PLANET EARTH

Our Home: Planet Earth Big , Round & it’s where we ALL Live Made up of 7 continents & 5 oceans

Essential Questions: Can you name the continents & the oceans? Do you know where the coldest place on Earth is found? Do you know the Earth’s largest island? What is the largest and deepest of all oceans?

The 7 Continents Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe North America South America The landmasses on the Earth are constantly moving: 1 to 3 inches per year Scientists estimate the continents are about 25 miles thick (40 kilometers)

Artic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Southern Ocean The Pacific is the largest & deepest of all the oceans

Peninsula: land that is surrounded on three sides by water Peninsula: land that is surrounded on three sides by water. The countries of India & Italy are Peninsulas.

Water separating the state of Alaska from Russia is called the Bering Strait. Strait: narrow section of water connecting two larger bodies of water. The opposite of a strait is called an isthmus.

Isthmus: long narrow body of land connecting two larger bodies of land. Central America is probably the most famous isthmus. It connects North & South America.

Landlocked: does not touch any body of water. Switzerland is a landlocked area. Can you find other landlocked areas, states, etc…. On a map or globe?

The world’s largest island is Greenland. Why is Greenland an island and not a continent?

The longest river in Africa, the Nile at 4,132 miles (6,650 kilometers) is also the longest river in the world.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert and the third largest desert in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic. Its area of 9,200,000 square kilometres is comparable to the area of China or the United States.

The Sahara desert is located on the continent of Africa The Sahara desert is located on the continent of Africa. It covers ¼ of the continents surface.

The Map of the world kind of looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle The Map of the world kind of looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Can you find pieces that might fit together?

Alfred Wegener was a geologist & meteorologist who thought the world looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Wegener had an idea called the Continental Drift Theory. Continental Drift Theory: All 7 continents used to be one supercontinent. This supercontinent existed 200 million years ago.

Wegener’s supercontinent was named Pangaea. Pangaea means “all Earth”

Wegener’s theory was that the continents moved over time. Similar animal fossils were found on different continents – no way for those animals to cross the oceans. Wegener attempted to prove his theory until he died (1930) Wegener never lived to see his theory proven.

Most people didn’t think much of Wagener’s theory until the 1950’s Most people didn’t think much of Wagener’s theory until the 1950’s. New fossil evidence gave the theory credit. Photos of the ocean floor showed chains of mountains, which was evidence that continents move. The plate tectonic theory also helped explain the movement of continents.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. 29,208 feet (8,848 meters) high 1953 Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) & Tenzing Norgay (a Sherpa) – the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Over 5000 people have attempted the climb since.....2,500 have made it & over 200 have died trying. If you placed Mount Everest at the deepest point on Earth – you would have to dive more than a mile underwater to see it.

Mariana Trench is in the Pacific Ocean Mariana Trench is in the Pacific Ocean. In 2012 , filmmaker James Cameron went down into the trench, touching bottom at 35,803 feet (10,912 meters). That is almost 7 miles deep.

Greek mythology tells the story of Atlas, one of the first Titans Greek mythology tells the story of Atlas, one of the first Titans. Zeus punished the Titans because Atlas and his fellow Titans fought the Greek gods and lost. Titans punishment was to hold the Earth and sky up on his shoulders forever. The story also says that Atlas eventually turned to stone in the form of the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa.

The Atlas Mountains extend 1,554 miles across northwestern Africa, spanning Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, separating the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline from the Sahara Desert. Actually a series of ranges with diverse terrain, climates and wildlife, the Atlas are dotted with Berber villages and rivers with canyons and ravines. The highest peak is (13,665 feet)Toubkal, which lies within Morocco's Toubkal National Park.

FIRST NEW MAP OF THE WORLD Martin Waldseemuller – German cartographer – born 1470 Cartographer is a person who makes maps Waldseemuller’s world map (pictured below) from 1507 was the first map to use the term America for the continents located on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. First map not printed in a book but as a separate document.

Latitude & Longitude : help find locations (Absolute/Exact) on Earth Lines of latitude run East & West Lines of longitude run North & South The line at O degree latitude (horizontal lines) divides the Earth into two halves/hemispheres horizontally. This line is called the Equator. The line at O degree longitude (vertical lines) divides the Earth into two halves/hemispheres vertically. This line is called the Prime Meridian

Equator divides the Earth into the Northern & Southern hemispheres The Northern Hemisphere includes everything north of the equator. The Southern Hemisphere includes everything south of the equator The equator crosses through parts of South America, Asia & Africa.

Prime Meridian: divides the Earth into the Western & Eastern Hemispheres. Everything West of the prime meridian is in the Western Hemisphere Everything East of the prime meridian is in the Eastern Hemisphere. The prime meridian crosses through parts of Great Britian, France, Spain, Africa & Antarctica. Greenwich, England is the spot you can stand on two hemispheres of the same time.