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” • 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 • • • • • 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 • • • • • • 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 • • • • Plate tectonics Volcanoes Bodies of Water Weather