Vocabulary Words

Lesson 14Geography

Apex

• Noun• The summit or highest point

• The apex of the range is the 14, 309-foot Uncompahgre Peak.

Blighted

• Adjective• Ruined or destroyed

• Acid rain has left many forests in a blighted condition.

Bog

• Noun• A marshland or area of wet, poorly drained

ground

• In Ireland we watched peat being cut from a bog.

Cascade

• Noun• Waterfall; rapids

• We hiked on a mountain trail that crossed a beautiful cascade.

Contour

• Noun• An outline or form

• The new road was built to follow the contour of the land.

Crags

• Noun• Steep, rugged rock formations forming part of

a cliff

• The landscape of the Scottish highlands is one of mountains and crags.

Embankment

• Noun• A mound of earth or stone built to hold back

water or to support a roadway

• During the spring flood, the river spilled over the embankment.

Fauna

• Noun• Animals, especially those associated with a

particular region

• Charles Darwin studied the fauna of the Galapagos islands.

Flora

• Noun• Plants, especially those associated with a

particular region

• Tourists are bedazzled by the flora of Hawaii.

Infest

• Verb• To overrun in large numbers

• Mosquitoes infest the swamp near our house and make our lives miserable during the summer.

Knoll

• Noun • Small rounded hill or mound

• We picnicked on a grassy knoll.

Obelisk

• Noun• A slender, four-sided, tapering monument that

ends in a point

• The Washington Monument is best known obelisk in the United States.

Quarry• Noun• An open pit from which stone is obtained by

digging, cutting, or blasting

• Heavy trucks loaded with rock pulled out of the quarry.

Pinnacle

• Noun• A tall, pointed formation or spire

• The distinctive pinnacle of Switzerland’s Matterhorn is easily recognized.

Sedimentary

• Adjective• Of or related to material which settles to the

bottom of a liquid from the ocean floor

• Scientists can learn a lot about climatic changes by studying sedimentary material from the ocean floor.

Silt

• Noun• Fine mineral particles whose size is

comparable to sand

• Silt is formed by the weathering and decomposition of rock.

Tremor

• Noun• A shaking or vibrating movement

• An earth tremor can cause serious property damage.

Unearth

• Verb• To dig up

• Archeologists try to unearth treasures of ancient civilizations.

Vegetate

• Verb• To grow or sprout

• The algae has suddenly begun to vegetate at a rapid rate.

Verdant• Adjective• Covered with green plants

• England is famous for its verdant, rolling landscape.