Basic Geography Vocabulary List
- Animal – living thing that is able to move around
- Cave – land with opening underground
- City – a crowded town
- Cloud – water vapor that is condensed and seen in the sky
- Country – a territory with its own government
- Day – time when sunlight can be seen
- Desert – dry land without grass or plants
- Earth – the planet where we live
- Forest – an area with a lot of trees
- Gas – fills container, unable to be seen
- Geography – study of land
- Globe – Earth
- Highway – road with multiple lanes and fast cars
- Hill – a high area of ground
- Island – an area of land surrounded but water all around it
- Jungle – an area of land with trees and wildlife
- Lake – a lot of water that is surrounded by land
- Land – covers the surface of Earth where there is no water
- Liquid – flows and fills up shape of container
- Mass – a large amount
- Matter – something that takes up space
- Mountain – a big sharp hill
- Night – time when moon can be seen
- Ocean – a larger part of the sea
- Park – an area where children play
- Planet – a body orbiting the sun
- Plant – a living thing with roots, usually stays in one spot permanently
- Rain – water falling from clouds
- River – a thin strip of water surrounded by land
- Road – a route cars use to travel
- Sea – a big lake
- Solid – firm and keeps shape
- State – smaller parts of country
- Sun – the star that has the Earth orbiting around it
- Surface – the top part of something
- Star – a light in the sky that is smaller than the Sun
- Town – a smaller city
- Water – a colorless liquid
- World – what contains everything
- Weather – can be measured with temperature
- Wind – gust of air
Level One Geography Vocabulary List
- Africa – continent between South America and Europe
- America – used to describe either North or South America
- Antarctica – continent below South America and above North America
- Arctic Ocean – ocean between Antarctica and Canada
- Area – a part of land
- Asia – continent on north eastern hemisphere
- Australia – continent below Asia
- Atlantic Ocean – ocean between North America and Europe
- Canada – country above United States of America
- Community – town or group of people
- Continent – main chunks of land on Earth
- Climate – weather
- Direction – the way taken to get to one place
- Distance – the space between two places
- East – to the right
- Equator – middle line that divides the two poles(imaginary)
- Europe – continent connected to Asia
- Fog – a cloud near ground
- Freshwater – water not found in sea
- Indian Ocean – ocean below of India
- Map – a copy of land on paper
- Mexico – country below United States of America
- North – above/ to the top
- North America – continent in the north western part of Earth
- Pacific Ocean – Ocean between North America and Asia
- Pole – bottom and top part of Earth
- North Pole – top part of Earth in Antartica
- Peninsula – land covered by water on three sides
- South – below/ to the bottom
- South America – continent in the south western part of Earth
- South Pole – bottom part of Earth in Antarctica
- Symbol – a sign
- Time – measure of progress from past to present to future
- United – combined or connected
- United States of America – also known as America, where we live
- Valley – small area of land between hills or mountains
- Volcano – a mountain filled with lava
- West – to the left
Level Two Geography Vocabulary List
- Antarctic Circle – southern part of Arctic circle
- Atlas – collection of maps
- Atmosphere – the gases that goes around Earth
- Arctic – northern part of Earth
- Arctic Circle – area south on Earth where daylight and night are completely opposite
- Bay – water surrounded by land
- Breeze – low wind
- Blizzard – excess snow
- Border – separation between countries
- Boundary – border
- Brook – natural stream
- Calm – when there is no wind
- Canyon – a deep valley
- Celsius – measurement of weather in degrees used
- Compass – instrument used to find direction
- Continental United States – belonging to United States
- Capitol – building where government meets
- Capital city- a capital of a state
- Central America – land between North and South America
- Characteristic – features
- Civilization – human society
- Coast – land near sea
- Coastline – where land meets water
- Coordinate – degrees of longitude and latitude
- Comet – gas and dust particles pointing away from Sun
- Continental – belonging to the continent
- County – different parts in a state
- Crater – effect from meteor hitting the moon
- Creek – stream smaller than river
- Cycle – the process of something
- Cyclone – hurricane
- Dam – wood used to stop flow of water
- Degree – unit of longitude and latitude
- Downstream – opposite of river flow
- Earthquake – ground shaking that happens suddenly
- Eastern Hemisphere – eastern half of Earth
- Environment – surroundings
- Fahrenheit – measurement of weather in degrees
- Fault – cracks in side of land or vallies
- Feature – different parts of something
- Flood – excess water found on land
- Frontier – border between countries
- Glacier – area of ice
- Government – group of people running the country
- Great Lakes – freshwater lakes throughout north america
- Great Plains – plains west of mississippi
- Grid – used to find exact locations on Earth
- Gulf – sea going over land
- Harbor – where boats stay
- Hemisphere – half of Earth
- Highlands – similar to mountains
- International – across countries
- International Boundary – international border
