1. Landforms and Waterways
Chapter 1 Section 4
Landforms and Waterways

2. Landforms and Waterways
Types of Landforms
On Land
Mountains- huge towers of Rock formed by collisions or volcanoes
Highest- Mt. Everest in the Himalaya (29,035 ft)
Typically have high peaks, steep, rugged slopes
Hills
Are lower than Mountains and are more rounded
If at the base of mountains they are called foothills
Plains
Low-lying stretches of flat or gently rolling land
Plateaus
Flat like plains but at a much higher elevation
Sometimes have a steep cliff on a side

3. Landforms and Waterways
Valleys
Lie between mountains and hills
Long stretch of lower land with higher elevations on either side
Rivers are often at the bottom of valleys
Canyons
Similar to valleys, but usually have steep sides where river has cut through a plateau

4. Landforms and Waterways
Geographers distinguish land based on its relationship to other land or water masses
Isthmus
Narrow piece of land that connects two larger pieces of land
Peninsula
Piece of land with water on three sides
Island-
Small body of land with water on all sides

5. Landforms and Waterways
Under the Oceans
There are also landforms under the oceans
Continental Shelf- plateau that lies off the coast of every continent
Trenches- Valley that is on the Ocean floor
Mariana Trench- deepest in the Pacific Ocean (35,840 ft deep)
Landforms and People
Why do People decide to live on certain landforms?
Climate is one reason
Available resources is another

6. Landforms and Waterways
Bodies of Water
70 % of the Earth’s surface is water
Most water is Saltwater
Oceans- largest bodies of water
Seas, Gulfs, Bays- Saltwater that is partially enclosed by land
Strait- narrow body of water between two land masses
Channel- similar to the strait but wider
Lakes, Rivers, ponds, and streams- Fresh water bodies that appear on land.
Source- point at which river starts
Mouth- Point at which river ends
Delta- build up of deposited soil near mouth of a river