Geography Vocabulary
Maryland Learning Outcomes

4th and 5th Grade

Adapt - to change in order to fit new conditions.

Bodies of water - all the different sizes and shapes of water naturally found on the Earth's surface. Oceans, seas, bays, lakes, rivers, and ponds are examples of bodies of water.

Communication - ways people send and receive messages thereby linking people and places.

Environment - the geographic characteristics that surround and affect the way people live.

Environment concerns/issues - interests people have about the care of the natural environment.

Geographic characteristics - things that distinguish one place from another.
These are divided into two groups. Physical characteristics describe the natural environment of the place. They include physical features (landforms and bodies of water), weather and climate, soil, vegetation, and animal life. Human characteristics describe the people of the place past or present, their human-made features (buildings, etc), languages, religions, economic activities, and political systems.

Human-made features - changes people have made to the land. These changes include buildings, bridges, tunnels, railroad tracks, dams, monuments, piers, farm fields.

Landforms - the different shapes of Earth's surface. Mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, valleys, peninsulas, and islands are examples of landforms.

Map - a graphic model of the earth or a part of the earth that is drawn on a flat surface.

Map elements - the parts of a map that make it usable.

• author - the person or company that made the map
• border - the frame around the map
• cardinal directions - north, south, east, and west
• compass rose - the small drawing that uses one or more arrows to show cardinal and/or intermediate directions on a map or globe.
• coordinate - the point on a map or globe where a line of latitude and longitude cross.
• date - the year in which the map was made
• grid system - the pattern of lines that help locate places on a map or globe; for example, latitude and longitude
• intermediate directions - directions between the cardinal directions: northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest
• latitude/longitude - imaginary lines on a map or globe that measure distance north and south of the Equator and distance east and west of the prime meridian.
• legend/key - explains the meaning of the symbols on the map
• relative distance - the approximate distance of a place in relationship to other places (i.e. near and far)
• scale - the measurement on a map or globe that shows the distance between places.
• symbols - the pictures, shapes, or colors on a map that stand for objects, places, or people
• title - the heading of the map that tells what the map shows

Migrate/migration/immigration - to move from one country or region to another with the intent of staying at that place for a long period of time.

Modify - to change to meet the wants of people.

Natural environment - the physical setting of a place including the land, air, water, plants, and animals.

Physical features - landforms and bodies of water formed by nature.

Population growth - the increase in the number of people living in a place due to migration, immigration and/or births.

Region - an area that has one or more geographic characteristics in common, such as the Middle Colonies or the Piedmont Plateau.

Settlement - the arrangement of places where people live, including rural and urban centers.

Technology - skills, methods, tools, machines and other things used to perform activities. Technology changes over time and affects the way we live, work, and play.

Transportation - ways goods and people move from place to place thereby linking communities.