Daniel+G


 * Welcome to your Geography Wiki. Please enjoy searching and exploring our World.**

__Assignment 1__ Directions: Please search for ten of the landforms that we discussed and where they are located on the Eastern Hemisphere. Please state the landform, supply a definition, find a picture to post and finally write a nonfictional paragraph discussing a trip about the landforms that you visited

1.Plateau- A __plateau__ is a land area that is raised high above the surrounding ground, and has a flat surface.

Tibet Plateau 2. Mounatin- A __mountain__ is land with steep sides that are generally 1,000+ feet high. Mt. Everest 3. Canyon- A __canyon__ is a deep and narrow valley with steep walls. Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan, Asia 4. Plain- A __plain__ area of leveled grass area. Canterbury Plains, New Zealand 5. Volcano- A __volcano__ is a mountain that spews out molten lava from the earth's core. Mayon Volcano, Phillipines

6. River- A __river__ is a large, thin stream of water.



7. Valley- A __valley__ is an area of land between two higher areas of land (i.e. mountains, plateaus, hills.)



A valley in India with Kali River flowing through it.

8. Coast- A __coast__ is the land next to the sea.



The coast of Nice, France

9. Mounatin Range- A __mountain range__ is a series of connecting mountains.



The Alps in Europe.

10. Peninsula- A peninsula is an area of land surrounded by water on thre sides.

The Kaikora Peninsula in New Zealand

Over the summer, I went on a tour of the Eastern Hemisphere, since I had never been out of the country. I brought my family with me, and we

started our crazy trip in Tibet, where we got a glimpse of the Tibet Plateau. Then it was off for the big workout of the trip- climbing up Mt.

Everest. It took a week or two, but it was worth it (besides the fact we alomost starved to death.) In the days following, we took a trip down to

the bottom of the Charyn Canyon. We then took a boat to New Zealand and took a hike through Canterbury Plains. It was beautiful!

But on the boat ride back, our boat got stranded in the Phillipines, so we went exploring. We found the Mayon Volcano, and almost got

caught in an eruption. We caught a plane to Cairo, Egypt, and we sailed down the Nile. Then we decided- what's the Eastern Hemisphere

without India? So we traveled to India, and we came to a giant valley with the beautiful Kali River flowing through it. What a sight! We then

remembered that Europe was part of the Eastern Hemisphere, so we took a cruise to there, and landed on the beautiful coast of Nice, Italy!

We traveled to Austria and 'climbed every mountain' of the Alps mounatin range. And I thought Mt. Everest tiring! We had practically covered

the whole eastern hemisphere, but we felt something was missing. So we went back to New Zealand (our favorite place from the trip) and

walked along the coast until we came to the Kaikora Peninsula. Once we came to the edge of that, we sat down. What a beautiful sight it

was, and we finally felt satisfied. We traveled back home, and rested our feet on the couch. Then we noticed something. School started the

next day.

**Assignment 2: Please write a two page, 1.5 space, 14 font paper on your Renaissance Man. This is due December 20th.** **Puppet Presentations will take place in class on December 20th. Have fun exploring.**

 **Giovanni “John” Cabot**  **Explorer and Navigator**

 By: Daniel Gorman

Imagine what it would be like if North America was never discovered? Well, we wouldn’t be living here, obviously. Luckily, our world has many great explorers who have contributed to the further discoveries of America, like Christopher Columbus and Lewis and Clark. One of the many great explorers was Giovanni Cabot (1450-1499), known to Americans as John Cabot. He was born in 1450, in Genoa, Italy. He was raised in the Roman Catholic religion. At the age of eleven, he moved to Venice. There, he studied cartography, navigation, astronomy, mathematics and seamanship. In 1474, at the age of 24, he married a woman Maetta. They had 3 sons: Ludovico, Sebastiano, and Sancto. Based on his seamanship background, Giovanni traveled on many trading voyages on the Mediterranean.

On one trip, Cabot traveled to Mecca, then the greatest mart in the world for the exchange of the goods of the East for those of the West. While trading for precious spices, perfumes, silk, and stones, Cabot learned these valuable goods were brought by caravan from Asia. This made him think it would be much easier just to sail west from Venice to Asia. Cabot soon became obsessed with traveling to Asia, so he moved to London, England with his family, in 1484.

Upon moving, he changes his name to John. After a many years of struggling to find a sponsor to pay for him to sail west to Asia, he decided to move to the seaport city of Bristol. This paid off, because in 1496, King Henry VII granted John Cabot the right to seek Asia, sailing under England’s flag. John agreed to this. Finally, after years of struggle, he was going able to sail to Asia, not knowing he would find the New World.

On May 2nd, 1497, John began his voyage to Asia, on his ship, the Matthew, manned by 18 men. After 52 days of sailing in tough winds, the Matthew reached Cape Breton Island. He also sailed passed Labrador, Newfoundland, and New England. He claimed the all this land for England, and then headed back to England. He achieved great glory there, receiving an income of £20 a year. Thinking he found Asia, he again traveled west, looking for Japan. The voyage consisted of three ships and three hundred men. Unfortunately, he did not have enough supplies, so he and his crew died at sea.

Traveling to the New World was definitely John Cabot’s main accomplishment. His confidence and perseverance helped him become the great historical figure he is today. His accomplishment affected my life because if he didn’t sail west, I may not be living in the great country I live in today. This also greatly affected the world, because he was the 1st European to travel to Newfoundland and other Northern American countries. He caused many other people to sail to this land, each one making more improvements upon the other. John Cabot never accepted no for an answer and he let his curiosity take him places, leading him to one of the greatest discoveries ever: North America.

I found this information on /www.history-timelines.org.uk, /library.thinkquest.org, and [|www.nndb.com].