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Explore the flat lands and the low spaces between high places.
Imagine you are a tiny ant walking across a giant green carpet that never ends. Or imagine standing at the bottom of a giant bowl made of tall, rocky walls. Where in the world are you standing?
A plain is a very large area of land that is mostly flat. Imagine a giant pancake made of grass! Because the land is so flat, it is a great place for farmers to grow food like corn and wheat. There aren't many hills to climb, so you can see for a very long way. If you were standing on a plain, the ground would feel level under your feet, almost like the floor of your classroom. In the United States, there is a huge area called the Great Plains where the land stays flat for hundreds of miles!
Imagine you are looking at two pictures: 1. Picture A shows a bumpy land with lots of giant rocks reaching for the clouds. 2. Picture B shows a wide field of grass that looks as flat as a table.
Which one is the plain? The answer is Picture B! Because it is flat and wide, it fits the definition of a plain.
Quick Check
What is a large, flat area of land called?
Answer
A plain.
A valley is a stretch of low land found between higher places, like mountains or hills. If you look at a mountain range, the mountains make a shape like the letter . The pointy parts are the peaks, but the low parts at the bottom are the valleys! Valleys often look like the letter or the letter . Many times, water from the mountains flows down into the valley, creating beautiful rivers and streams. People like to build towns in valleys because the mountains protect them from strong winds.
Think about your hands. If you hold your hands up in the air like two mountain peaks, the space between your wrists at the bottom is like a valley. 1. The high parts (your fingers) are the mountains. 2. The low part (the space between) is the valley. 3. If you poured water on your fingers, it would run down into that low space!
Quick Check
Where would you look to find a valley?
Answer
Between mountains or hills.
A hiker wants to go on a walk. 1. If they want to walk on land that is flat for a long time without going up or down, they should choose a plain. 2. If they want to walk in the low space between two giant mountains, they should choose a valley. 3. If they are in a valley and want to get to the top of a mountain, they must move from a low height to a high height.
Which landform is described as a large area of flat land?
Where is a valley located?
A valley is higher than a mountain.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to remember: What letter does a valley look like? (Hint: Think of V or U!)
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of two mountains with a valley in between them. Then, draw a flat plain next to the mountains. Label each one!