This document provides information about the Earth's geography. It begins by describing the Earth's shape as a sphere and its rotation on an axis. It then defines key geographic terms like poles, hemispheres, and latitude and longitude. Subsequent sections explain concepts such as time zones, ocean currents, climate zones, and the composition of the Earth. Activities are included throughout to reinforce the material. The document serves as a comprehensive overview of basic Earth science concepts.

1. A L M U D E N A C O R R A L E S M A R B Á N
Created by Elzi Geanta

2. 1. THE EARTH
The Earth is a sphere slightly fattened at the
poles. It rotates on its axis.
An axis is an imaginary line through the centre of
the Earth.
• POLES: the places where the axis meets the
surface of the Earth are called the North Pole
and the South Pole.
• ARCTIC: the area around the North Pole. The
Arctic Circle marks the edge of the Arctic.
• ANTARCTIC: the area around the South Pole.
The Antarctic Circle marks the edge of the
Antarctic.
• EQUATOR: an imaginary line around the Earth.
It is the same distance from the North Pole and
the South Pole.
• HEMISPHERES: the Earth has two

3. ACTIVITY:

4. 2. LATITUDE
Latitude is how far north or south of the
equator a place is. Lines that connect
places with the same latitude are called
parallels because these lines are parallel to
the Equator.
• We measure latitude in degrees.
• The Equator has a latitude of 0 degrees
(0º)
Northern Hemisphere
Places to the north of the equator have a
latitude between 0º and 90º north
Southern Hemisphere
Places that are south the equator have a
latitude of between 0º and 90º south.

5. 3. LONGITUDE
Longitude is how far east or west a place
is. Lines that connect places with the
same longitude are called lines of
longitude or meridians.They go between
the North Pole and the South Pole..
• We measure latitude in degrees.
• The Greenwich Meridian or Prime
Meridian has a longitude of 0 degrees
(0º). The Greenwich Meridian goes
through Greenwich in London.
• Places that are east of Greenwich have
a longitude of between 0º and 180º east
(180ºE)
• Places to the west of Greenwich have
a longitde of between 0º and 180º
degrees west (180ºW)

6. ACTIVITIES
1. What is the latitude of Madrid? 40ºN or 40S?
2. What is the latitude of the Tropic of Capricorn?
It is between………………………..and …………………N or S
3. Is the longitude of New York 74º E or 74ºW?

7. 4. MOVEMENT OF THE EARTH
The Earth rotates on its axis once a day, so its does one complete rotation
every 24 hours.
As the Earth rotates, places on the surface sometimes face the sun-this is the
day.
When it faces away from the sun, it is night.
The Earth takes 365 days and 6 hours to orbit around the sun. Each year has
four seasons. There are seasons because the Earth’s axis is not vertical. It is
tilted.

8. REVOLUTION MOVEMENT CAUSES
THE SEASONS

9. 5. GLOBES VS MAPS
A globe is the most
accurate way to
represent the Earth. It
is a small version of
the Earth.
A map shows the Earth on a flat
surface. Maps are more useful
than globe.
WHY?
• they are cheaper to make.
• they are easier to store.
• it is easy to make a map for a
small or large area.
There is also a disadvantage. When we
make a flat map of the curved Earth,
shapes and distances get distored. Even
more with large areas.

10. 6. WHAT IS THE EARTH MADE OF?
The Earth is made of three layers:
1, The crust is the surface of the Earth. It is
a thin layer made of solid rock.
2. The mantle is much thicker layer made of
magma. Magma is molten (liquid) rock.
• The upper mantle is the part nearest the
crust.
• The lower mantle is below the upper
mantle.
3. The core is the bit in the centre of the
Earth. It is part solid and part liquid

11. 7. TECTONIC PLATES
ACTIVITIE
S!!

12. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PLATES MOVE?
PLEGAMIENT
OS

13. 8. THE EARTH’S SURFACE
On the surface
The Earth’s surface is not flat; some
parts are higher than others.
• The lower areas are covered by
water-these are the seas and
oceans.
• The higher areas form the land.
This is divided into continents.
• There is more water than land.
The coast or coastline is where the
land meets the sea or ocean.

