Land and water: earth's physical features are incredibly varied.You may know the difference between a mountain and a valley. But can you tell the difference between a strait and a sound? Or between an isthmus isthmus (ĭs`məs), narrow neck of land connecting two larger land areas. Since it commands the only land route between two large areas and is on two seas, an isthmus has great strategical and commercial importance and is a favorable situation and a peninsula? The illustration at right shows an imaginary place Noun 1. imaginary place - a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings fictitious place, mythical place where many of the world's landforms and waterways The list of waterways is a link page for any river, canal, estuary or firth. International waterways
Compare the land and water-ways in the illustration with the descriptions below (not all of the forms are illustrated). Then answer the questions. Terms to Know Archipelago Archipelago (ärkĭpĕl`əgō) [Ital., from Gr.=chief sea], ancient name of the Aegean Sea, later applied to the numerous islands it contains. The word now designates any cluster of islands. : An expanse of water with many small islands scattered in it, or a group of islands. Bay: A body of water partly enclosed by land, but having a wide outlet to the sea. Canyon: A deep, narrow valley with steep, rocky wails carved by a river or stream; often has a river running along the bottom. Cape: A point of land that juts out into water. Coastline: Land that lies along an ocean or other body of water. Dam: A barrier built to control the flow of water. Desert: Arid, barren land. Gulf: A part of the ocean extending into land. Hill: A raised area of land that is lower than a mountain and usually has a rounded top rounded top See dome. . Inlet: An arm off a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands.) Island: A body of land, smaller than a continent, that is entirely surrounded by water. Isthmus: A narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas. Lake: A body of water surrounded entirely by land. It usually has fresh water, not salt. Mountain: A raised area of land, higher than a hill, often having steep, rocky sides. Mountain range: A chain of mountains. Ocean: A large body of water separating continents. (not shown) Peninsula: A piece of land that juts into a body of water, but is joined to a larger landmass land·mass n. A large unbroken area of land. landmass Noun a large continuous area of land landmass . Plain: A broad area of mostly flat, low-lying land. Plateau: A broad area of mostly flat land at a high elevation. Reservoir: An artificial lake created to collect water. River: A large stream of water that runs into a lake, a sea, or an ocean. River delta A delta is a landform where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean, sea, desert, estuary, lake or another river. It builds up sediment outwards into the flat area which the river's flow encounters (as a deltaic deposit : An area where a river breaks up into smaller streams before emptying into a large body of water. Sea: A large body of water, partly or entirely surrounded by land. It is usually larger than a lake and has saltwater. Sound: A long, broad area of ocean lying between (and generally parallel to) two coastlines. Strait: A short, narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water. Tributary: A stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river. Valley: An area of low-lying land between mountains or hills. Volcano: An opening in a mountain or hill that may erupt or has erupted with lava, gases, and ash. QUESTIONS 1. What is smaller than an ocean, larger than a lake, and normally has salt water? -- 2. What is the name given to a hooked or curved area of land that extends into a sea or ocean? -- 3. What would you call flat land that lies at a high altitude Conventionally, an altitude above 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). See also altitude. ? -- 4. A large area of flat land at a low altitude would be called what? -- 5. What is the name for a narrow strip of land joining two larger areas of land? -- 6. What is the name for a narrow strip of water that joins two larger bodies of water? -- 7. What is the only human-made body of water shown on the illustration? -- 8. What would you call a large group of islands in a sea or ocean? -- 9. Land completely surrounds this body of water. What is it? -- 10. In the U.S., the Missouri river Missouri River River, central U.S. The longest tributary of the Mississippi River, it rises in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana. It flows east to central North Dakota and south across South Dakota, forming sections of the South Dakota–Nebraska boundary, the is a of the Mississippi River Mississippi River River, central U.S. It rises at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and flows south, meeting its major tributaries, the Missouri and the Ohio rivers, about halfway along its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. . -- ANSWERS 1. Sea 2. Cape 3. Plateau 4. Plain 5. Isthmus 6. Strait 7. Dam 8. Archipelago 9. Island 10. Tributary |
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