World Geography Basic Vocabulary

Front

Place where a stream of river flows into a larger body of water

Back

mouth of river

Front

A large, thick body of slowly moving ice

Back

Glacier

Front

Imaginary line that runs around the earth halfway between the North and South Poles; used as the starting point to measure degrees of north and south latitude

Back

equator

Front

Narrow stretch of land connecting two larger land areas

Back

Isthmus

Front

Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees

Back

Longitude

Front

Distance north or south of the Equator measured by degrees

Back

Latitude

Front

Exact location for a place on the earth described by global coordinates

Back

absolute location

Front

One of the seven large land masses on the earth

Back

continent

Front

Characteristic that humans have created in a place, such as language, religion, housing, and settlement patterns

Back

cultural feature

Front

Area of land drained by a given river and its branches; area of land surrounded by lands of higher elevation

Back

basin