Geography Terms Glossary — Landforms & Water Features Explained
A visual glossary of 70 geography terms — fjord, peninsula, isthmus, delta, atoll and more — each with a photo, a plain-English definition, and a real-world example.
- Mountain
- A large natural elevation rising steeply to a summit Example: Mount Everest, Earth's highest peak
- Hill
- A naturally raised area of land, smaller and gentler than a mountain Example: The rolling hills of Tuscany
- Valley
- A low area of land between hills or mountains, often carved by a river Example: The Great Rift Valley in East Africa
- Plateau
- A large area of high, relatively flat land raised sharply above its surroundings Example: The Tibetan Plateau
- Cliff
- A steep, near-vertical face of rock or earth Example: The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland
- Canyon
- A deep, narrow valley with steep sides, usually cut by a river Example: The Grand Canyon in Arizona
- Gorge
- A narrow, deep valley with rocky walls, smaller than a canyon Example: The Verdon Gorge in France
- Ridge
- A long, narrow crest of high ground along a mountain or hill Example: The knife-edge ridges of the Alps
- Mesa
- An isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, broader than a butte Example: The mesas of the American Southwest
- Butte
- An isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top, narrower than a mesa Example: The buttes of Monument Valley
- Escarpment
- A long, steep slope or cliff separating two areas of different elevation Example: The Great Escarpment of Southern Africa
- Plain
- A large area of flat, low-lying land Example: The Great Plains of North America
- Basin
- A region drained by a river system, or a large land depression where water collects Example: The Amazon Basin
- River
- A large natural stream of water flowing toward a sea, lake or another river Example: The Nile flows through northeast Africa
- Lake
- A large body of water surrounded by land Example: Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake
- Waterfall
- A place where a river or stream drops steeply over a ledge of rock Example: Angel Falls in Venezuela
- Tributary
- A stream or river that flows into a larger river Example: The Missouri flows into the Mississippi
- Confluence
- The point where two rivers meet and join Example: Where the Ganges meets the Yamuna
- Meander
- A winding bend or curve in the course of a river Example: The looping meanders of the Rio Grande
- Oxbow lake
- A curved lake formed when a loop of a river is cut off from the main channel Example: Oxbow lakes along the Mississippi
- Delta
- A fan- or triangle-shaped area of sediment where a river splits and meets the sea Example: The Nile Delta
- Estuary
- The tidal mouth of a river where fresh water meets the sea Example: The Thames Estuary
- Rapids
- A fast, turbulent stretch of a river where water flows over rocks Example: The rapids of the Zambezi River
- Marsh
- A low, wet grassland flooded by shallow water, dominated by soft plants Example: The Everglades sawgrass marshes
- Swamp
- A permanently waterlogged wetland dominated by trees Example: The cypress swamps of Louisiana
- Wetland
- Land where the soil is saturated with water, seasonally or permanently Example: The Pantanal, the world's largest wetland
- Ocean
- A vast expanse of salt water covering much of the Earth Example: The Pacific is the largest ocean
- Sea
- A large body of salt water, smaller than an ocean and often partly enclosed by land Example: The Mediterranean Sea
- Bay
- A broad coastal inlet where the sea curves inland Example: The Bay of Bengal
- Gulf
- A large area of sea partly enclosed by land, bigger than a bay Example: The Gulf of Mexico
- Cove
- A small, sheltered bay with a narrow entrance Example: Lulworth Cove in England
- Sound
- A large sea or ocean inlet, or a channel between the mainland and an island Example: Puget Sound in Washington State
- Strait
- A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water Example: The Strait of Gibraltar
- Coast
- The strip of land bordering a sea or ocean Example: The Amalfi Coast in Italy
- Beach
- A gently sloping shore of sand or pebbles along a coast or lake Example: Copacabana Beach in Rio
- Cape
- A pointed piece of land that juts out into the sea Example: The Cape of Good Hope
- Headland
- A high point of land that extends out into the sea, with cliffs on three sides Example: The chalk headlands of the English coast
- Peninsula
- A piece of land almost surrounded by water but joined to a larger landmass Example: Florida and the Iberian Peninsula
- Isthmus
- A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, with water on both sides Example: The Isthmus of Panama
- Spit
- A narrow point of sand or gravel that extends from the shore into the sea Example: Spurn Head on the English coast
- Tombolo
- A bar of sand or gravel that connects an island to the mainland Example: Chesil Beach in England
- Lagoon
- A shallow body of water separated from the sea by a reef or sandbar Example: The Venetian Lagoon
- Reef
- A ridge of rock, sand or coral lying near the surface of the sea Example: The Great Barrier Reef
- Fjord
- A long, narrow, deep sea inlet between high cliffs, carved by a glacier Example: Norway's Sognefjord
- Island
- A piece of land completely surrounded by water Example: Greenland is the world's largest island
- Archipelago
- A group or chain of islands Example: Indonesia and the Philippines
- Atoll
- A ring-shaped coral reef or island enclosing a lagoon Example: The coral atolls of the Maldives
- Desert
- A dry region that receives very little rainfall Example: The Sahara in North Africa
- Dune
- A hill or ridge of wind-blown sand Example: The towering dunes of the Namib Desert
- Oasis
- A fertile spot in a desert where water reaches the surface Example: A palm-fringed oasis in the Sahara
- Savanna
- A tropical grassland with scattered trees Example: The African savanna of the Serengeti
- Prairie
- A large open area of temperate grassland with few trees Example: The North American prairies
- Steppe
- A vast, dry, grass-covered plain with few or no trees Example: The Eurasian Steppe
- Forest
- A large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth Example: The Black Forest in Germany
- Rainforest
- A dense, tall forest in a region of very high rainfall Example: The Amazon Rainforest
- Taiga
- The vast belt of cold-climate coniferous forest below the Arctic tundra Example: The Siberian taiga
- Tundra
- A cold, treeless region where the subsoil stays permanently frozen Example: The Arctic tundra
- Glacier
- A slow-moving mass of ice formed from compacted snow Example: The Aletsch Glacier in the Alps
- Iceberg
- A large floating mass of ice broken off from a glacier or ice sheet Example: Icebergs off the coast of Greenland
- Moraine
- Rock and debris carried and deposited by a glacier Example: Terminal moraines left by Alpine glaciers
- Cirque
- A bowl-shaped hollow at the head of a valley, carved by a glacier Example: Glacial cirques in the Pyrenees
- Permafrost
- Ground that stays frozen for two or more years in a row Example: The permafrost of Siberia
- Volcano
- An opening in the Earth's crust that erupts lava, ash and gases Example: Mount Fuji in Japan
- Crater
- A bowl-shaped hollow at the mouth of a volcano or where an impact occurred Example: The crater of Mount Vesuvius
- Caldera
- A large crater formed when a volcano erupts and collapses in on itself Example: The Yellowstone Caldera
- Geyser
- A hot spring that periodically shoots up jets of water and steam Example: Old Faithful in Yellowstone
- Hot spring
- A pool of water heated underground by volcanic activity Example: The Blue Lagoon in Iceland
- Cave
- A natural underground hollow large enough for a person to enter Example: The limestone caves of Postojna
- Karst
- A limestone landscape eroded into caves, sinkholes and towers Example: The karst peaks of Guilin, China
- Sinkhole
- A hole in the ground formed when the surface collapses into a cavity below Example: The Great Blue Hole off Belize
