Landforms

What is a landform?These shapes (except for bodies of water) on the earth’s surface are all examples of landforms.

archipelagoa large group of many islands.

The Hawaiian Islands

atolla circle of coral that forms an island around a pool of seawater

Lighthouse Reef off the coast of Belize

baya body of water, partly surrounded by land, with a wide entrance to an ocean or sea, and is usually smaller than a gulf

Galveston Bay in Texas

buttea high, thin, flat topped rock formation

Huerfano Butte south of Pueblo, Colorado

canyona deep valley with steep sides

The Grand Canyon in Arizona

cape a piece of land, smaller than a peninsula, that extends into a body of water.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

caveA large hole in the side of a hill or mountain, or in the ground

Cave of the Winds, Manitou Springs

cliff a high, steep, jagged wall of rock

Chalk Cliffs near Buena Vista

coastthe land along a large, open body of water such as an ocean, sea, gulf, or bay.

deltaa fan shaped area of small, low, watery islands of sediment at the mouth of a river

It is formed from the silt, sand and small rocks that flow downstream in the river and are deposited in the delta.

A delta is often (but not always) shaped like a triangle (hence its name, delta, a Greek letter that is shaped like a triangle).

desert a region of little rainfall,where few plants and animals live

Great Basin DesertUtah

Polar DesertBaffin Island in Nunavet, Canada

dunea hill of sand formed by strong winds

Near Alamosa, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park in Death Valley, California

Dunes are shaped by the wind, and change all the time.

glaciera large mass of ice that moves slowly down a mountain

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a part of the ocean that is extends into the land, has a narrow entrance from the ocean, and is usually larger than a bay.

gulf

hill

land that rises to a rounded summit, less than 1,000 feet above the surrounding area

island a piece of land that is surrounded by water

Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas

isthmus

a narrow strip of land, between two bodies of water, that connects two larger land areas

The Isthmus of Panama connects

North and South America.

lakea largebody of water that is surrounded by land

mesa

a medium sized, raised, land formation with a flat top and steep sides

Parriott and Covent Mesas, Colorado River at Red Cliff Lodge Moab, Utah

mountaina high area of land with steep sides and a sharp peak, that rises 1000 feet or more

Mount Elbert

ocean a large body of salt water that covers most of the earth

peninsula

a large piece of land surrounded on most sides by water, that has long coast lines

Italy

plain a large area of relatively flat land with few trees

plateaua large, relatively flat area of land with steep sides that stands above the surrounding land

Colorado Plateau, Arizona

river a large flowing body of water that runs through the land and usually empties into an

ocean orsea

Mississippi River

sea

a smaller part of the ocean that is partly enclosed by land and connects with the ocean through a passage

straita narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water

The Strait of Gibraltar, between Europe and Africa

tundraa cold, dry, treeless region near the Arctic Circle where moss, low grass, and lichens grow, but the permafrost remains frozen

Denali National Park, Alaska

valley

a long, low place between two mountains.

Oahu Valley, Hawaii

volcanoa mountainous vent in the earth’s crustthroughwhich lava,gases, andash arereleased

Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted in 1983

Additional Landforms

These will not be included on the test, but might show up as an extra credit question.

badlandsa wasteland that has been carved intounusual shapes by windand water

Badlands near Colorado Springs

a spring that spouts hot water and steam from time to time

geyser

Bee Hive Geyser in Yellowstone National Park

iceberg

a huge block of floating ice that has broken off a glacier

lagoon a shallow body of water that is partly cut off from the sea

fjorda long, narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or slopes

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

fjord

marsh

a low, wet area where grasses, rushes and cattails grow

oasisan isolated area of vegetation in a desertoften surrounding a water source

Sahara Desert

prairie

a region of flat or hilly land covered by tall grasses

swamp a low, wet area where trees and high shrubs grow

Manchac Swamp, in Louisiana

waterfall

A stream of water that falls from a high place

Niagara Falls, New York

Landforms