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 ~ ISTHMUSAn 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
