Geography vocabulary: Difference between revisions

From A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide
(adding rivers and other)
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* for bullets
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* Click EXPAND to see list of important >>
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* Tropic of Cancer
* Tropic of Cancer
* Tropic of Capricorn
* Tropic of Capricorn
== Physical Geography ==
* the study of the elements that constitute the earth's surface and how they interact
** includes meteorology, which is the study of weather and weather prediction
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_geography Physical geography(wiki)]]


== Water bodies ==
== Water bodies ==
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* man-made straits that connect two larger bodies of water
* man-made straits that connect two larger bodies of water
* canals provide important water passage to connect water bodies that would otherwise require long-distance water travel around land bodies or continents
* canals provide important water passage to connect water bodies that would otherwise require long-distance water travel around land bodies or continents
** usually canals are built across isthmuses
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* Bahr Yussef
* Bahr Yussef
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=== delta ===
=== delta ===
=== gulf ===
=== lake ===
=== lake ===
=== ocean ===
=== ocean ===
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=== river ===
=== river ===
* rivers flow downhill, usually but not always into an ocean
** upstream v. downstream
* tributary
* estuary
* Gulf of Ob
** world's longest estuary
** fed by the Ob River and feeding into the Kara Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean)
*
* delta
* silt
* flow & discharge
** measurement of the amount of water a river carries
* Ten longest rivers in the world
** note: there is always a dispute over these lists as to the exact measurement
** this list is derived from ** See [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_by_lengthList of rivers by length (wiki)]]
*** which measures total length of river systems (i.e., includes tributaries)
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* Nile
1. '''Nile''' (Africa; flows into Mediterranean Sea)
2.  '''Amazon'''(South America; flows into Atlantic Ocean)
3.  '''Yangtze'''(China; flows into East China Sea
4.  '''Mississippi'''(North America; flows into Gulf of Mexico)
5.  '''Yenisei'''(Mongolia-Russia; flows into Kara Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean)
6.  '''Yellow or Huang He'''(China; flows into Bohai Sea, part of the Yellow Sea)
7.  '''Ob''' (northern Asia; flows into the Gulf of Ob, feeding into the Kara Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean)
8.  '''Rio de la Plata-Parana'''(South America; flows into the Rio de la Plata estuary, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean)
9.  '''Congo''' (Central Africa; flows into the Atlantic Ocean
10.  '''Amur'''(northern Asia, flows into the Sea of Okhost, part of the Pacific Ocean)
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* Click EXPAND to see list of the ten longest rivers
=== stream ===
=== stream ===
=== oasis ===
* See Ancient Egypt outline
See also:
* Hydrology / water cycle
*


== Land forms ==
== Land forms ==
=== Cape ===
=== cape ===
* a "headland", "promontory" or large body of land that extends into a larger water body, usually an ocean or a sea
* a "headland", "promontory" or large body of land that extends into a larger water body, usually an ocean or a sea
** "headland" is a "coastal landform," usually with a high point and cliffs  
** "headland" is a "coastal landform," usually with a high point and cliffs  
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=== peninsula ===
=== peninsula ===


== Major world regions per continent ==


== Major world regions  ==
* 12 major regions
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_physiographic_regions_of_the_worldList of Physiographic Regions per continent (wiki)]]
* however, below for typical regions per continent
=== Americas ===
=== Americas ===
* North America
* North America
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* Pitcaren Islands in Polynesia, are the least populated political entity in the world (67 residents)
* Pitcaren Islands in Polynesia, are the least populated political entity in the world (67 residents)
** Vatican City, for example, has 825 residents
** Vatican City, for example, has 825 residents
* Rio de la Plata is the widest river in the world (max width: 140 mi)
** the Rio de la Plata is considered a river, estuary, gulf or "marginal sea"
** it is fed by the Uruguay and Parana rivers at Punta Gorda ("fat point"


== Climate ==
== Climate ==

Revision as of 15:19, 11 March 2021

Geography Vocabulary

  • code for EXPAND/COLLAPSE functions:

code:

text

  • for bullets
  • > for bullets with bold
  • Click EXPAND to see list of important >>

Five Themes of Geography[edit | edit source]

