Lesson 48: Earth's Landforms
Landforms influence how water collects and moves across the landscape. The lesson covers valleys, basins, watersheds, and divides, connecting river flow with runoff, groundwater, and local conditions.
Key Ideas
- Landforms are shapes on Earth’s surface, such as mountains, plains, valleys, and plateaus.
- Water flows through streams and rivers. Moving water and the materials it carries help shape the land.
- A watershed is an area where water drains toward the same place. Rain, melting snow, and water underground can all feed its streams.
- Many rivers reach the ocean. Others end in lakes or wetlands. Pollution can travel with water and affect places downstream.
- Height above sea level and distance from the equator help shape climate. Mountains, winds, and nearby oceans also make a difference.
Vocabulary
- Topography: The shape of the land, including its hills, valleys, and slopes.
- Range / Plateau / Plain: A range is a group of mountains. A plateau is high, fairly flat land. A plain is a broad area of mostly flat land.
- Valley / Basin: A valley is low land between higher areas. A basin is a low area surrounded by higher land.
- Watershed: An area of land where water drains toward the same outlet, such as a river or lake.
- Divide: A boundary between watersheds, often along a ridge or other high land.
- Tributary: A stream or river that flows into another stream or river.
Discussion Questions
- Two rivers receive similar rainfall, but one has greater discharge. What other factors might explain the difference?
- Somebody spills something harmful on the ground fifty miles upstream from a city. Trace what happens, and say who else it eventually affects.
- Look at where the oldest big cities in the world are. Why do so many of them sit on rivers, and why so many at the mouth of one?
Supplies
- A large world map, wall space, colored yarn, tacks or tape, and printed photos or satellite images
- A satellite map you can zoom and scroll, and a notebook