Match the following cards:

(1) underground water sources

(2) triangular land at the mouth of a river

(3) a steep cliff or slope usually caused by faulting or erosion

(4) a seasonal change in air circulation patterns that result in heavy wind and rain

(5) a group of islands clustered together in a large body of water

(6) referring to weather on the leeward side of a mountain

(7) a fertile desert area

(8) a land mass surrounded by water on three sides

(A) aquifers

(B) archipelago

(C) delta

(D) escarpment

(E) monsoon

(F) oasis

(G) peninsula

(H) rain shadow

(1) underground water sources - A. aquifers

The aquifers can be described as underground water sources, or underground water reservoirs. They can be found all over the world, some being small, some medium-sized, while some are enormous. The water in the aquifers can be either freshwater or saline water, depending from where they get the water. In the past century, the aquifers have become very important, as with the new technology it has become much easier for the people to extract and use their water. They are used for drinking, irrigation, for the industry etc. Unfortunately, the management of the aquifers is usually not good, and more often is extracted from them than what can be replenished, resulting in constant decrease of their waters, which eventually ends up with drying out of the aquifers.

(2) triangular land at the mouth of a river - C. delta

The delta is a physical natural structure that has a triangular shape. This features are found at the mouths of the rivers, usually the larger ones. When a river enters another, larger body of water, its flow slows down and than it is countered and stops. As this happens, the river loses its velocity, so the sediment that the rivers drags with it is getting deposited. As the deposits build up more and more, sandy triangular feature is appearing at the mouth of the river, and because the deposits interfere with the flow of the river, it starts to branch out into several smaller ''sleeves'' until it enters the larger body of water.

(3) a steep cliff or slope usually caused by faulting or erosion - D. escarpment

The escarpment represents a steep cliff or steep slope which has formed because of the force of the faulting and the influence of the erosion. Another term used for this natural feature is scarp. The escarpment is very steep, vertical or almost vertical. It is a natural separation between two land masses that are leveled, but they have different heights, or rather elevations, so looking from big distance it may look like a giant, natural step. There a lot of escarpments around the world, and very often they are considered as very attractive. Some of the best known and most beautiful ones are located in South Africa and Australia.

(4) a seasonal change in air circulation patterns that result in heavy wind and rain - E. monsoon

The monsoons are seasonal changes in the air circulation patterns. They can be wet monsoons in one part of the year, and dry monsoons in the other part of the year. When the wet monsoons come over an area they bring in enormous amounts of rainfall and strong winds. The rainfall is in such a high amount that most of the places that are among the ones that receive the most rainfall annually are influenced by the monsoons, with northeastern India and Bangladesh being the most affected by them. In the other part of the year though, the dry monsoons bring in long lasting drought and hot weather, so the total opposite of the wet monsoons.

(5) a group of islands clustered together in a large body of water - B. archipelago

The archipelago represents a group of islands that have formed because of the same processes and are close to each other. The majority of the archipelagos have been formed by volcanic activity, resulting in a chain lake distribution of volcanic islands in a large body water. Much smaller percentage of the archipelagos have came to be because of the changes in the sea levels. The archipelagos tend to be very attractive tourist destinations, as they tend to be located at places with nice weather conditions, have beautiful nature, and nice beaches. Some of the most famous archipelagos are the Great Antilles, the Canaries, the Bahamas etc.

(6) referring to weather on the leeward side of a mountain - H. rain shadow

The rain shadow is a natural phenomenon that occurs on the leeward side of the mountain ranges. The mountain ranges are natural barriers which manage to stop the movement of the air masses. When an air mass comes toward a mountain range, it comes on the windward side. The air mass starts to build up, and if it has moisture in it, it will start to condensate, resulting in rainfall. The moisture will be spend on this side of the mountain, and only dry air mas will be left after the rainfall, which will continue moving down the other side of the mountain range, the leeward side. This dry air mass brings in dry winds, making the leeward side of the mountain range arid or semi-arid, and this process is often referred to as rain shadow.