Earth’s Features

Unit CChapter 6 Lesson 1

C6 – C11

Main Idea

• Earth’s surface includes water and solid landforms.

• You can identify surface features by their location, shape, and elevation.

A Watery Planet

• Earth is the only planet in our solar system with a large amount of water on its surface.

• All of Earth’s oceans are connect with most of the water found in the southern part.

• Lakes and rivers carry or hold fresh water.• Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh and most

of it is found in glaciers or ice sheets.

Most of the Earth’s fresh water is found in glaciers or ice sheets near Earth’s poles.

Fresh water is a very important resource!

Earth’s Solid Surface

• CRUST – Earth’s rocky outer layer.

• Has many features on the ocean floor and on the continents.

• LANDFORMS – continental features

Landforms

• Mountains – the tallest of Earth’s landforms

• Steep sloops rise to tall peaks• Can be a single peak or in chains,

ranges, and mountain systems

Grand-Teton-MountainsWyoming

Landforms cont.

• HILLS– Smaller than

mountains

– Rounded crests stand above the land around them

• MOUNTAIN VALLEYS– Long, narrow

regions of low land between ranges of mountains or hills.

– CANYONS – deep valleys with steep sides

CANYON

Landforms Cont.

• PLATEAUS• High landforms

with flat surfaces.• Often along tops

of canyons• MESAS • Like a plateaus,

but smaller

Landforms Cont.

• PLAINS

• Broad and flat• Lower than

surroundings

Landforms Cont.

• RIVER VALLEY

• Valley with a river flowing usually in the center

• River moves along a channel in the valley floor

• FLOOD PLAIN

• The floor of a river valley on either side of the river

• Water covers a flood plain when a river overflows

RIVER VALLEY

Flood Plain

Landforms• Mountains – tallest landforms• Hills – smaller than mountains• Plateaus – high landforms with fairly flat

surfaces• Mountain Valleys – long, narrow regions of low

land between ranges• Plains – broad, flat and lower than surroundings• River valley – river that flows through the

center of a valley• Flood Plain – the floor of a river valley on either

side of the river

Coastal Features

• Coastal Plain• Beaches and marshlands• Rocky coastlines• Sea Caves• Sea cliffs• Sea Arches• Pocket beaches• Mainland beaches• Sand Dunes

Coastal Plain

• Canada to Florida• Slopes gently

from the Appalachian Mountains to the shores of the Atlantic ocean

• Fertile soil

Beaches & Marshlands

• Found at shorelines where the dry land meets the ocean.

• Flat landforms• Can be rocky or

sandy

Pacific Coast

• No coastal plain

• Coastline is rocky

• Can be steep cliffs

• Mountains may extend to the waters edge

Sea Caves

• Waves penetrate weak rock

• Begins as a small fracture in rock that develops into a cave over time

Sea Cliffs

• Created by erosion and weathering

Sea Arches

• Natural opening eroded out of a cliff face

Pocket Beaches

• Form along a rocky coastline

• Small and curve landward

• Sand fills spaces (pockets) between rocky cliffs

Mainland beaches

• Found along straight shorelines free of large rocks

• Some stretch for miles

Barrier Island Beach

• Barrier island – separated from mainland by a narrow, shallow body of water

• Beaches can be large

New Jersey Barrier Island

Sand Dunes

• Mounds or ridges of sand that the wind often forms along coastlines

• Form in long, irregular rows set back from the water

What are the three types of beaches?

• Pocket• Mainland• Barrier

Ocean Floor Features

• Continental margin: shelf, slope, rise

• Ocean floor features are similar to features on land– Canyons– Mountains– Plains– seamounts

Continental Margin

Continental Margin

• Starts at the waters edge and extends to the deep ocean floor

• 3 Parts to the continental margin

– Continental shelf– Continental slope– Continental Rise

Continental Shelf

• Forms the edges of the continent

• Slopes gradually down from sea level to less than 200 m

Continental Slope

• Beyond the shelf and is very steep

• Can fall to depths of 3 km (1.8 mi)

• Forms the sides of the continents

Continental Rise

• At the bottom of the slope

• Stretches out about 1,000km across the ocean floor

Ocean Floor Features

• Canyons – same as on the land, but called submarine canyons underwater

• Mountains & Plains• Seamounts – huge steep sided

mountains rising from the ocean floor– Some have flat tops and are known as

Guyots (GEE ohs)

Ocean Floor

• The vast area of the deep ocean floor is called the Abyssal Plain.

What are the three parts of the continental margin?

• Continental Shelf• Continental Slope• Continental Rise

Mid-Ocean Features

• Ocean Basin – the region beyond the continental margin

• Deep canyons called trenches • Mariana Trench (near Guam) drops 6.6

mi below the ocean floor• Mid-ocean ridges form mountain chains• The sides of the ridges slope down to

the abyssal plain

Mapping Surface Features

• Topographic Map – shows the shape of surface features and their elevations or heights above sea level.

• Contour Lines – connect points on the map that have the same elevation

• Contour lines show shape and steepness of the land.

What three properties are used to identify surface

features?

• Location• Shape• Elevation

How do contour lines help you visualize a feature of

Earth’s solid surface?

• Contour lines can show the shape and steepness of the land

Name and describe the three parts of the

continental margin.

• Continental shelf – forms a continent’s edges

• Continental slope – steeper and forms its sides

• Continental Rise – at the bottom of the slope and stretches across the ocean floor.

Earth has lots of water. Water covers 70% of

Earth’s surface. Even so, water is a critical resource

for all living things. Explain why.

• Salt water is not safe to drink, but is the most abundant type of water. Only 3% of water is fresh and most is locked in glaciers. Fresh water in streams and ponds is very precious.

Describe how plateaus and plains are similar and how

they are different.

• Plateaus and plains are both flat and wide.

• However, plateaus rise above their surroundings, while plains sit lower than their surroundings.

The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. What land

feature does its shape most resemble?

A. river valleyB. Canyon

C. Mountain RangeD. Beach

The Mariana Trench is a feature of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. What land

feature does its shape most resemble?

B. Canyon

The rocky outer layer of Earth’s surface is called

the

• Crust

What are the lines that connect points on a map

that have the same elevation called?

• Contour Lines

What type of map shows the shape of surface

features and their elevations?

• Topographic Map

Where is salt water most often found relative to dry

land?

• A. in rivers and streams• B. in underground wells• C. along shorelines and near

beaches• D. in ice sheets at the North Pole

Where is salt water most often found relative to dry

land?

• C. along shorelines and near beaches

A flat landform found at a high elevation is called a

______?

• A. plateau• B. river valley• C. plain• D. canyon

A flat landform found at a high elevation is called a

______?

• A. plateau

Underground caves, steep cliffs, and sand dunes

often form near __________?

• A. mountain peaks• B. coastlines• C. flood plains• D. Continental slopes

Underground caves, steep cliffs, and sand dunes

often form near __________?

• B. coastlines