  • Location
    • Absolute Location
    • Relative Location
  • Regions
  • Place
  • Movement
  • Human-Environment Interaction (Relationships within Places)
    • Cultural Diffusion
  • See [Social Studies Skills]

Map terminology[edit | edit source]

  • Latitude
  • Longitude
  • Equator
  • Prime Meridian
  • International Dateline
  • Meridians
  • Parallels
  • a.m. / p.m.
  • equinox
  • solstice
  • Tropic of Cancer
  • Tropic of Capricorn

Physical Geography[edit | edit source]

  • the study of the elements that constitute the earth's surface and how they interact
    • includes meteorology, which is the study of weather and weather prediction
  • [Physical geography(wiki)]

Water bodies[edit | edit source]

bay[edit | edit source]

canal[edit | edit source]

  • man-made straits that connect two larger bodies of water
  • canals provide important water passage to connect water bodies that would otherwise require long-distance water travel around land bodies or continents
    • usually canals are built across isthmuses
  • Bahr Yussef
    • connects the Nile to the Faiyum Oasis and Lake Moeris, built 2300 BC
  • Canal of the Pharaohs
    • connected the Nile to the Red Sea
    • built by Necho II, Assyrian ruler of Egypt in 7th century BC
    • Persian king Darius I bragged of building a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea (6th century BC)
  • Corinth Canal
  • Grand Canal
    • connected the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, built under the Sui dynasty (6th century AD)
  • Suez Canal
  • Panama Canal
  • Click EXPAND to see list of important canals

channel[edit | edit source]

  • synonymous with "strait" but usually referring to a smaller or less important strait
  • see strait below

delta[edit | edit source]

gulf[edit | edit source]

lake[edit | edit source]

ocean[edit | edit source]

sea[edit | edit source]

strait[edit | edit source]

  • a narrow body of water that connects larger bodies of water, or, a narrow channel that separates land masses
  • synonymous with channel, passage, or pass
    • implicit in the terminology is that the strait allows for navigation, or passage, from one larger body of water to another
  • "strait comes from Old French "estreit" for "tight" or "narrow"
  • important straits and channels
  • Bosporus Strait
    • connects Black Sea to Aegean/Mediterranean Seas
  • Strait of Gibraltar
    • connects Mediterranean Sea to Atlantic Ocean
    • ancient Greeks called the promontories on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar the "Pillars of Hercules", which marked the passage from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean
  • Strait of Magellan
    • connects Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
    • the passageway near the southern tip of South America that was navigated by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who led the first expedition to circumnavigated the globe
    • the Strait of Magellan is not "straight" -- is actually a U-shaped pathway formed by the Tierra del Fuego archipelago (chain of islands)
  • Beagle Channel
    • a second, less navigable passageway near the southern tip of South America that was navigated by Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle
    • NOTE: the open-ocean passageway, around the very tip of South America is called "Drake's Passage", named for English explorer Francis Drake who circumnavigated the globe
  • Strait of Hormuz
  • Bering Strait
  • Strait of Messina
  • Bab-el Mendeb Strait
  • Strait of Malacca
  • Strait of Dover
  • Click EXPAND to see list of important straits

river[edit | edit source]

  • rivers flow downhill, usually but not always into an ocean
    • upstream v. downstream
  • tributary
  • estuary
  • Gulf of Ob
    • world's longest estuary
    • fed by the Ob River and feeding into the Kara Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean)
  • delta
  • silt
  • flow & discharge
    • measurement of the amount of water a river carries
  • Ten longest rivers in the world
    • note: there is always a dispute over these lists as to the exact measurement
    • this list is derived from ** See [of rivers by length (wiki)]
      • which measures total length of river systems (i.e., includes tributaries)
  • Nile

1. Nile (Africa; flows into Mediterranean Sea) 2. Amazon(South America; flows into Atlantic Ocean) 3. Yangtze(China; flows into East China Sea 4. Mississippi(North America; flows into Gulf of Mexico) 5. Yenisei(Mongolia-Russia; flows into Kara Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean) 6. Yellow or Huang He(China; flows into Bohai Sea, part of the Yellow Sea) 7. Ob (northern Asia; flows into the Gulf of Ob, feeding into the Kara Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean) 8. Rio de la Plata-Parana(South America; flows into the Rio de la Plata estuary, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean) 9. Congo (Central Africa; flows into the Atlantic Ocean 10. Amur(northern Asia, flows into the Sea of Okhost, part of the Pacific Ocean)

