Nautical Geography and Terms
Bay: A
bay is part of the sea, a strip of water that stretches into the land.
Continental Shelf: the ocean floor closest to land.
Current: A river in the middle of the sea started by the wind blowing
across the water and stirring part of the sea into a broad, invisible river.
Sometimes, the sea even stirs itself.
Where the water is cold, it sinks and as it sinks, currents of warm water
rush in to take its place. In
addition, the earth spins all the time, so the ocean water spins.
The spinning of the earth causes each current to flow in a special
direction.
Flotsam: Cargo from a wrecked ship.
It still belongs to the owners of the cargo even if it has been in the
sea for years and years.
Foghorns: Low-honking sounds on boats
and lighthouses to warn ships of dangerous rocks and shoals.
Gulf Stream: is a major ocean current that
starts in the Caribbean near the equator. The
sun-warmed current moves up from the equator, around the end of Florida, and up
along the coast bringing warm water to the south U.S.
At about Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the current leaves the shore, but
travels near the coast until New York. Then
it heads east, across the Atlantic to Great Britain and Western Europe.
The water warms the air and countries close to the North Pole like Norway
and Holland enjoy milder winters because of the Gulf Stream.
Island: An island is usually the top of a mountain that is mostly
under water. Some islands are small
pieces of land separated from big pieces of land by the ocean.
Jetsam: Cargo thrown overboard in an emergency. It still belongs to the owners of the cargo even if it has
been in the sea for years and years. The
finder is supposed to hold the flotsam and jetsam at least a year for any reward
that may be offered by the owner.
Lighthouse: When sailors see the
lighthouse light in the night, they know that land is dangerously near.
They may be sailing close to a rocky beach, or into shallow water where
the ship may run aground.
Midocean Ridge: a tall mountain under the sea.
Nautical Mile: Longer than a land mile
Plain: the widest, flattest part of the ocean floor.
Sea Level: Water from the ocean spreads out and fills up most of the low
spots of the earth. But parts of
the land are so high there is not enough water to cover them.
This is where people live, and they can measure how high the land is
above the top of the ocean. They
can measure how high the land is above the top of the ocean.
A mountain, a hill, or a desert is a certain height above sea level.
Slope: the shelf drops off on an angle - steep slope, gentle slope.
Tidal Wave: A tidal wave, or tsunami (a Japanese word meaning storm
wave), can start when an earthquake makes the ground shake under the ocean.
The quake makes the water push up from the ocean floor and makes waves
that can become one huge wall of rushing water.
This water can burst over the land, smashing boats, cars, and houses.
Most tidal waves occur in the Pacific Ocean.
Trench: a deep crack in the ocean floor.
Underwater Sand Hills:
A sand bar is sand that has been piled up in a riverbed by flowing water
until it becomes an underwater sand hill. Riverboat
pilots steer around them by reading a map of the river.
