CHAPTER TWOThe Earth’s Surface and Climate

Psalm 104:1-5I praise you, LORD God, with all my heart.

You are glorious and majestic, dressed in royal robes and surrounded by light. You spread out the sky like a tent, and you built your home over the mighty ocean.

The clouds are your chariot with the wind as its wings. The winds are your

messengers, and flames of fire are your servants. You built foundations for the

earth, and it will never be shaken.

I. The Earth’s History God’s Work on the Earth- 4 phases

Creation- Genesis 1 Flood- Genesis 7 Current World Future World

II. The Earth’s Surface Atmosphere

Covering of air around the Earth Lithosphere

The solid part of the Earth Hydrosphere

The water on the Earth’s surface

The Land (Lithosphere) The earth is a rock ball almost 8,000

miles in diameter Earth is divided into several layers

Crust- outer “skin” (4.5-31 miles deep) Mantle- hot, moldable layer Core

Outer- liquid Inner- solid

The Continents 29% of the total surface area of the

Earth is land, the rest is ocean Made up of Continents and Islands How many Continents are there?

Continents

Antarctica

Landforms

Mountains No set elevation distinguishes mountains

from hills When many appear together= mountain

rangeHighest Mountain Range in the World? Highest Peak in the World?

HimalayasMt. Everest

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Plains and Plateaus Plains

Wide area of level land

Coastal Plains, Great Plains

Valuable for farmers

Collect water, sediment and nutrients from higher elevations

Plateaus Wide areas of land that

rise abruptly above surrounding area

Steep cliffs mark at least one edge

Grand Canyon cuts through large plateau

Generally have poor soil and few resources

Which one is which?

III. The Earth’s Waters (hydrosphere)

Importance of Water Humans need water to live! Settlements

develop near water supply Transportation

Travel and trade, cheap to ship goods by water

Oceans 71% of the Earth is Water 4 Ocean basins in the world- all of the seas,

gulfs and bays belong to these oceans Pacific Atlantic Indian Arctic

Facts on page 23 in text

Mariana Trench The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the

world's oceans lowest elevation of the surface of the Earth's crust located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of

the Mariana Islands. The trench is about 1,580 miles long but has a mean

width of only 43 miles. It reaches a maximum-known depth of about 6.85 mi

If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth at 29,029 ft, were set in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, there would be 6,811 ft of water left above it.

Rivers Comparing Rivers

Length-most obvious comparison Discharge- amount of water flowing out into

the ocean Drainage Area-total land area drained by

the main river and its tributaries Navigability- how far up the river can a

vessel travel?

RiversRank River Location Approximat

e Length—miles

1. Nile Africa 4,1802. Amazon South

America3,912

3. Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock

United States 3,710

4. Chang Jiang (Yangtze)

China 3,602

5. Ob Russia 3,4596. Huang Ho (Yellow) China 2,9007. Yenisei Russia 2,8008. Parana South

America2,795

9. Irtish Russia 2,75810. Zaire (Congo) Congo 2,716

Lakes Bodies of water fully enclosed by land

are called Lakes Many cities settle on edge of lakes for

fish, transportation, drinking water, and fun!

Biggest Lake in the world?Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

Seas Seas are arms of the oceans partially

enclosed by land Can vary greatly in size Easier to travel because waves are smaller

Harbors– sheltered bodies of deep water next to the shore Good harbors are rare Key to success in early America – Boston, Philly,

NY, Charleston had great harbors

Boston Harbor

Wetlands Wetlands

Areas of stagnant water Bogs

Spongy areas that look dry but are covered with wet materials

mosses grow in bogs, but few other plants survive Marsh

Visible, standing water Grasses and small plants

Swamps Covered by standing water Dominated by large trees

IV. The Earth’s Surface- Changing Forces

Earth’s surface is constantly changing Internal Forces

earthquakes, volcanoes External Forces

wind, water

Both helped to create the mountains and landforms we see today

Internal Forces Plate Tectonics

Crust of the Earth broken into pieces (called plates)

The plates pull apart and crash into each other creating the earthquakes and volcanoes

Could be an explanation of how the Flood occurred

Fault lines show plate movement

Pangaea? Supercontinent Continental Drift Theory

Oceanic Islands vs. Continental Islands

Internal Forces Volcanic Forces

Able to build new mountains by depositing lava Island of Surtsey– 1963

Mountain rose from the sea near Iceland, creating a new island

http://www.vulkaner.no/v/volcan/surtsey_e.html

External Forces Weathering

Constantly weakening rocks by water, plant roots, temperature changes, ice

Erosion After weathering breaks down, erosion

removes Wind erosion—strongest in desert locations Wave erosion- creating sea caves, sea stacks, sea

arches Glacial erosion- when glaciers flow downhill, acts

like a giant bulldozer

Ocean Currents Oceans hold thermal energy Currents are created due to

temperature differences Heated near the equator, moves toward

poles Flow in circular patterns

Pg. 34

Pacific Trash Vortex

Pacific Trash Vortex

V. The Earth’s Climate Climate- the typical weather in a region over a long

period of time Weather- atmospheric conditions at a specific time

5 Categories of World Climate Tropical Rainy Dry Cold Moderate Other/Varied Highland Pg. 38

Climate Tropical Rainy

Rain falls nearly all year Trees thrive in Wet Only grasses in Wet and Dry

Dry Arid—lacking moisture Can occur at any latitude

Cold Ice caps- nothing grows Polar regions- some summer growth Subpolar regions- evergreen trees

Moderate Good farmland and major civilizations Moderate rainfall and temperature

Varied Highland

VI. The Earth’s Vegetation “And God said, Let the earth bring forth

grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,

whose seed is in itself, upon the earth, and it was so… And the evening and the

morning were the third day.” Genesis 1:11,13

Vegetation

Biome- Any large region where distinct populations of

plants and animals are found living together Influence how people live, make a living, what they

eat, what their homes look like Help explain why human cultures are so different 3 Basic Biomes

Forests Grasslands Wastelands

Forests Wherever trees are the predominant

plants Require a lot of water– found in Rainy

climates 4 Types:

Tropical Rain Forest Shrub Forest Coniferous Forest Deciduous Forest

Grasslands Many tropical and temperate climates do

not have enough consistent rainfall to support trees

Grasses grow quickly and produce seeds before the dry season comes

2 Kinds: Tropical Grasslands Temperate Grasslands

Wastelands Barren most of the year due to low

amounts of rain Can become colorful and full of life if

snow or rain comes Takes special survival skills to live in

these areas 2 Kinds:

Desert Tundra

Varied Highland Many kinds of vegetation grow on

mountains Possible to see characteristics of all

biomes on a mountain because of the higher altitude and lower temperature