1. Unit C Chapter 6 Lesson 1 C6 – C11
Earth’s Features
Unit C
Chapter 6 Lesson 1
C6 – C11

2. Main Idea Earth’s surface includes water and solid landforms.
You can identify surface features by their location, shape, and elevation.

3. A Watery Planet
Earth is the only planet in our solar system with a large amount of water on its surface.
All of Earth’s oceans are connect with most of the water found in the southern part.
Lakes and rivers carry or hold fresh water.
Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh and most of it is found in glaciers or ice sheets.

4. 70% of earth is covered by oceans

5. Most of the Earth’s fresh water is found in glaciers or ice sheets near Earth’s poles.
Fresh water is a very important resource!

6. Earth’s Solid Surface CRUST – Earth’s rocky outer layer.
Has many features on the ocean floor and on the continents.
LANDFORMS – continental features

7. Landforms Mountains – the tallest of Earth’s landforms
Steep sloops rise to tall peaks
Can be a single peak or in chains, ranges, and mountain systems

8. Grand-Teton-Mountains
Wyoming

9. Landforms cont. HILLS MOUNTAIN VALLEYS Smaller than mountains
Rounded crests stand above the land around them
MOUNTAIN VALLEYS
Long, narrow regions of low land between ranges of mountains or hills.
CANYONS – deep valleys with steep sides

10. CANYON

11. Landforms Cont. PLATEAUS High landforms with flat surfaces.
Often along tops of canyons
MESAS
Like a plateaus, but smaller

12. Landforms Cont.
PLAINS
Broad and flat
Lower than surroundings

13. Landforms Cont. FLOOD PLAIN
RIVER VALLEY
Valley with a river flowing usually in the center
River moves along a channel in the valley floor
FLOOD PLAIN
The floor of a river valley on either side of the river
Water covers a flood plain when a river overflows

14. RIVER VALLEY

15. Flood Plain

16. Landforms Mountains – tallest landforms Hills – smaller than mountains
Plateaus – high landforms with fairly flat surfaces
Mountain Valleys – long, narrow regions of low land between ranges
Plains – broad, flat and lower than surroundings
River valley – river that flows through the center of a valley
Flood Plain – the floor of a river valley on either side of the river

17. Coastal Features Coastal Plain Beaches and marshlands Rocky coastlines
Sea Caves
Sea cliffs
Sea Arches
Pocket beaches
Mainland beaches
Sand Dunes

18. Coastal Plain Canada to Florida
Slopes gently from the Appalachian Mountains to the shores of the Atlantic ocean
Fertile soil

19. Beaches & Marshlands
Found at shorelines where the dry land meets the ocean.
Flat landforms
Can be rocky or sandy

20. Pacific Coast No coastal plain Coastline is rocky Can be steep cliffs
Mountains may extend to the waters edge

21. Sea Caves Waves penetrate weak rock
Begins as a small fracture in rock that develops into a cave over time

22. Sea Cliffs
Created by erosion and weathering

23. Sea Arches
Natural opening eroded out of a cliff face

24. Pocket Beaches Form along a rocky coastline Small and curve landward
Sand fills spaces (pockets) between rocky cliffs

25. Mainland beaches Found along straight shorelines free of large rocks
Some stretch for miles

26. Barrier Island Beach
Barrier island – separated from mainland by a narrow, shallow body of water
Beaches can be large
New Jersey Barrier Island

27. Sand Dunes
Mounds or ridges of sand that the wind often forms along coastlines
Form in long, irregular rows set back from the water

28. What are the three types of beaches?
Pocket
Mainland
Barrier

29. Ocean Floor Features Continental margin: shelf, slope, rise
Ocean floor features are similar to features on land
Canyons
Mountains
Plains
seamounts

30. Continental Margin

31. Continental Margin
Starts at the waters edge and extends to the deep ocean floor
3 Parts to the continental margin
Continental shelf
Continental slope
Continental Rise

32. Continental Shelf Forms the edges of the continent
Slopes gradually down from sea level to less than 200 m

33. Continental Slope Beyond the shelf and is very steep
Can fall to depths of 3 km (1.8 mi)
Forms the sides of the continents

34. Continental Rise At the bottom of the slope
Stretches out about 1,000km across the ocean floor

35. Ocean Floor Features
Canyons – same as on the land, but called submarine canyons underwater
Mountains & Plains
Seamounts – huge steep sided mountains rising from the ocean floor
Some have flat tops and are known as Guyots (GEE ohs)

36. Ocean Floor
The vast area of the deep ocean floor is called the Abyssal Plain.

37. What are the three parts of the continental margin?
Continental Shelf
Continental Slope
Continental Rise

38. Mid-Ocean Features
Ocean Basin – the region beyond the continental margin
Deep canyons called trenches
Mariana Trench (near Guam) drops 6.6 mi below the ocean floor
Mid-ocean ridges form mountain chains
The sides of the ridges slope down to the abyssal plain

39. Mapping Surface Features
Topographic Map – shows the shape of surface features and their elevations or heights above sea level.
Contour Lines – connect points on the map that have the same elevation
Contour lines show shape and steepness of the land.

40. REVIEW

41. What three properties are used to identify surface features?
Location
Shape
Elevation

42. How do contour lines help you visualize a feature of Earth’s solid surface?
Contour lines can show the shape and steepness of the land

43. Name and describe the three parts of the continental margin.
Continental shelf – forms a continent’s edges
Continental slope – steeper and forms its sides
Continental Rise – at the bottom of the slope and stretches across the ocean floor.

44. Earth has lots of water. Water covers 70% of Earth’s surface
Earth has lots of water. Water covers 70% of Earth’s surface. Even so, water is a critical resource for all living things. Explain why.
Salt water is not safe to drink, but is the most abundant type of water. Only 3% of water is fresh and most is locked in glaciers. Fresh water in streams and ponds is very precious.

45. Describe how plateaus and plains are similar and how they are different.
Plateaus and plains are both flat and wide.
However, plateaus rise above their surroundings, while plains sit lower than their surroundings.

46. The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean
The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. What land feature does its shape most resemble? A. river valley B. Canyon C. Mountain Range D. Beach

47. The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean
The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. What land feature does its shape most resemble? B. Canyon

48. The rocky outer layer of Earth’s surface is called the
Crust

49. What are the lines that connect points on a map that have the same elevation called?
Contour Lines

50. What type of map shows the shape of surface features and their elevations?
Topographic Map

51. Where is salt water most often found relative to dry land?
A. in rivers and streams
B. in underground wells
C. along shorelines and near beaches
D. in ice sheets at the North Pole

52. Where is salt water most often found relative to dry land?
C. along shorelines and near beaches

53. A flat landform found at a high elevation is called a ______?
A. plateau
B. river valley
C. plain
D. canyon

54. A flat landform found at a high elevation is called a ______?
A. plateau

55. Underground caves, steep cliffs, and sand dunes often form near __________?
A. mountain peaks
B. coastlines
C. flood plains
D. Continental slopes

56. Underground caves, steep cliffs, and sand dunes often form near __________?
B. coastlines

57. The End