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Latitude - A measure of distance north or south of the Equator. One degree of latitude equals
approximately 110 kilometers (68 mi). Lines of latitude, also called circles of latitude, are the
imaginary lines that cross the surface of the Earth in an east-west direction (parallel to the
Equator) and measure how far north or south of the Equator a place is located

Longitude - A measure of distance east or west of a line drawn between the North and
South Poles and passing through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England. Lines of
longitude, also called meridians, are the imaginary lines that cross the surface of the
Earth in a north-south direction (parallel to the Prime Meridian) and measure how far east
or west of the Prime Meridian a place is located.

Hemisphere - Half of the Earth usually conceived as resulting from the division of the
globe into two equal parts of either north and south or east and west.

International Date Line - A line of longitude generally 180 degrees east and west of
the Prime Meridian. The date is one day earlier to the east of the line

Landforms - A natural feature of the solid surface of the Earth. A combined set of
landforms makes up the terrain of a given area, and their arrangement in a landscape is
known as topography.

Kinds of Landforms

Mountains
Mountains are landforms higher than the surrounding areas. They are formed due to the
tectonic movements, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and erosion of the surrounding areas
caused due to wind, water and ice. Mountains are found in the oceans an d on land.

Plateaus
Plateaus are flat highlands that are separated from the surroundings due to steep slopes.
They are formed by collisions of tectonic plates, magma action that causes the elevation in
earth’s crust.
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Valleys
Valleys are low-lying areas of land between hills and mountains that are formed due to the
actions of glaciers and rivers over millions of years. Depending on the shape they are
classified as V shaped valleys and U shaped valleys. V-shaped valleys are formed by the
flowing rivers and U-shaped valleys are formed due to glaciers.

Deserts
Due to lack of adequate rainfall, desert is a dry piece of land with little or no vegetation.
They are mostly found mainly in rain shadow areas which are leeward of a mountain range
with respect to the wind direction. In deserts, the atmospheric air is very dry, and daytime
temperature is high.

Dunes
Dunes are mounds or small hills made up of sand that are created due to the action of and
water flow (under water dunes). It may be dome-shaped, crescent-shaped, star-shaped,
linear-shaped, and many more. The height of a dune hill can be as low as 1 meter, or as high
as 10 meter and more.
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Islands
An island is a piece of land which is surrounded by water from all sides and formed either
due to volcanic eruptions or due to hot spots in the lithosphere.

Plains
Plains are flat or the low relief areas on the surface of the earth. It might be formed as a
result of the sedimentation of eroded soil from the top of the hills and mountains or might
be due to flowing lava deposited by the agents of wind, water, and ice.

Rivers
Rivers are natural flowing streams of fresh water descending from mountains. They mostly
flow toward a lake, sea, ocean or another river.

Oceans
Oceans are the biggest water bodies found on earth and are saline in nature. Oceans cover
over 71% of the earth’s surface and are responsible in controlling the weather and climate of
the earth. Oceans originated due to continental drifts i.e. the movement of the earth’s
tectonic plates.

Loess
Loess are deposition of silt, with a little amount of sand and clay. They appear yellowish or
brownish in color. Wind action or glacial activities are responsible for formation of loess.

Glaciers
Glaciers are slow moving huge bodies of ice formed due to the compression of the snow
layers. They move depending on the pressure and gravity. There are two types of glaciers,
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the alpine glaciers which can be located in high mountains and the continental glaciers
which can be located in cold Polar regions.

Peninsulas
Peninsulas are large land areas that extend into water bodies. They remain surrounded by
water on three sides. Peninsulas are formed by lithospheric movements and action of water
currents.

Deltas
Deltas are low-lying, triangle-shaped areas, located at the mouth of rivers. In the course of
creating a delta, the sand, silt, and rock particles are accumulated in a nearly triangular
shape.

Mountains - A large landform that rises prominently above the surrounding land in a
limited area, usually in the form of a rocky peak with great vertical relief; a mountain is
generally considered steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed
by volcanic or tectonic forces and erode slowly through the actions of rivers, glaciers,
and weathering. Most exist within extensive mountain ranges.
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Body Waters - Any significant accumulation of water, either natural or artificial, on the
surface of the Earth. Bodies of water may hold or contain water, as
with lakes and oceans, or they may collect and move water from one place to another, as
with rivers, streams, and other waterways.
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Political Map

 A political map shows the state and national

boundaries of a place. A political map does not have
any topographic features.
 It also shows the location of cities, with respect to
each other.

2. Physical Map

 A physical map is one which shows the physical

features of a place or country, like rivers, mountains,
forests and lakes.
 The physical features are usually shown in different
colors.

 Rivers and lakes are shown in blue, places of low

elevation are shown in dark green and as the elevation increases, the color becomes light
green and eventually orange.
 Mountains are shown in brown.

3. Topographic Map

 Topographic maps are similar to physical maps, which

show the physical features of an area. Although in
topographic maps, differences in elevation and changes
in landscape are shown with the help of contour lines
and not colors.

4. Climatic Map

 A climatic map shows the information about the

climate of different areas.
For example it shows areas which receive more
rainfall or snow, or which have dry weather.
 It uses colors to depict areas with different climate.
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5. Economic or Resource Map

 Economic or resource maps show the different resources

present in the area or economic activity prevalent.
 They show the kind of crops that are grown and the
minerals found in places.
 Symbols and letters are used to depict the activity or
resource present in the area.

6. Road Map

 Road map is the most widely used map which shows

different roads, highways or railways present in the area.
 It is a very detailed map and is generally used for direction
purposes.
 Road maps are usually made individually, city-wise.
 There are road maps present for an entire country too, but
they cannot be made very detailed.

Climate is defined as the average state of everyday's weather condition over a period of 30 years It is
measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric
pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region
over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term
conditions of these variables in a given region.
A region's climate is generated by the climate system, which has five
components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and
their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables,
most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme was
the Köppen climate classification. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948,
incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying
biological diversity and how climate change affects it. The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification
systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region.
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