Physical regions ~ Landforms

Directions: As you view the slides, add definitions and pictures of each region to your notes or your landforms foldable. Pay special attention to the blue, underlined words.

WHAT ARE LANDFORMS?Landforms are the kinds of land

formations a place has.

The types of landforms a place has are influenced by its climate.

Physical Regions are often defined by the landforms found there.

1. MOUNTAIN REGIONA mountain is a

landform that rises at least 2,000 feet above surrounding land; wide at the bottom and narrowing at the top.

Mountains form a Mountain range, which is several mountains in a row.

Often, mountain regions include valleys.

Rocky Mountains, Western United States

PLATEAUPlateaus are FLAT

landforms that are found in mountain regions.

Plateaus often come off of mountains.

The Great Plains are located on a plateau that comes off the Rocky Mountains.

Great Plains

2. Valley RegionValleys are low lying

areas, often between mountains.

Types of valleys:Mountain Valley ~ in

between two mountains (formed by a river)

Glacial Valley (fjord) ~ formed by a glacier, found in polar regions

Appalachian Mountain Valley

Glacier Valley

3. RIVER BASIN REGIONA river basin is a low-lying area of land, shaped kind of like a

bowl where rivers and their tributaries come togetherBasins are areas that are drained by rivers and their

tributaries. Water from the basins eventually reaches the river mouth (where the river flows into a gulf, sea or ocean). A tributary is a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger one As a river flows into

a large body of watera delta may form.A delta is triangleshaped and formedfrom rock, sand andother materials leftbehind at the rivermouth.

Rivers must begin at asource, like a lake. A lake is a largebody of water surrounded by land.Rivers flow from their source towards the Equator. Mississippi River Basin, USA

Tributary

Mouthand Delta

4. DESERT REGIONA desert is dry land that receives less than

10 inches of precipitation (rain or snow) a year and has little to no vegetation.

Deserts can be hot, like the Sahara in Africa, or cold, like Antarctica.

Mesas and ButtesSome common landforms found in desert

regions are two types of plateaus: mesas and buttes. Mesa ~ plateau with four

Steep sides and a flat topTable Rock Mesa in Idaho

Butte ~ small mesaButtes in Monument Valley (Utah)

5. PLAINS REGIONSA plain is a large area of flat or gently

rolling land.Plains often include rolling hills, which

are raided landforms not as tall as mountains.

Plains are often used by ranchers to graze their cattle

Plains have different names depending on location:Plain ~ United States (also called a

prairie)Pampas ~ South AmericaSteppe ~ Russia/SiberiaSavanna ~ Africa

6. COASTAL REGIONThe area of flat land along a sea or

ocean is a coastal plain.A beach is a type coastal plain, but

not all coastal plains are sandy.

PENINSULAA peninsula is part of a coastal

plain that has water on only 3 sides and is attached to another piece of land.

A good example of a peninsula is Florida.

A cape is like a peninsula, but is pointyA good example of a cape is

Cape Cod in Massachusetts

GULF and BAYA gulf and a bay are parts of a coastal region.They are bodies of water almost surrounded by land.A gulf is larger than a bay.Bays and gulfs are located next to coastal plains

SEAA sea is a large

body of water that may be partially enclosed by land.

A sea is larger than a gulf and smaller than an ocean. An ocean is the largest body of water.

7. ISLAND REGIONAn island is a body of land totally surrounded by waterAn archipelago is a series of islandsThe state of Hawaii and the country of Japan are

examples

8. Other LandformsSTRAITA strait is a skinny

body of water that has land on both sides.

Two good examples of straits are The Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East and the Bering Strait that separates Alaska and Russia.

One last word to know ~ ISTHMUS

An isthmus is a skinny piece of land between two bodies of water.

It attaches two bigger pieces of land.

The country of Panama is a perfect example. It attaches South America to Central America.

9. POLAR (ARCTIC) REGION(ADD THESE NOTES TO THE BACK OF YOUR FOLDABLE)

Some landforms exist only in certain climate areas. These landforms usually exist in cold, polar regions, close to the North and South Poles.

Glaciers are large bodies of ice that melt slowly over time Icebergs are floating bodies of ice Fjords are valleys formed by glaciers. They are sometimes

frozen

Glacier

Iceberg

Fjord