Section 8-1 Island: Small land masses completely surrounded by water.
Continent: A land Mass that measures millions of square
kilometers & rises high above sea level. Shield: A large area of very old rock exposed at the
surface of a continent Section 8-2 Topography: The shape of the Earth’s surface. Landscape: The physical features of the Earth’s surface in
a particular area. Elevation: Height above sea level. Relief: The difference in elevations within a particular
land region. High relief means there are big differences
or changes in elevation within a region. Low relief means there
are small differences or very little change in elevation within the
region. Mountain: Natural land forms that reach high elevations.
(High elevation/high relief) Mountain Range: A group of mountains that are basically in
a parallel line that have the same basic shape, structure and are of the
same age. Mountain System: A group of mountain ranges in one area. Mountain Belt: A combination of mountain ranges and
mountain systems. There are two major mountain belts: The Circum-Pacific
and the Eurasian-Melanesian belts. Coast: A place where the ocean meets the land. (low
elevation/low relief) Plain: Flat land areas that do not rise much above sea
level with very low relief. (low elevation/low relief) Coastal Plain: Low flat lands along the coast. Interior Plain: Low flat areas that are found inland on a
continent. Interioplains are higher above sea level than coastal plains
(450meters above sea level.) (low elevation/low relief) Plateau: Broad flat areas of land that rise more than 600
meters above sea level. (high elevation/high relief) Section 8-3 Map: A drawing of the Earth, or part of the Earth on a
flat surface Globe: A spherical, or round model of the Earth.
Scale: Compares distances on a map to actual distances
on the Earth’s surface. Meridian: Lines that run North and South on a map or
globe but measure distances East and West of the Prime
Meridian. Prime Meridian: The Big Kahoona, Numero Uno line that
runs North and South through Greenwich England. It ladled 0 degrees
longitude. Equator: The Big Kahoona, Numero Uno line that runs East
and West around the world. It is labled 0 degrees latitude. Latitude: The measure North and South of the Equator.
Longitude: The measure East and West of the Prime
Meridian. Time zone: A longitudinal belt (Longitudinal means it
runs North and South) in which all areas have the same time. Parallel: Another word for lines that run East and West
and measure North and South (Latitude)
