Transcript Land Forms

Land Forms
Gulf
• Definition: Part of a large body of water
that extends into a shoreline, generally
larger and more deep than a bay
Gulf of Mexico
• World’s largest gulf
• 7 of the 10 busiest
ports in the country
• 13% of US coastline
• 3,000 miles of coast
• 590,000 square miles
• Avg depth = 1 mile
Island
• Land area
• Smaller then a continent
• Completely surrounded by water
Australia
• Not an island
• Is a continent
Sri Lanka
• Is an island
• Is a country
• Belongs to Asia
Greenland
• Is an island
• Is a territory
• Belongs to Denmark
Island Chain
• Group of Islands belonging to the same
country.
Examples
• Hawaii
• Galapagos
Plain
• Area of level land
• Usually at low elevation
• Often covered with grasses
Great Plains
Tributary
• Small river or stream that flows into a river
Bay
• Part of a large body of water that extends
into a shoreline
• Generally smaller than a gulf
Bay
• Comes from the
name of spa
• Baiae on the Bay of
Naples in Italy
Cape Cod Bay
• Capes protect the
water
• Protects shoreline
from big waves
• Good place to anchor
ships and establish
settlements
Gulf Vs Bay
• Gulf
– Larger
– Part of ocean
– Deeper
• Bay
– Smaller (usually)
– Flooded parts of a
Continent
– Not as deep
The “usually”
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http://www.coastnopp.org/visualization_modules/physical_chemical/basin_coastal_morphology/principal_features/continental_marg
ins/continental_rise/bengal.html
Peninsula
• Body of land jutting into a bay or ocean
• Surrounded by 3 sides of water
Peninsula
• From 2 Latin words
• Mean – almost &
island
• Most are long and
shaped like a finger
Arabian Peninsula
• Largest in world
• 1.2 million sq. miles
• ½ as big as
continental US
• Desert land
• Temps up to 130
degrees
• 35 million people
Plateau
• Area of flat or rolling land at a high
elevation
• 300 – 3,000 ft high
Edwards Plateau
• Elevation range from
100 – 3,000 ft
• Primarily a grazing
region
• Formed by the
pushing together of
plates or deposits of
silt.
• Can erode –
Canyon
• Deep & narrow valley with steep walls
• Created by a river that has cut through a
plateau
Grand Canyon
• Largest canyon in the
world
• 277 miles long
• 1 mile deep at some
points
• Temp range can be
25 dg cooler at floor
• Rains 20 more inches
at top than bottom
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Up to 18 miles wide
Formed by river
Dissected plateau
Colorado River
Deep & steep
Valley
• Area of low land between hills or
mountains
Great Rift Valley - Africa
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Divides Kenya down the middle
In some places this natural divide
is up to 60 miles wide
narrowest point just north of
Nairobi at 45 km wide.
The valley floor is at its lowest
near Lake Turkana where there is
virtually no distinction between the
Great Rift and the surrounding
desert.
As it heads south, however, the
valley walls form sheer cliffs rising
to 1,900 km (6,232 ft) at Lake
Naivasha.
After Naivasha, the valley
descends again to 580 meters
(1,902 feet) at the Tanzanian
border
Mountain
• Land with steep sides that rises sharply
(1,000 ft or more) from surrounding land.
• Generally more rugged than a hill
• Formed by collision of Earth’s tectonic
plates.
Mount Everest
• Part of Himalayan
Mountain chain
• 29,028 ft (6 miles)
Isthmus
• Narrow stretch of land connecting two
larger land areas
Isthmus of Panama
Mountain Range
• A series of connected mountains
Himalayan Mountain Range
• Of 109 mtns over
24,000 ft 96
• Stretches 1,500 miles
• At northeast point
joins Karakoram
range (K2)
Mesa
• Broad flat topped landform with steep
sides.
• Smaller than a plateau
Mesa
• Spanish = table
• Lifted by tectonic
plates
Volcano
• Mountain created as liquid rock & ash
erupted from the Earth
Strait
• Narrow stretch of water joining 2 bodies of
water
• Ex: Strait of Magellan, Strait of Gibraltar,
Bering Strait
Bodies of Water
• Sea
– Large body of water
completely or partially
surrounded by land
– Part of World Ocean
– Rivers can flow into
– Smaller division of the
ocean
• Lake
– Body of water
completely surrounded
by land
– Cut off from ocean
– Usually fresh
– Rivers can flow into
– Inland body of water
Caspian “Sea”
• Actually a lake
• Largest lake –
150,000 sq miles
• 2 lakes in one –
southern half deep
(up to 3,000 feet)
northern half shallow
(17 feet)
• Lake Volga feeds it
• No outlet
Coming Attractions
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Plate tectonics
Volcanoes
Bodies of Water
Weather