- Interstate Highway – main major road
- Landfill – a place where waste is placed
- Landform – large land apart of Earth
- Land Mass – an area of land
- Landscape – area of land
- Latin America – 33 Latin speaking countries
- Latitude – north and west measurement of equator
- Legend – explains symbols on map
- Location – one place
- Longitude – east and west measurement of primer meridian
- Marine – environment of sea
- Mississippi River – river in Mississippi
- Missouri River – river in Missouri
- Mount Everest – the highest mountain in the world
- Mount McKinley – highest mountain in north america
- Mouth – opening of river
- Nation – country
- National – nationwide
- National Park – historical park
- Natural – original form
- Natural Boundary – natural border
- Nature – physical surroundings outside
- North Africa – northern part of Africa
- Northern Hemisphere – northern half of Earth
- Parallel – lines that are opposite from each other and don’t touch
- Passage – moving under or through
- Plain – flat land
- Physical Characteristic – physical features
- Pond – small lake
- Population – number of people in community
- Physical – in person
- Position – one spot
- Rain Forest – forest in tropical areas
- Range – the length between two things
- Range mountain – multiple mountains together
- Reference Point – point to refer back to
- Region – area of country
- Resource – supply
- Rocky Mountains – mountain range from Canada to New Mexico
- Scale – explaining relation between actual size of land compared to size shown on map
- Southern Hemisphere – southern half of Earth
- South Pacific – southern part of Pacific
- Stream – small body of water
- Swamp – land constantly filled with water
- Time zone – area of land with specific time
- Tribe – a specific ethnic group
- Upstream – direction of river flow
- Western Hemisphere – western half of Earth
Level Three Geography Vocabulary List
- Aborigines – indigenous people of Australia
- Alps – mountain range from North Africa through south Europe to near the Himalayas in Asia
- Altitude – used to measure area above sea level
- Andes – longest mountain range in the world, along south america
- Appalachians – area of land between north Alabama and Georgia to southern New York
- Arabian Desert – big desert in West Asia, makes up most of the Arabian Peninsula
- Atlas Mountains – mountain range in northwest Africa
- Axis – invisible line at where the Earth turns
- Barren – land unable to grow a lot of plants
- Basin – dip in the surface of Earth
- Biome – area where one species live
- Canal – man made waterways
- Channel – waterway between two pieces of land
- Condensing – when water vapor turns into liquid form
- Continental Divide – border that separates different continents system of rivers
- Delta – wetlands that are made when rivers empty their water into another body of water
- Dew – small droplets of water(usually from rain)
- Elevation – used to define depth of ocean or sea
- Embankment – used to carry roads or railways across water
- Far East – east and southeast asia
- Great Basin – biggest watershed in north america
- Great Divide – the name of the continental divide of the Americas
- Great Meridian – also known as the prime meridian
- Greenwich Meridian – borough in London used to show where the imaginary line of 0 degrees longitude passes
- Himalayas – where Mount Everest is located, goes through many countries in south asia to east east asia
- Inlet – a bay found at the shore of a body of water
- International Date Line – border for when each calendar year starts
- Key – small coral island
- Lowland – area of land that is near or under sea level
- Marsh – area of land that is covered by water for a long time
- Mediterranean – world’s biggest inland sea
- Meridian – constant longitude going around the surface of Earth
- Mesa – flat mountain or hill
- Middle East – area of near the Mediterranean sea
- Monsoon – periods of heavy rainfall
- Nile River – river going south to north of eastern Africa
- Oasis – green area in desert
- Outback – open land far away from cities and towns
- Pacific Rim – countries at edge of the pacific ocean
- Panama Canal – canal connecting atlantic and pacific ocean
- Plateau – flat highland
- Prime – first, main
- Prime Meridian – imaginary line going from north to south at 0 degrees
- Projection – a map showing flat surfaces of Earth
- Promontory – high area of land that beyond a lowland or a body water
- Reef – grouped rock or coral lying near the surface of the ocean
- Ridge – chain of mountains
- Sahara Desert – world’s largest hot desert and is in North Africa(Sahara means desert in Arabic)
- Sea Level – measurement of deep the water is
- Sediment – solid material, usually rocks or minerals
- Sound – big area of sea
- Stalactite – form in the shape of icicle hanging from the top of a cave
- Stalagmite – mineral deposits that are growing in the upwords direction
- Strait – thin strip of water that connects two bigger waters together
- Suez Canal – canal connecting mediterrerean sea to the indian ocean
- Topography – study of forms of land
- Tropical – climate relating to the tropics
- Tropics – land on Earth near the equator
- Tropic of Cancer – at 23 degrees latitude north of the equator
- Tropic of Capricorn – 23 degrees south latitude of the equator
- Tributary – freshwater stream that flows into a larger stream of water
- Tundras – land covered by snow for a long period of time
Zone – land on Earth divided by their distance from the equator.