Part 2: Geography

Part 2: Vocabulary

Badlands:

  • Unusual area in North Dakota
  • Not touched by glacier
  • Carved out of landscape by Little Missouri River
  • Located in the southwestern part of the state

Butte:

  • Flat-topped, very steep hill with flat sides

Cairn:

  • Mound of stones used as a landmark

Capitol:

  • Building that houses North Dakota government offices
  • Nicknamed “The Skyscraper on the Prairie"

Census:

  • Count of the people by the government
  • Done every 10 years

Continental Divide:

  • Line that separates river systems that flow to opposite sides of the continent

County seat:

  • Town having county offices

Devils Lake:

  • Largest natural lake in North Dakota
  • Located in Drift Prairie

Drift:

  • Soil, rocks, and other materials that were deposited by glaciers

Drift Prairie:

  • Second highest region in North Dakota
  • Several hundred feet higher than the Red River Valley
  • Contains many small lakes, ponds, sloughs
  • Glaciers deposited good soil

Garrison Dam:

  • Built to control flooding on the Missouri River
  • Fifth largest dam in the United States

Killdeer Mountains:

  • Buttes in western North Dakota that rise about 700 feet above the plain

Lake Oahe:

  • Located on the Missouri River in southern North Dakota
  • Created when Oahe Dam was built in South Dakota

Lake Sakakawea:

  • Third largest man-made lake in the United States
  • Created when Garrison Dam was built

Latitude:

  • The distance north or south of the equator

Little Missouri River:

  • Located in southwest North Dakota
  • Tributary of Missouri River
  • Carved out Badlands

Longitude:

  • The distance east or west of the prime meridian

Missouri Plateau:

  • Highest region in North Dakota
  • Features shaped mainly by water and wind erosion
  • Not touched by Wisconsinan glacier
  • Ranching is a major industry

Missouri River:

  • Major river in Missouri Plateau
  • Tributary of Mississippi River

North America:

  • Continent containing the countries of Canada, the United States, and Mexico

Northern Divide:

  • North-south continental divide in North Dakota

Organic:

  • Decayed plants and animals

Plain:

  • Area of level land

Plateau:

  • High plain

Prairie:

  • Large area of grassland that is mostly flat

Red River:

  • Forms eastern boundary of North Dakota

Red River Valley:

  • Lowest region in North Dakota
  • Once the lake bed of ancient Lake Agassiz
  • Some of the richest soil and best farmland in the world
  • Nicknamed “The Breadbasket of the World”

Slough:

  • Pothole

Tributary:

  • River that flows into another river

Turtle Mountains:

  • Hills located in Drift Prairie along the Canadian border

Valley:

  • Low land between mountains or hills

White Butte:

  • Highest point in North Dakota
  • Located near Amidon
  • 3,506 feet high