Physical features

1. “Our Dynamic Planet”
Objective: Describe each of the physical
features of the earth

2. What are Physical
Features?
Found on the earth
Most commonly found on a relief map!
We will be focusing on:
Oceans, mountains, lakes, rivers, hills,
valleys and islands

3. Oceans
Covers 70% of the earths surface
The ocean plays a vital role in the
earths climate and weather
The ocean originally formed from
molten lava’s water vapor 4 million
years ago
Several thousand people and animals
depend on the different oceans for
food and shelter

4. Mountains
Mountains are formed by tectonic
plates shifting and volcanic activity
Tall mountains will reach the cold part
of the atmosphere and therefore have
snowstorms resulting in snow at the
peaks
There are FIVE different types of
mountains: Fold, Fault-Block, Volcanic,
Dome and Plateau

5. Rivers
A “natural” stream of water
Rivers are usually formed
from precipitation (rain) or
runoff from rocks
Flows towards larger bodies
of water (Ocean, Lake..etc)
Sometimes river water will
dry up or get absorbed into
the ground before reaching a
larger body of water

6. Lakes
Body of still (not
flowing) water that is
surrounded by land
Not part of the ocean
Natural lakes are
usually found by
mountains

7. Hills
A landform that
higher elevation than
surrounding area
Smaller and less steep
than mountains

8. Valleys
A depression in the
land that goes in one
direction
TWO types of valleys
U-shape and V-Shape
A deep river valley
could be called a
canyon or gorge

9. Islands
A piece of land
surrounded by water
There are two
different types of
islands: oceanic and
continental

10. Peninsula
A piece of land that
is bordered by water
on three sides but
still connected to the
land
These “half islands”
can also be called
points, headland or
cape

11. Create your own art!
It’s your turn to be creative
Using the different physical
features we learned today I
want you to illustrate and
picture
Label each part of the
picture in comparison to what
we learned today!