Bodies of Water and Landforms

Oceans and seas are interconnected bodies of salt water

covers about ¾ of the earth’s surface1) Atlantic Ocean2) Pacific Ocean3) Indian Ocean4) Arctic Ocean5) Southern Ocean

* Pacific is largest ocean* waters near Antarctica now called the Southern Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Southern Ocean

The ocean is constantly moving, circulating through currents, waves, tides

Motion of ocean helps distribute heat on the planet

- winds are heated and cooled by ocean water

Currents- act like rivers flowing through the ocean

Waves - swells or ridges produced by windsTides - the regular rising and falling of the

ocean - created by gravitational pull of the moon or sun

Hydrologic Cycle - the continuous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth

- water evaporates from the earth’s oceans and plants into the atmosphere

- the vapor eventually falls back to earth as precipitation (rain, sleet, hail or snow)

Lakes hold more than 95% of all the earth’s freshwater

Freshwater lakes, like the Great Lakes, are result of glacial action - Lake Baikal in Russia is world’s largest

freshwater lake Saltwater lakes form when outlet to sea

is cut off: - streams and rivers carry salts into lake - salts build up with nowhere to go - Caspian Sea in Western Asia is world’s

largest saltwater lake

Lake Baikal is the largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world. - Over 1 mile from

surface to the bottom - said to contain 20% of

the earth’s fresh water! -very clean lake, home

to over 1200 unique plant and animal species

Caspian Sea is 750-mile-long saltwater lake - largest inland sea

in world

Rivers move water to or from large bodies of water

Tributaries are smaller rivers, streams that feed into larger ones

Rivers and their tributaries connect into drainage basins

Drainage Basin – an area drained by a major river and its tributaries

-World’s longest river-4,132 miles long!-Drainage basin covers 10% of Africa

Landforms are naturally formed features on the surface of the earth

Look on page 34-35 to see all the different types of landforms.

Landforms include: - Mountains - Valleys - Plateaus - Islands - Volcanoes - Canyons - Peninsulas - Lakes - Rivers - Bays - Etc.

Continental shelf — sea floor from continent’s edge to deep ocean

Sea floor has ridges, valleys, canyons, plains, mountain ranges

Islands are formed by volcanoes, sand, or coral deposits

Coral formed island Volcano formed island

Mountain chains also cover parts of the ocean floor

The largest mountain range is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (thousands of miles long)

Mt. Everest is technically not the largest mountain in the world.

Muana Kea in Hawaii is a dormant volcano that stands 13, 800 ft. above sea level. However, a significant part of the mountain is under water. When measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over 33,000 ft. high—significantly higher than Mount Everest.

During the winter months, Mauna Kea also receives an ample amount of snow.

Hawaii is probably not the first destination that might pop into your head for skiing, but if tropical snow is your bag, then Hawaii is the place to be!

The best months to visit for skiing are February and March. Temperatures average around 75-80 F, so you can split time between the mountain and the beach.

Relief — difference in landform elevation from lowest to highest point.

Four categories of relief: - Mountains - Plateaus - Hills - Plains

Mountains have great relief, whereas plains have very little. Physical maps like the one above

show landforms, bodies of waterand elevation or relief.

Himalaya Mountains

Peel Plateau, Canada

Chocolate Hills, Philippines

The Great Plains, United States

Topography — the configurations and distribution of landforms

Topographic map shows vertical dimensions, relationship of landforms