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BASIC GEOGRAPHY NOTES SOLStandardUSI.2a,c-d

Theearthhasmanygeographicfeatures.

• Geographicfeaturesarerelatedto:

² PatternsofTRADE

² TheDEVELOPMENTofcitiesandtowns

² WestwardEXPANSION

² AgriculturalandfishingINDUSTRIES

• Water-RelatedFeatures

² RIVER:Astreamofwaterflowingfromhightolowelevation.Itemptiesintoalake,ocean,gulf,

orotherbodyofwater.MajorriversintheUnitedStatesinclude:

• ST.LAWRENCERiver

• OHIORiver

• MISSISSIPPIRiver

• MISSOURIRiver

• COLORADORiver

• COLUMBIARiver

• RIOGRANDE

² TRIBUTARY:Abodyofwaterflowingintoalargerbodyofwater.

² LAKE:Anareaofwatersurroundedbylandonallsides.ThelargestlakesinNorthAmericaare

theGREATLAKES:

• LakeHURON

• LakeONTARIO

• LakeMICHIGAN

• LakeERIE

• LakeSUPERIOR

² BAY:Abayisanareaofwatersurroundedbyland,usuallyonthreesides.Itisalmostalways

smallerthanagulf.

² GULF:Agulfisanareaofwaterconnectedtoanoceanorseabutpartiallysurroundedbyland.It

isalmostalwayslargerthanabay.ThelargestgulfinNorthAmericaistheGULFOFMEXICO.

AtlanticOcean

St.LawrenceRiver

GreatLakes

OhioRiver

PacificOcean

MississippiRiver

ColumbiaRiver

GulfofMexico

RioGrande

ColoradoRiver

MissouriRiver

² OCEAN:Alargebodyofwaterintowhichthegreatocean(thewholebodyofsaltwaterthat

coversnearlythreefourthsofthesurfaceoftheearth)isdivided.Therearefiveoceans:

• ATLANTICOcean

• PACIFICOcean

• ARCTICOcean

• INDIANOcean

• SOUTHERNOcean

• Land-RelatedFeatures

² MOUNTAIN:Alandmasswithahighelevationthatis

oftenjaggedandrockyorcoveredintreesorsnow.

² HILL:Alandmasswithahigherelevationbutsmallerand

lessrockyandjaggedthanmountains.

² PLAIN:Anareaoflandthatisusuallyflat.Plainsmight

haveafewhills,plateaus,valleys,orevenmountains.

² PLATEAU:Aflatareaoflandwithahighelevation

comparedtothelandsurroundingit.

² ISLAND:Anareaoflandsurroundedbywateronallsides.

² PENINSULA:Anareaoflandsurroundedby

wateronthreesides.

² CONTINENT:Alargelandmasssurroundedbywater.

Therearesevencontinents:

• NORTHAMERICA

• SOUTHAMERICA

• AFRICA

• AUSTRALIA

• ANTARCTICA

• ASIA

• EUROPE:Europeisconsideredacontinenteven

thoughitisnotentirelysurroundedbywater.The

landmassisfrequentlycalledEURASIA.

NorthAmerica

NORTHPOLE

PRIM

EMER

IDIAN

EQUATOR

ArcticOcean

SOUTHPOLE

PacificOcean

PacificOcean

AtlanticOcean

IndianOcean

SouthernOcean

SouthAmerica

Europe Asia

Australia

Antarctica

Africa