| A | B |
|---|
| topography | the shape of the land determined by elevation, relief and landforms |
| elevation | height above sea level |
| relief | the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest parts of an area |
| landform | a feature of topography formed by the processes that shape Earth's surface |
| landform region | a large area of land where the topography is similar |
| plain | a landform made up of flat or gently rolling land with low relief |
| mountain | a landform with high elevation and high relief |
| mountain range | a series of mountains that have the same general shape and structure |
| plateau | a landform that has a more or less level surface and is elevated high above sea level |
| lithosphere | a rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust; one of four spheres into which scientists divide Earth |
| core | Earth's dense center, made up of the solid inner portion and the molten inner portion |
| mantle | the layer of hot, solid material between the Earth's crust and core |
| crust | the layer of rock that forms Earth's outer surface |
| rock | the material that forms Earth's hard surface |
| geology | the study of the solid Earth |
| map | a model of all or part of Earth's surface as seen from above |
| globe | a sphere that represents Earth's surface |
| scale | used to compare distance on a map or globe to distance on Earth's surface |
| symbols | on a map, pictures used by mapmakers to stand for features on Earth's surface |
| key | a list of the symbols used on a map |
| equator | an imaginary line halfway between the North and South poles that circles Earth |
| hemisphere | one half of the sphere that makes up Earth's surface |
| prime meridian | the line that makes a half circle from the North Pole to the South Pole, passing through Greenwich, England |
| degree | a unit used to measure distances around a circle; one unit equals 1/360 of a full circle |
| latitude | the distance north or south from the equator, measured in degrees |
| longitude | the distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian |
| map projection | a framework of lines that helps to show landmasses on a flat surface |
| satellite images | pictures of the land surface based on computer data collected from satellites |
| pixels | the tiny dots in a satellite image |
| digitizing | converting information to numbers for use by a computer |
| topographic map | a map that shows the surface features of an area |
| contour line | a line on a topographical map that connects points of equal elevation |
| contour interval | the difference in elevation from one contour line to the next |
| Global Positioning System | a method of finding latitude and longitude using satellites |
