map Enlargement Project: Step #5
Label the upper boxes with numbers, label the lower with letters.