L e arningAbout the Earth Geography is a science that studies the Earth’s surface It studies what makes the different shapes and colors of the Earth the ground rocks and water what does and does not grow If you look at the Earth as a geographer does then you might see it as a colorful map Much more than half of it is blue with oceans lakes rivers and streams In some places it is tan-colored with the sands of dry deserts In other places it is green with forests There are purple-gray mountains and white snowcapped peaks And there are the soft yellow of grainfields and the light green of leafy crops Part of learning about the Earth is learning where people can and can’t live The different colors of your Earth map can help you discover this You won’t find many people in the tan white or larger blue parts deserts the snowfields and oceans Not many people live in the deserts because deserts are hot and dry Very few plants can grow there In the high mountains and at the North and South poles it is very cold Most plants don’t like the cold and most people don’t either You will find people in and near the green and yellow parts and the smaller blue parts the farmlands forests rivers and lakes To those regions you can add brown dots and clusters of dots for towns and cities There’s a lot to learn about the Earth just as there’s a lot to learn about a friend Geography helps you become a friend of the Earth LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES CONTINENTS OCEANS RAINFORESTS The coast of Nova Scotia in Canada shows some of the Earth’s many shapes and colors Geography looks closely at what makes these different shapes and colors Raymond Gehman Corbis DID YOU KNOW The big blue marble is a nickname for the planet Earth This is because from space our world looks like a big round marble all blue with swirling white streaks of clouds 6
GEOGRAPHY S EA R C H LIG H T Areas where not many people live are also the areas where few plants grow Why do you think that is Hint What do you do with lettuce beans and apples to eat to eat And without plants or animals there’s nothing for people there This is because animals need either plants or other animals Answer If few plants grow in an area then few animals will live
t Pieces Land The L a r The continents are the largest bodies of land on the Earth Look at a globe Whatever is blue is water Most of the rest is land the continents NORTH AMERICA s of e g There are seven continents From biggest to smallest they are Asia Africa North America South America Antarctica Europe and Australia Some continents such as Australia and Antarctica are completely surrounded by water And some continents are joined together as Asia and Europe are Continents are physical bodies defined by their shape size and location They have mountains rivers deserts forests and other physical features But humans have divided them into political groups called countries or nations Large continents such as Asia may include both very large countries such as China and very small countries such as Nepal Australia the smallest continent is also itself a country one of the world’s largest North America contains three large countries Canada the United States and Mexico and a few small countries in a region known as Central America Europe on the other hand is the world’s second smallest continent but has about 50 countries Africa the second largest continent is believed to be where the very first humans appeared The continent of Antarctica is all by itself down at the South Pole It is rocky and is covered by thick ice that never melts Only a few plants and animals can be found along its seacoasts Earth scientists believe that the continents began forming billions of years ago Lighter parts of Earth’s molten core separated from heavier parts and rose to the top As they cooled off and became solid the land that would become the continents formed The continents were probably joined together at first and then drifted apart One theory supposes that there were once two supercontinents Gondwanaland in the south and Laurasia in the north S EA R C H LIG H T LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES ANTARCTICA DESERTS OCEANS Name the seven continents SOUTH AMERICA 8
CONTINENTS ASIA EUROPE AFRICA l D I D YO U K N O W ly rhyme to help you remember H e r e s a s i the continents is hot Africa is cold Antarctica is crowded Asia is old T h e r e s a n A m e r i c a d o w n S o u t h Europe and one up North too ia has the kangaroo And Austral AUSTRALIA ANTARCTICA America and Europe Answer Africa Antarctica Asia Australia North America South 9
