What are landforms?

•Landforms are the natural shapes or features.

•There are many different types of landforms found on the earth.

Main Landforms

mountainA mountain is a place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it.

                                    

 

mountain range

a long chain of mountains; a

row of connected mountains

hill

A hill is land that rises above the land around it.

A hill has a rounded top.

volcano

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

basin

an area of land largely enclosed by higher land.

valleyA valley is a lowland area between higher lands such as mountains.

               

                                  

        

canyonA canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides.

                                                        

plainA plain is a flat area on Earth’s surface.

plateauA plateau is a flat area higher than the land around it.

lake

A lake is water that is completely surrounded by land.

coastA coast is the area where the ocean touches the land.

continental shelf

plateau of land surface into

the ocean but underwater

peninsula

piece of land that extends into a body of water and is surrounded on three sides by water

isthmus

narrow strip of land with water on both

sides connecting two larger pieces of land

strait

a narrow waterway connecting two larger bodies of water

cliff

a high, steep slope of rock or soil

delta

land built up by

deposits of sand

and silt at the mouth of some rivers

fjord

a narrow inlet of the sea between high banks or cliffs

created by glaciers

cape

a curved or hooked piece

of land extending

into a body of water

gulf

part of a sea or

ocean that reaches

into land; usually

larger than a bay

baypart of a

body of salt water that

reaches into the land; usually

smaller than a gulf

island

An island is land that is completely surrounded by water.

archipelago

a group of many islands

OTROS TÉRMINOS

GEOGRÁFICOS

ocean

Oceans are the largest bodies of water on earth.

sea a large body of water, usually salt water, partly or completely

surrounded by land

riverA river is a long flowing body of water.

source

the place where a river

or stream begins

waterfallplace where running water makes a sheer drop, usually over a cliff

brancha river or stream that flows into a larger river or

stream

mouth

place where a river empties into a larger body of water; the end of a

river

altitude the height above sea

level

canal

a man-made waterway connecting two bodies

of water and is designed to shorten

travel time or irrigate

one of the six largest bodies of land on earth

glacier

a large body of slow moving ice which alters the land around it

through displacement

hemisphere

half of the earth usually referred to as eastern or western; northern or

southern

iceberg

a large mass of floating ice that has broken off from a glacier, most of

this is underwater