Landforms and Bodies of Water A landform is a natural physical feature of the Earth's surface. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Archipelago - a group or chain of islands clustered together in a sea or ocean.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.) Arroyo - a gully that has been carved by water.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.) Atoll - a ring (or partial ring) of coral that forms a ring around a lagoon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.) Bay - a body of water that is partly enclosed by land (and is usually smaller than a gulf).
__________________________________________________________________________ 5.) Bog - an area of wet, spongy ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.) Butte - a large mountain with steep sides and a flat top that stands by itself, mostly found in the western United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.) Canyon - a deep valley with very steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a river.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.) Cape - a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.) Cave - a large hole in the ground or in the side of a hill or mountain.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.)
Channel
- a body of water that connects two larger bodies of water (like the
English Channel).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.) Cliff - a high, steep rock face.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.) Continent - The land mass on Earth is divided into continents. The seven current continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.) Cove - asmall, horseshoe-shaped body of water along the coast; the water is surrounded by land formed of soft rock.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.) Delta - an area of land shaped like a triangle where a river deposits mud, sand, or pebbles as it enters the sea. A delta is often (but not always) shaped like a triangle (hence its name, delta, a Greek letter that is shaped like a triangle).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.) Desert - a very dry area with little precipitation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.) Dune - a sand hill made by the wind near the ocean or a large lake or in a desert. Dunes are shaped by the wind, and change all the time.
17.) Estuary - an estuary is the wide part of a river where it joins a sea.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18.) Fjord - a long, narrow sea inlet that is bordered by steep cliffs. Fjords were formed by glaciers during the Ice Age.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19.) Geyser - a natural hot spring that occasionally sprays water and steam above the ground.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.) Glacier - a large, slowly moving sheet of ice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.) Gorge - A narrow valley with steep walls. Often has a stream or river running through it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22.) Gulf - a part of the ocean (or sea) that is partly surrounded by land (it is usually larger than a bay). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23.) Hill - a raised area or mound of land.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24.) Island - a piece of land that is surrounded by water.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25.) Isthmus - a narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses. An isthmus has water on two sides.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26.) Lagoon - a shallow body of water that is located alongside a coast.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27.) Lake - a large body of water surrounded by land on all sides. Really huge lakes are often called seas.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28.) Marsh - a type of freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland that is found along rivers, pond, lakes and coasts. Marsh plants grow up out of the water.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29.) Mesa - a hill or mountain with a flat area on top and steep sides - usually occurring in dry areas.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30.) Mountain - a very tall high, natural place on Earth - higher than a hill. The tallest mountain on Earth is Mt. Everest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31.) Ocean - a large body of salt water that surrounds a continent. Oceans cover more the two-thirds of the Earth's surface. 32.) Peninsula - a body of land that is surrounded by water on three sides.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33.) Plains - are flat lands that have only small changes in elevation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34.) Plateau - a large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35.) Pond - a small body of water surrounded by land. A pond is smaller than a lake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36.) Prairie - a wide, relatively flat area of land that has grasses and only a few trees.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37.) River - a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38.) Sea - a large body of salty water that is often connected to an ocean. A sea may be partly or completely surrounded by land.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39.) Sound - a wide inlet of the sea or ocean that is parallel to the coastline; it often separates a coastline from a nearby island.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40.) Strait - a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41.) Swamp - a type of freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddly land and a lot of water. Many trees and shrubs grow in swamps.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42.) Tributary - a stream or river that flows into a larger river.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43.) Tundra - a cold, treeless area; it is the coldest biome.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44.) Waterfall - when a river falls off steeply, there is a waterfall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45.) Valley - a low place between mountains.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46.) Volcano - a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust. When a volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth. |