CHAPTER 4

LAND AND WATER

FORMS OF THE
WORLD
 Kinds of Land Forms
• About 30% of the earth is dry land. The great masses of land are called
continents.
• A continent is a continuous mass of land surrounded by big bodies of water.
• An island is also a tract of land surrounded by water but it is much smaller
than continent.
• A plain us a stretch of level land while a prairee is also an extensive tract of
level land without trees and is covered with tall coarse grass.
• A mountain is land mass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings.
• A plateau, like a mountain rises sharply above the adjacent land on the least
one side.

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 Kinds of Land Forms

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 Kinds of Bodies of Water
• About 70% of the earth is covered by large bodies of salty water.
• An ocean is the whole body of salt water that that covers the earth
surface.
• The sea is the great body of salty water.
• A gulf is a part of an ocean or sea extending into the land.
• The bay is also an arm of the sea extending the land.
• A lake is a considerable inland body of standing water.
• A lagoon is a shallow lake or pond that is connected to the sea or another
body of water by small channel.
• A channel is any natural or man-made bed in which a stream of water
runs.
• A canal which is intended for navigation or land irrigation.

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 Kinds of Bodies of Water

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 CONTINENT
A continent is one of Earth's seven main
divisions of land. The continents are,
from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa,
North America, South America,
Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. When
geographers identify a continent, they
usually include all the islands associated
with it.

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 CONTINENT AREA IN MILLIONS OF SQ. MI. 1 SQ.
MI. = 2. 59 SQ KM.
Asia 16.9

Africa 11.5

North America 8.4

South America 6.8

Antarctica 5.5

Europe 3.8

Australia 2’9

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 THE MAJOR LAND
FEATURES
The major surface features of the land are mountains plateaus,
and plains. Physical features influence human settlement in
the choice of particular sites and neglect of others.

Based on the classification of landscape, one will be able to

gather the mountains and plateaus generally stand higher
above sea level than do hills and plain.

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 MOUNTAINS
A mountain is a large landform that
rises above the surrounding land in a
limited area, usually in the form of a
peak. A mountain is generally
steeper than a hill. Mountains are
formed through tectonic forces or
volcanism. These forces can locally
raise the surface of the earth.

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 Bradley gives us important things to remember about
mountain areas:

(1)That lone mountains have little importance in human

geography
(2)Mountains that stand in ranges or groups are more
significant not only landscape wise but more importantly,
as places where men settle down or go to live.
(3)That conditions in one mountain peak are not exactly the
same in other peaks.

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 MOUNTAINS
Mountains areas have good as well as bad implications. For one thing,
mountain weather us generally cool and is especially god for health.
Mountains too are natural sources of lumber supplying man not only in
building but also mountain industry

At times progress is held back due to poor transportation facilities

If properly conserved, trees in mountain areas also control floods. Also,

gold, silver, copper and many metal materials are deposited in abundance
in places that are mountainous.

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PLATEAUS
In geology and physical geography, a
plateau, also called a high plain or a
tableland, is an area of a highland,
usually consisting of relatively flat
terrain, that is raised significantly
above the surrounding area, often
with one or more sides with steep
slope.