CHAPTER TWO
The Earth’s Surface and Climate
Psalm 104:1-5
I praise you, LORD God, with all my heart. You are
glorious and majestic, dressed in royal robes and
surrounded by light. You spread out the sky like a
tent, and you built your home over the mighty
ocean. The clouds are your chariot with the wind as
its wings. The winds are your messengers, and
flames of fire are your servants. You built
foundations for the earth, and it will never be
shaken.
I. The Earth’s History

God’s Work on the Earth- 4 phases
 Creation-
Genesis 1
 Flood- Genesis 7
 Current World
 Future World
II. The Earth’s Surface

Atmosphere
 Covering

Lithosphere
 The

of air around the Earth
solid part of the Earth
Hydrosphere
 The
water on the Earth’s surface
The Land (Lithosphere)


The earth is a rock ball almost 8,000 miles in
diameter
Earth is divided into several layers
 Crust-
outer “skin” (4.5-31 miles deep)
 Mantle- hot, moldable layer
 Core
 Outer-
liquid
 Inner- solid
The Continents



29% of the total surface area of the Earth is land,
the rest is ocean
Made up of Continents and Islands
How many Continents are there?
Continents
Antarctica
Landforms

Mt. Kilimanjaro
Mountains
 No
set elevation distinguishes mountains from hills
 When many appear together= mountain range
Highest Mountain Range in the World?
Highest Peak in the World?
Himalayas
Mt. Everest
Plains and Plateaus

Plains
 Wide

area of level
land
 Coastal Plains, Great
Plains
 Valuable for farmers
 Collect water, sediment
and nutrients from
higher elevations
Plateaus
 Wide areas of land that
rise abruptly above
surrounding area
 Steep cliffs mark at least
one edge
 Grand Canyon cuts
through large plateau
 Generally have poor soil
and few resources
Which one is which?
III. The Earth’s Waters (hydrosphere)

Importance of Water
 Humans
need water to live! Settlements develop near
water supply

Transportation
 Travel
and trade, cheap to ship goods by water
Oceans
 71%
of the Earth is Water
 4 Ocean basins in the world- all of the seas, gulfs and
bays belong to these oceans
 Pacific
 Atlantic
 Indian
 Arctic

Facts on page 23 in text
Mariana Trench





The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans
lowest elevation of the surface of the Earth's crust
located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the
Mariana Islands.
The trench is about 1,580 miles long but has a mean width of
only 43 miles. It reaches a maximum-known depth of about
6.85 mi
If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth at 29,029 ft,
were set in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, there
would be 6,811 ft of water left above it.
Rivers

Comparing Rivers
 Length-most
obvious comparison
 Discharge- amount of water flowing out into the ocean
 Drainage Area-total land area drained by the main
river and its tributaries
 Navigability- how far up the river can a vessel travel?
Rivers
Rank
River
Location
1.
Nile
Africa
Approximate
Length—miles
4,180
2.
Amazon
South America
3,912
3.
United States
3,710
4.
Mississippi-Missouri-Red
Rock
Chang Jiang (Yangtze)
China
3,602
5.
Ob
Russia
3,459
6.
Huang Ho (Yellow)
China
2,900
7.
Yenisei
Russia
2,800
8.
Parana
South America
2,795
9.
Irtish
Russia
2,758
10.
Zaire (Congo)
Congo
2,716
Lakes



Bodies of water fully enclosed by land are called
Lakes
Many cities settle on edge of lakes for fish,
transportation, drinking water, and fun!
Biggest Lake in the world?
Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
Seas




Seas are arms of the oceans partially enclosed by
land
Can vary greatly in size
Easier to travel because waves are smaller
Harbors– sheltered bodies of deep water next to
the shore
 Good
harbors are rare
 Key to success in early America – Boston, Philly, NY,
Charleston had great harbors
Boston Harbor
Wetlands

Wetlands
 Areas
of stagnant water
 Bogs


Spongy areas that look dry but are covered with wet materials
mosses grow in bogs, but few other plants survive
 Marsh


Visible, standing water
Grasses and small plants
 Swamps


Covered by standing water
Dominated by large trees
IV. The Earth’s Surface- Changing Forces

Earth’s surface is constantly changing
 Internal

earthquakes, volcanoes
 External
 wind,

Forces
Forces
water
Both helped to create the mountains and landforms
we see today
Internal Forces

Plate Tectonics
 Crust
of the Earth broken into pieces (called plates)
 The plates pull apart and crash into each other creating
the earthquakes and volcanoes
 Could be an explanation of how the Flood occurred
 Fault lines show plate movement
Pangaea?

Supercontinent
Continental Drift Theory

Oceanic Islands vs. Continental Islands

Internal Forces

Volcanic Forces

Able to build new mountains by depositing lava
Island of Surtsey– 1963



Mountain rose from the sea near Iceland, creating a new island
http://www.vulkaner.no/v/volcan/surtsey_e.html
External Forces

Weathering
 Constantly
weakening rocks by water, plant roots,
temperature changes, ice

Erosion
 After
weathering breaks down, erosion removes
 Wind
erosion—strongest in desert locations
 Wave erosion- creating sea caves, sea stacks, sea arches
 Glacial erosion- when glaciers flow downhill, acts like a
giant bulldozer
Ocean Currents

Oceans hold thermal energy
Currents are created due to temperature
differences
Heated near the equator, moves toward poles
Flow in circular patterns

Pg. 34



Pacific Trash Vortex
Pacific Trash Vortex
V. The Earth’s Climate

Climate- the typical weather in a region over a long
period of time
Weather- atmospheric conditions at a specific time

5 Categories of World Climate

Tropical Rainy
 Dry
 Cold
 Moderate
 Other/Varied Highland
 Pg. 38

Climate

Tropical Rainy




Dry





Ice caps- nothing grows
Polar regions- some summer growth
Subpolar regions- evergreen trees
Moderate



Arid—lacking moisture
Can occur at any latitude
Cold


Rain falls nearly all year
Trees thrive in Wet
Only grasses in Wet and Dry
Good farmland and major civilizations
Moderate rainfall and temperature
Varied Highland
VI. The Earth’s Vegetation
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the
herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit
after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth,
and it was so… And the evening and the morning
were the third day.”
Genesis 1:11,13


Vegetation

BiomeAny large region where distinct populations of plants and
animals are found living together
 Influence how people live, make a living, what they eat,
what their homes look like
 Help explain why human cultures are so different

3
Basic Biomes
Forests
 Grasslands
 Wastelands

Forests



Wherever trees are the predominant plants
Require a lot of water– found in Rainy climates
4 Types:
 Tropical
Rain Forest
 Shrub Forest
 Coniferous Forest
 Deciduous Forest
Grasslands



Many tropical and temperate climates do not have
enough consistent rainfall to support trees
Grasses grow quickly and produce seeds before the
dry season comes
2 Kinds:
 Tropical
Grasslands
 Temperate Grasslands
Wastelands




Barren most of the year due to low amounts of rain
Can become colorful and full of life if snow or rain
comes
Takes special survival skills to live in these areas
2 Kinds:
 Desert
 Tundra
Varied Highland


Many kinds of vegetation grow on mountains
Possible to see characteristics of all biomes on a
mountain because of the higher altitude and lower
temperature