  • Click EXPAND to see list of the ten longest rivers


stream[edit | edit source]

oasis[edit | edit source]

  • See Ancient Egypt outline

See also:

  • Hydrology / water cycle

Land forms[edit | edit source]

cape[edit | edit source]

  • a "headland", "promontory" or large body of land that extends into a larger water body, usually an ocean or a sea
    • "headland" is a "coastal landform," usually with a high point and cliffs
    • "promontory" is a raised land body that extends into lower land or water
      • promontories are often used a defensive positions for forts, castles and defensive positions
      • a promontory in water is a peninsula
  • Cape Canaveral - Florida
  • Cape Cod - Massachusetts
  • Cape Discord - Greenland
  • Cape of Good Hope - South Africa
  • Cape Horn - Chile
    • southernmost headland, or tip of land, on Hornos Island, one of the Hermite Islands, the southernmost of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the southern tip of South America
    • northern boundary of the Drake Passage
  • Cape Kidnappers - New Zealand
  • Cape Three Forks - Morocco
  • Cape Vert - Senegal; the westernmost point of Africa

Click EXPAND for a list of important capes

[edit | edit source]

[edit | edit source]

continent[edit | edit source]

island[edit | edit source]

archipelago[edit | edit source]

  • a series of geographically proximate or geologically similarly island, usually formed in a chain or a cluster

isthmus[edit | edit source]

land-bridge[edit | edit source]

peninsula[edit | edit source]

Major world regions[edit | edit source]

  • 12 major regions
  • however, below for typical regions per continent

Americas[edit | edit source]

  • North America
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Caribbean

Asia[edit | edit source]

  • West Asia
  • East Asia
  • South Asia
  • Southeastern Asia

Africa[edit | edit source]

  • East Africa
  • North Africa
  • West Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • South Africa

Australia[edit | edit source]

Europe[edit | edit source]

  • Eastern Europe
  • Western Europe
  • Scandinavia

Other major regions terminology[edit | edit source]

  • Eurasia
  • Mediterranean


World oceanic regions[edit | edit source]

  • Mediterranean
  • Arabian Sea
  • Indian Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • Caribbean Sea
  • China Sea
  • North Sea
  • Macaronesia (Atlantic)

Oceania[edit | edit source]

Oceania UN Geoscheme Regions
  • Oceania
    • Pacific region in general, divided into
  • Australasia
  • Melanesia
  • Micronesia
  • Polynesia
  • List of independent nations of Oceania:
  • Australia
  • East Timor
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Fiji
  • Indonesia
    • Only Papua, or Indonesian New Guinea is part of Oceania, whereas the rest of Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia
  • Kiribati
  • Marshall Islands
  • Nauru
  • New Zealand
  • Palau
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Samoa
  • Solomon Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu
  • Vanuatu
  • Also:
    • Cook Islands and Niue are "associated states" with New Zealand

Macaronesia[edit | edit source]

  • island region in Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal and West Africa
    • volcanic islands
  • Macaronesia consists of:
  • Azores islands
    • Portuguese territories
  • Canary Islands
    • Portuguese territories
  • Madeira islands
    • Spanish territories
  • Cape Verde
    • officially "Republic of Cabo Verde"
      • it won independence from Portugal in 1975
      • a democratic republic
    • named for Cape Vert in Senegal, which is directly east of Cape Verde
    • consists of 10 volcanic islands


Fun Facts[edit | edit source]

  • Pitcaren Islands in Polynesia, are the least populated political entity in the world (67 residents)
    • Vatican City, for example, has 825 residents
  • Rio de la Plata is the widest river in the world (max width: 140 mi)
    • the Rio de la Plata is considered a river, estuary, gulf or "marginal sea"
    • it is fed by the Uruguay and Parana rivers at Punta Gorda ("fat point"

Climate[edit | edit source]

Climate Zones[edit | edit source]

see also : [Climate (Geography)]