7TH GRADE GEOGRAPHY DICTIONARY
1. Absolute location: Exact location of a place on the earth described by
global coordinates (latitude and longitude). NOTE: it can also be identified by a specific address that is not shared by any other location.
2. Basin: Area of land drained by a given river and its branches; area of
land surrounded by lands of higher elevation.
3. Bay: Part of a large body of water that extends into a shoreline,
generally smaller than a gulf.
4. Canyon: Deep and narrow valley with steep walls.
5. Cape: Point of land that extends into a river, lake, or ocean.
6. Channel: Wide strait or waterway between two landmasses that lie close
to each other; deep part of a river or other waterway.
7. Cliff: Steep, high wall of rock, earth, or ice.
8. Continent: One of seven large landmasses on the Earth.
9. Cultural Feature: Characteristic that humans have created in a place
such as language, religion, housing, or settlement patterns.
10. Delta: Flat, low-lying land built up from soil carried downstream by a
river and deposited at its mouth.
11. Divide: Stretch of high land that separates river systems.
12. Downstream: Direction in which a river or stream flows from its source
to its mouth.
13. Elevation: Height of land above sea level.
14. Equator: Imaginary line that runs around the Earth halfway between the
North and South Poles; used as the starting point to measure degrees of north
and south latitude.
15. Glacier: Large, thick body of slowly moving ice.
16. Gulf: Part of a large body of water that extends into a shoreline; generally larger and more deeply indented than a bay.
17. Harbor: A sheltered place along a shoreline where ships can anchor safely.
18. Highland: Elevated area such as a hill, mountain, or plateau.
19. Hill: Elevated land with sloping sides and rounded summit; generally smaller than a mountain.
20. Island: Land area, smaller than a continent, completely surrounded by water.
21. Isthmus: Narrow stretch of land connecting two larger landmasses.
22. Lake: A sizable inland body of water.
23. Latitude: Distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees.
24. Longitude: Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees.
25. Lowland: Land, usually level, at a low elevation.
26. Map: Drawing of the Earth, shown on a flat surface.
27. Meridian: One of many lines on the global grid running from the North Pole to the South Pole; used to measure degrees of longitude.
28. Mesa: Broad, flat-topped landform with steep sides; smaller than a plateau.
29. Mountain: Land with steep sides that rise sharply (1,000 feet [305 meters] or more) from surrounding land; generally larger and more rugged than a hill.
30. Mountain Peak: Pointed top of a mountain.
31. Mountain Range: A series of connected mountains.
32. Mouth (of a river): Place where a stream or river flows into a larger body of water.
33. Ocean: One of the four major bodies of salt water that surround the continents.
34. Ocean Current: Stream of either cold or warm water that moves in a definite direction through an ocean.
35. Parallel: One of many lines on the global grid that circle the Earth north or south of the Equator; used to measure degrees of latitude.
36. Peninsula: Body of land jutting into a lake or ocean, surrounded on three sides by water.
37. Physical Feature: Characteristic of a place occurring naturally, such as a landform, body of water, climate pattern, or resource.
38. Plain: Area of level land, usually at a low elevation and often covered with grasses.
39. Plateau: Area of flat or rolling land at a high elevation, about 300-3,000 feet (91-914 meters) high.
40. Prime Meridian: Line of the global grid running from the North Pole to the South Pole through Greenwich, England; starting point for measuring degrees of east and west longitude.
41. Relief: Changes in elevation over a given area of land.
42. River: Large natural stream of water that runs through the land.
43. Sea: Large body of water completely or partially surrounded by land.
44. Seacoast: Land lying next to a sea or ocean.
45. Sea Level: Position on land level with the surface of a nearby ocean or sea.
46. Sound: Body of water between a coastline and one or more islands off the coast.
47. Source (of a river): Place where a river or stream begins, often in highlands.
48. Strait: Narrow stretch of water joining two larger bodies of water.
49. Tributary: Small river or stream that flows into a larger river or stream; a branch of a river.
50. Upstream: Direction opposite the flow of a river, toward the source of a river or stream.
51. Valley: Area of low land between hills or mountains.
52. Volcano: Mountain created as liquid rock or ash erupts from inside the Earth.
53. Contour Lines: Lines that join points of equal elevation on the surface of the land above or below a reference surface, such as mean sea level.