LANDFORM & WATER
FEATURES
Continents:
 How many continents are there?
 What are their names?
 What was the name of the 1 gigantic
continent believed to exist before the “big
bang”?
Map of the World
11
4
1
9
8
5
12
3
10
2
6
7
Continents:
 North America
 South America
 Europe
 Asia
 Africa
 Australia
 Antarctica
 Isthmus- a narrow piece of land that
connects two larger pieces of land
Major Landforms:
 The earth has 4 major types of land forms.
 Mountains: Largest in height, 2 steep sides,
minimum of 1000 feet in elevation
 Hills: Gradually rounded.
 Plateaus: Higher than surrounding land and
usually has a cliff (kind of looks like a table
top) Only has 1 steep side.
 Plains: Flat areas with very little relief (or
elevation). Costal plains have even less
elevation than Interior plains.
Secondary Landforms:
 Peninsula: A continent that is surrounded
by water on 3 sides.
 Archipelago: A group of closely
scattered islands.
 Continental Shelf: Underwater extension
of a continent.
Water Features:
Oceans:
 How many oceans are there in the world?
 How many can you name?
 Which one is closest to you from where
you are sitting now?
Oceans:
 Pacific
 Atlantic
 Indian
 Arctic
 Pacific Ocean is the largest.
Seas, Gulfs, & Bays:
 They are smaller than oceans but still salt
water.
 Mediterranean Sea is the earth’s largest.
 Salt water can not be consumed. It is very
difficult to turn saltwater into freshwater.
Lakes, Streams,& Rivers
 Most lakes, streams, and rivers contain
freshwater.
 Lakes do not have fast flowing water.
 Streams- small body of water flowing
through land.
 Rivers- a number of streams combined form
a river.
 Early settlements were along Lakes and
rivers to tap into the freshwater source.
 Brackish- where freshwater meets saltwater
(the mix of the two)
 Ex. Where the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico
Earth’s Highs and Lows
Earth’s Highs
 The highest part on
the earth is Mt.
Everest in Nepal
(Asia) which is about
29,000 ft. above sea
level.
Earth’s Lows
 The lowest point is
the Dead Sea in
Israel which is about
1,300 ft. below sea
level.
 The dead sea is 9X
saltier than any body
of water in the world.
 Marine life can not
survive.
 People become very
buoyant (floatable) in
the dead sea.
Earth’s Depths
 The deepest part of
the earth is the
Mariana Trench off
the coast of Japan in
the Pacific Ocean
which is about 36,000
ft. below sea level.