US History Recap

US Geography Geography – the study of the earth and all its variety 4 th largest country in the world (Russia, Canada, China, US, Brasil) Population: more than 281 million people

Types of Maps Physical Maps Physical features Political Maps Divisions based on country/state/etc. Thematic (Special-Purpose) Maps Battle routes, demographics, etc.

Reading a Map Latitude – east to west 0 at Equator; Measured North and South Longitude – north to south 0 at Prime Meridian; Measured East and West Map Key – explains the particulars of map Scale Bar – distance indicator Compass Rose – orient the map

Vocabulary Absolute location – global coordinates of location Basin – land drained by river and branches surrounded by higher elevations Bay – water body extending to shore line Canyon – deep, narrow valley Cape – land extended into a water body Channel – wide waterway between two land masses Cliff – steep wall of rock, ice, or earth Continent – one of the seven large earth masses

Vocabulary Cultural Feature – humans impact on a space Delta – land built by soil carried by a river Divide – high land that separates river systems Downstream – direction in which a river flows Elevation – height of land above sea level Equator – imaginary line halfway between North and South Poles Glacier – large, thick, slow-moving ice Gulf – large body of water extending to a shoreline

Vocabulary Harbor – sheltered place on shoreline for ships to dock Highland – elevated land area Hill – elevated land with sloping sides Island – land area surrounded by water Isthmus – stretch of land connecting two land masses Lake – sizeable body of water Lowland – land at low elevation Map – drawing of the earth

Vocabulary Meridian – lines running from North Pole to South Pole Mesa – broad, flat-topped landform with steep sides Mountain – land with steep sides raising sharply from surrounding land Mountain Peak – pointed top of a mountain Mountain Range – series of mountains Mouth – place where river flows into water body Ocean – one of four major bodies of salt water Ocean Current – stream of water moving in a direction

Vocabulary Parallel – lines that circle the globe to give latitude Peninsula – land body jutting into the ocean surrounded on three sides by water Physical feature – naturally occurring characteristic of a place Plain – area of level land Plateau – high elevation flat or rolling land Prime Meridian – Line through Greenwich, England running from North to South Poles Relief – Changes in elevation over a given area River – large natural stream running through land

Vocabulary Sea – large body of water completely or partially surrounded by land Seacoast – land lying next to sea or ocean Sea Level – position on land level to the surface of never by ocean Sound – Water body in between coastline and one or more islands Source – place where a river begins Strait – water joining two larger water bodies Tributary – a brand of a river Upstream – direction opposite to the flow of a river

Vocabulary Valley – area of low land between mountains or hills Volcano – mountain created as liquid rock or ash erupts from inside the earth