Geography Vocabulary

4. a section of a canal that can be closed off, and the water level lowered or raised to facilitate moving a boat between canal sections of different elevations
9. a powerful rotating column of air usually formed at the base of a thunderstorm and extending to the earth's surface its high winds can cause massive destruction
10. imaginary lines that run north to south on the earth's surface and measure distance from the Prime Meridian which runs through Greenwich England
11. a coniferous evergreen region in northern latitudes also called boreal forest
12. a crescent shaped inlet of water
14. the ring of mountains and volcanos on edges of the Pacific Ocean unusually high levels of tectonic plate movement in this area
16. the study of the Earth; divided into Physical Geography and Human Geography
18. imaginary lines that run east to west on the earth's surface and measure distance from the Equator the longest line of latitude located at 0°
19. a narrow strip of land between two bodies of water connecting two larger areas of land
21. a chain or group of islands
24. a man made waterway connecting two larger bodies of water
25. line of latitude at 0° that bisects the earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres

1. a rupture in the earth's surface caused by shifting tectonic plates that allows lava and ash to rise to the surface
2. an ocean current that brings warm waters from the Equator to the western coast of Europe
3. a treeless region close to the poles permanently frozen soil
5. an area of land almost entirely surrounded by water but connected to a mainland
6. vast dry grasslands largely treeless usually in temperate zones
7. a large expanse of flat land with very little difference in elevation from surrounding land usually grassland
8. a relatively flat area considerably raised above the surrounding land
13. a small fertile area in a desert region
15. a large area of water lying within a curved coastline larger than a bay
17. the part of a river that empties into another body of water
20. a natural hot spring that intermittently shoots columns of water and steam into the air
22. a mass of ice formed from years of snow accumulation
23. the study of earth's physical structure and characteristics