MountainA mountain is a very tall high,

natural place on Earth - higher than a hill. The tallest

mountain on Earth is Mt. Everest.

Peak

ColdFew plants and animals live there.

Groups of mountains are mountain ranges.

HillA hill is a raised area or

mound of land.People live on hills. You can

build houses and buildings on hills, but it is difficult to do.

People used to live on hills so they could see the enemy coming.

It is easier to travel up a hill on a curvy road than on a road that goes straight up.

Valley

A valley is a low place between mountains.

People like to live in valleys because of the weather. It is warm in the summer and mildly cold in the winter.

It is a great place to grow food.

Desert

A desert is a very dry area.

Not many plants and animals live here.

Doesn’t rain very much.

Animals and plants have to adapt.

Very hot

CanyonA canyon is a deep valley with

very steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a

river.

MesaA mesa is a land formation with a flat area on top and steep walls -

usually occurring in dry areas.

Type of plateau.

Mesa means table in spanish.

People have been known to build homes in the sides of mesas.

Plain

Plains are flat lands that have only small changes in

elevation.More people live on the plains than anywhere else.

It is easy to build things on the flat land. People can grow crops and farm easily.

Prairie is another name for a plain.

Peninsula

A peninsula is a body of land that is surrounded by water

on three sides.

IslandAn island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water

on all sides.

PondA pond is a small body of water surrounded by land. A pond is

smaller than a lake.

LakeA lake is a large body of water surrounded by land on all sides.

Really huge lakes are often called seas.

RiverA river is a large, flowing body of

water that usually empties into a sea or ocean.

OceanAn ocean is a large body of salt water

that surrounds a continent. Oceans cover more the two-thirds of the

Earth's surface