Chapter two

1. Chapter two The Earth’s Surface and Climate

2. Psalm 104:1-5 I 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.

3. I. The Earth’s History • God’s Work on the Earth- 4 phases • Creation- Genesis 1 • Flood- Genesis 7 • Current World • Future World

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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?

7. Continents Antarctica

8. Landforms Mt. Kilimanjaro • Mountains • No set elevation distinguishes mountains from hills • When many appear together= mountain range • Highest Mountain Range in the World? • Highest Peak in the World? Himalayas Mt. Everest

9. 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

10. Which one is which?

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

15. 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?

16. Rivers

17. 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

18. Caspian Sea

19. 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

20. Boston Harbor

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. Pangaea? • Supercontinent • Continental Drift Theory • Oceanic Islands vs. Continental Islands

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Pacific Trash Vortex

29. Pacific Trash Vortex

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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