Overview of
Physical Features and
Map and Globe Skills
Death Valley
• The lowest, driest, and hottest valley
in the United States.
Atlantic Coastal Plain
• The flat stretch of land that borders
the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern
United States.
Continental Divide
• The north-south line that divides the
flow of water (watersheds) between
the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic
Ocean.
Great Basin
• The largest U.S. desert that has no
natural outlet to a sea or ocean.
Water within it evaporates since
outward flow is blocked.
Gulf of Mexico
• The oval shaped body of water
located to the west of Florida.
Great Plains
• A vast grassland region of central North
America east of the Rocky Mountains and
extending into Canada. Much of the area is
used for cattle and wheat ranching.
St. Lawrence River
• The large waterway connecting the
Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
Rocky Mountains
A major mountain system of western North America
extending from northwest Alaska to the state of New
Mexico. Also forms the Continental Divide.
Appalachian Mountains
• A mountain system of eastern North
America extending from
Newfoundland to central Alabama.
Rio Grande
• a North American river that
boundaries the United States and
Mexico and flows into the Gulf of
Mexico.
Great Lakes
• The large freshwater bodies of water
on the Canada – United States
border.
Huron
Ontario
Michigan
Erie
Superior
Mississippi River
• The chief river of the United States,
extending from northern Minnesota
to the Gulf of Mexico.
Colorado River
• The Colorado River is the primary river of
the American Southwest, extending from
Wyoming through Nevada and California.
Ohio River
• a river that is formed in western Pennsylvania and
flows westward to become a tributary (a minor
river or stream which flows into a bigger one) of
the Mississippi River
Hudson River
• river that flows from north to south
through eastern New York.
Globe
• A model of the earth.
Atlas
• A book of maps and other information
about people, places and events.
Physical Map
A map that illustrates features of an area
such as rivers, lakes, or mountains.
Political Map
• A map that indicates how boundaries,
capital and major cities are divided.
Hemispheres
• Half of the globe divided into
northern and southern hemispheres by
the equator or into eastern and
western hemispheres by the prime
meridian.
Lines of Latitude
• Lines that run east to west
(horizontally) on a map or globe that
help indicate position.
Equator
• The line that divides the earth into
two halves and runs east to west at
zero degrees latitude.
Lines of Longitude
• Lines that run north to south
(vertically) on a map or globe that help
indicate position.
Prime Meridian
• The line that divides the earth into
two halves and runs from the North
Pole to the South Pole at zero
degrees longitude.
Grid Map
• A map that has squares marked by
letters and numbers along the top,
bottom and sides that cross each
other to help you locate places easily
Coordinates
• The latitude and longitude address of
a place.
Cardinal Directions
•
•
•
•
North (never)
East
(eat)
South (soggy)
West
(waffles)
Intermediate Directions
•
•
•
•
Northeast
Southeast
Northwest
Southwest
Map Scale
The miniature ruler on a map that shows
relative distance.
Map Legend
• Explains what symbols on a map
represent.