| A | B |
|---|
| vegetation | the natural plant life of a region |
| precipitation | moisture in the form of rain or snow |
| geography | the study of the earth and the way people live on it |
| environment | the surroundings of a place, including landforms, climate, and natural resources |
| gazeteer | a list of countries, states, cities, rivers, lakes, and other places of geographical interest |
| climate | the pattern of weather that an area has over a long period of time usually descibed in terms of precipitation and temperature |
| latitude | distance north or south of the equator |
| tropical climate | the hot climate found in the low latitudes near the equator |
| temperate climate | climate that is hot in summer and cold in winter |
| polar climate | the coldest climate found at the high latitudes, furthest from the equator |
| altitude | height above sea level |
| currents | warmer or colder streams of water that flow through the oceans; they can affect the temperature of a region |
| natural resource | any part of nature that can be useful to people |
| minerals | natural substances that are reached by digging into the earth |
| renewable resources | resources that can replace or rebuild themselves, like sunlight and water |
| nonrenewable resources | resources that can never be renewed or replaced, like metals |
| high altitude | these usually have cooler temperatures |
| land | 30% of the earth's surface is covered by this |
