geographic stuff
The four cardinal directions are north (N), east (E), south (S), west (W), at 90° angles on the compass rose.
Cardinal Directions
An imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body.
Equator
A list of symbols that appear on the map.
Key (Legend)
A group of islands.
Archipelago
A broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inward.
Bay
The four intercardinal (or ordinal) directions are formed by bisecting the cardinal directions, giving: northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW) and northwest (NW).
Intercardinal Directions
A unit of latitude or longitude used to define points on the earth's surface or on the celestial sphere.
Degrees (as in location)
An artificial waterway designed for navigation that people could cross the water with boats or ships.
Canal
A high point of land that extends into a river, lake, or ocean
Cape (in geography)
A large body of water surrounded by land.
Lake
The study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries.
Geography
Geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England.
Prime Meridian
Wetlands that form as rivers empty their water and sediment into another body of water.
Delta
A long, deep, narrow body of water that reaches far inland.
Fjord
A lake or an inlet of the sea.
Lock or Loch
Imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your distance north or south.
Lines of Latitude
Refers to the relationship (or ratio) between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground.
Scale (on a map)
A portion of the ocean that penetrates land.
Gulf
A body of water sheltered by natural or artificial barriers, providing safe anchorage and permitting the transfer of cargo and passengers between ships and the shore.
Harbor
The portion of land that is nearby water that is connected to a larger body by an isthmus.
Peninsula
Imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run north to south from pole to pole, but they measure the distance east or west
Lines of Longitude
The misrepresentation of shape, area, distance, or direction of or between geographic features when compared to their true measurements on the curved surface of the earth.
Distortion (on a map)
A body of land surrounded by water.
Island
A narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated.
Isthmus
The ocean by the party surrounding land, with about 50 seas that include water bodies.
Sea