14. 8.1. CONTINENTAL RELIEF (EMERGED LAND)
RELIEVE TERRESTRE
-Mountain ranges (cadenas montañosas): series
of mountains joined together. Old mountains are
low and rounded (e.g. Irish mountains), while
young mountains are higher and their peaks are
prominent (e.g. Himalayas or Picos de Europa)
-Shields and platforms (Llanuras y plataformas):
ancient mountain ranges eroded (plains and small
rounded hills).
-Sedimentary basins (cuencas sedimentarias):
sunken area filled with eroded material and
usually flat.
COASTAL RELIEF
(RELIEVE COSTERO)
capes (cabos), gulfs
(golfos), peninsula
(península), estuaries
(estuarios), fiords (fiordos)

15. 8. 2. OCEANIC RELIEF (SUBMERGED
LAND) RELIEVE OCEÁNICO
-Continental platform /shelf (plataforma
continental): gentle slope at the edge of the
continent with a depth of 200 m.
-Continental slope (talud continental): Sharp
slope between the continent platform and the
bottom of the sea.
-Abyssal plain (llanura abisal): extensive flat,
sea bottom at depth of 4000-5000 metres
-Marine trench (fosa marina): long, narrow,
underwater depression.

16. ACTIVITY
Search for a landscape: land or water and describe the picture. (5-10
lines)
What is it?
Where is it located? Continent an country
What do you see
Opinion
EMAIL ME WITH THE
ANSWER AND ATTACH
THE PHOTO YOU
HAVE CHOSEN.
I WOULD LIKE TO
SHARE THE PICS IN
CLASS
almusociales@gmail.com

17. 8. WATER
8.1. RIVERS
The drainage basin of a river is the area where water from rain and snow
drains into the river.
A tributary is another river that flows into the main river.
The place where two rivers meet is called the confluence.
The course of a river is the route it follows from the source to the mouth.
The course is divided into the upper course, middle course and lower
course.

18. ACTIVITY
Fill in the gaps:
The Missouri river is longer than the Mississippi river, but it is a
…………………………of the Mississippi.
The……………………….of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is
near St. Louis.
The……………………….of the Mississippi river is at New Orleans.

19. 7.2. SEAS AND OCEANS
The seas and oceans contain almost
all of the Earth’s water. Water in a sea
or ocean is called seawater or salt
water, because it contains a lot of salt.
The amount of salt depends on the
temperature.
If it is hotter, more water evaporates,
so a higher concentration of salt is
left. The Dead Sea is much hotter than
the Baltic Sea and it has much more salt.
The high salt level makes it very easy
to float in the Dead Sea-you can even
read a book.

20. 8.2. OCEAN CURRENTS
Ocean currents are huge movements of water in
the oceans.
• Warm currents are warmer thatn the
surrounding water because they start in
warmer places.
• Cold currents are colder than the
surrounding water because they start in colder
places.
Ocean currents can make the climate warmer or
colder. The Gulf Stream flows from the
Caribbean to Europe. When it reaches the north

21. ACTIVITIES
1. Look in an atlas or the Internet to find the Caribean Sea and the Barents Sea.
Which of them do you think has more salt? Why?
2. Do you think the Gulf Stream is a warm current or a cold current? (Think
about where it starts from)
3. What effect do you think it has on the climate of Europe?

22. 9. CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Weather and climate are related to:
• Temperature (amount of heat in the atmosphere)
• Precipitation (amount of water in the atmosphere)
• Atmospheric Pressure (weight of the air above the
Earth’s surface)
• Wind. (movement of the air)
 Weather looks at the short-term changes. It means the atmospheric
conditions in a place at a particular time.
E.g. The weather in Madrid today is warm and sunny.
 Climate looks at long-term averages; to understand the climate of a
place you need to study the weather over a period of at least 30 years.
It means the avergae atmospheric conditions in a place over a long
period of time.
E.g. The north of Spain has a marine climate with mild winters and
cool summers.
These are called
the elements of
climate

23. The weather and climate are affected by:
• atmospheric preassure
• latitude
• altitude
• distance from the coast/sea.
These are the
factors that affect
climate

24. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
The atmosphere (a layer of gases surrouded the Earth)
regulates the temperature:
It stops it getting too cold at night.
When the air moves it spreads the heat from hot zones to
colder parts of the Earth.

25. LATITUDE
Temperature vary with latitude:
• They are highest near the equator and lowest near the poles.
• The Earth is divided into five climatic zones.

26. ALTITUDE
• Temperatures are usually warmest at low latitudes and get
colder as we go higher.
• Temperature drops 0,6 ºC every 100 metres.

27. DISTANCE FROM THE SEA
The sea moderates temperatures.
In summer, the sea takes longer to heat up than the land. This means that
coastal areas are less hot in summer than places further from the sea.
In winter the sea takes longer to cool down than the land. This means that
coastal areas are less cold in winter than places further from the sea.
We say that coastal areas are milder than inland areas. Inland means away
from the coast. (interior)