Unit 1: Regions of North America Vocabulary

What is environment?

• One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually

  regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America

• The location of a place in relation to someplace

  else.

• The surroundings in which people, plants, and animals

  live.

• The height to which something rises above a point of

  reference, especially mean sea level.

What is climate?

• The meteorological conditions, including temperature,

  precipitation, and wind that prevail in a particular region.

• The group of natural processes by which material is worn away

  from the earth’s surface

• Thunder, snow, and rain are examples

• The location of a place in relation to someplace

  else.

Lacking moisture, especially having insufficient rainfall to support trees or woody plants: an arid climate

• natural resources

• arid

• tributary

• elevation

The usual pattern of weather conditions in a region, such as temperature, precipitation, and wind

• environment

• arid

• polar

• climate

Sharing an edge or boundary; touching

• erosion

• contiguous

• environment

• continent

One of the main land masses of Earth: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America

• climate

• states

• environment

• continent

A line showing where North American waters drain either toward the Pacific or toward the Atlantic Oceans

• land use

• Continental Divide

• erosion

• environment

The height above a defined point, such as sea level

• elevation

• mountain

• valley

• plateaus

The totality of the natural world, often excluding humans

• climate

• apocalypse

• erosion

• environment

Natural processes that wear away material from Earth’s surface

• erosion

• tributary

• land use

• natural resource