Geographic Features Vocabulary

A group of islands.

A

A long narrow island lying parallel and close to the mainland, protecting the mainland from erosion and storms.

B

A body of water (especially the sea) more-or-less three-quarters surrounded by land.

B

A slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river in a low lying area, with swamp or marshland in some portions of the shoreline.

B

A sloping shoreline consisting of sand, gravel, soil or other sediment.

B

A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.

C

A curved or hooked piece of land extending into a body of water.

C

The outer area of a land mass covered by a shallow sea that extends into open ocean.

C

A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds.

C

Land built up by deposits of sand and silt at the mouth of some rivers.

D

A region that receives little annual precipitation, making it inhospitable to both plants and animals.

D

A narrow inlet of the sea between high banks or cliffs, and created by the movement of glaciers.

F

A dense uncultivated tract of trees and undergrowth.

F

An opening in the ground that ejects hot water and steam due to volcanic activity.

G

A large body of slow moving ice which alters the land around it through displacement.

G

A portion of an ocean or sea extending into the land; a partially landlocked sea.

G

A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may anchor or dock, especially for loading and unloading.

H

A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.

I

An island, usually all rock and with little vegetation, that is uninhabitable.

I

A large, landlocked stretch of water.

L

An area of low, wet land, often with tall grass and with few trees.

M

A flat area of land or plateau higher than other land, with one or more clifflike edges.

M

An elevation of land of considerable dimensions rising more or less abruptly, forming a conspicuous figure in the landscape, usually having a small extent of surface at its summit.

M

A piece of land projecting into water from a larger land mass, and that is surrounded on three sides by water.

P

A broad, flat or gently rolling area, usually grassy and low in elevation, with few trees.

P

A flat highland area with one steep face; an elevated plain.

P

A deep narrow valley or gorge in the earth's surface worn by running water.

R

A ridge of rock or sand at or near the surface of the water.

R

A valley formed by land dropping between two separating tectonic plates.

R

A long narrow inlet, or a strait between the mainland and an island.

S

A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.

S

A piece of wet, spongy land; low ground saturated with water; soft, wet ground which may have a growth of certain kinds of trees, but is unfit for agricultural or pastoral purposes.

S

An elongated depression cast between hills or mountains.

V

A cone-shaped mountain formed out of rock or ash thrown up from inside the earth, frequently with an opening or depression at the top.

V

A flow of running water over the edge of a cliff.

W