Geographic Terms

As a group, you need to decide on 10 - 12 terms you think will be important to include on your map. One idea is to color code the map to indicate where these features are in Alaska. Don't forget to include a map key.

1. Brooks Range - A mountain range extending across the northern part of Alaska.

2. Alaska Range - A mountain range in southern Alaska.

3. Arctic Slope - Northern most land area, which has little habitation and is mainly wilderness covered with ice and snow.

4. Central Plateau - Area of land located between Brooks Range and the Alaskan Range, which consists of tableland and lowlands.

5. Pacific Mountain Area - Area of land that lies to the south of the Alaskan Range.

6. Alaska’s Panhandle - Area of land bordering British Columbia, south central Alaska, part of the Alaskan peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands. It’s western and southern borders form the Gulf of Alaska.

7. mountain - A high land form with steep sides; higher than a hill.

8. mountain range - A row or chain of mountains.

9. forest - A dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large area.

10. bay - part of an ocean or lake that extends deeply into the land.

11. gulf - Part of an ocean that extends into the land; larger than a bay.

12. river - A natural stream of water larger than a brook or creek.

13. snow - Small white crystals of ice formed directly from the water vapors of the air.

14. ice - Frozen water.

15. glacier - A huge sheet of ice that moves slowly across the land

16. plateau or tableland - An area of elevated flat land.

17. lowlands - Low flat country.

18. peninsula - A body of land nearly surrounded by water.

19. island - A body of land completely surrounded by water.

20. basin - A bowl shaped land form surrounded by higher land.

21. slope - The part of a continent draining it’s water into a particular ocean.