Unit 2 Lesson 1

Communities Are in Different Places

What makes the place where you live different from other places?

Unit 2 Lesson 1

Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth’s features.

All places on the Earth have features, or things that are special about them.

Physical Features

A physical feature is something found in nature.

Examples of physical features are: climate (weather), plant life, land, and water.

Landforms

Landforms are different kinds of land.

Highlands have land that is high.

Lowlands have land that is low and flat.

Highlands

Highlands contain land that is higher than the land around it.

Examples of highlands are: mountains, hills, and plateaus.

Lowlands

Lowlands contain land that is lower and flatter than the land around it.

Examples of lowlands are: valleys and plains.

Mountain Ranges

Highland Mountain ranges

are groups of mountains.

Examples of mountain ranges are the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains.

The Rocky Mountains

Highlands

The Rocky Mountains are in the western United States.

They are very high, and their tops are pointed.

The Appalachian Mountains Highlands

The Appalachian

Mountains are in the eastern United States.

They are lower than the Rocky Mountains, and their tops are rounded.

They are older than the Rocky Mountains.

Over many years wind and rain have worn down their tops.

Plateaus

Highlands Plateaus have

steep sides like mountains, but their tops are flat.

Valleys

Lowlands

Valleys are the lowlands between hills and mountain ranges.

Plains

Lowlands Plains are flat. The area between

the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains is called the Great Plains.

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that has water almost all the way around it.

Communities may be built on peninsulas.

Coasts

The coast is the land next to the ocean.

Communities may be built next to an ocean, lake, or river.

The Mississippi River

The Mississippi is the longest river in the United States.

It flows into the Gulf of Mexico, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The 5 Great Lakes The 5 Great Lakes

are the largest lakes in the United States.

They lie between the United States and Canada.

Lake Huron Lake Ontario Lake Michigan Lake Erie Lake Superior

Climate Climate is the kind of

weather a place has in each season year after year.

Climate includes how hot or cold it gets and how much rain or snow falls in a place.

The U.S. has many climates because it is so big. Climates can be hot, warm, mild, cool, cold, wet, or dry.

Plant Life Once you know the

climate of a place, you can understand its plant life.

Some plants grow well in cool, dry climates, while others need warm, wet climates.

Most trees need a lot of rain, so only places with wet climates have forests.

Deserts

Deserts have hot, dry climates.

They have plants that don’t need much water.

Human-Made Features Human-Made Features

are features that people have added to a place.

The farm the Sheldons built was one of Aurora’s human-made features.

Some examples of human-made features are: buildings, houses, bridges, and roads.

Landform Map

Landform maps show the shape of the land.

They tell where the mountains, hills, plateaus, and plains are.