Geographic Landforms and Bodies of Water Vocabulary

Vocabulary practice cards for key physical geography terms, landforms, and bodies of water defined in the notes.

Peninsula

Piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides

Strait

Narrow channel that connects two larger bodies of water

Lake

Body of water surrounded by land

Ice cap

Type of glacier formation, usually smaller than an ice sheet

Archipelago

Chain of islands

Coral reef

A marine ridge or reef consisting of coral or other organic material

Source of a river

Place where a river begins

Steppes

Grassland or shrub land with no trees and extreme temperature swings

Continent

Major land masses of the earth

Range

A group of mountains or hills, usually in a line

Tundra

A treeless plain, noted for extreme cold and frost

Cape

Narrow point of land that extends into a body of water

Wetland

Land area saturated with water

Isthmus

Narrow strip of land joining two large land areas or joining a peninsula to a mainland

Canyon

Deep, narrow valley with high steep sides

Bay

Part of a body of water that is partly enclosed by land

Glacier

Extended mass of ice, constrained or controlled by topography

Gulf

Arm of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land, usually larger than a bay

Desert

Dry region, little to no rain

Basin

A large, bowl-shaped depression in the surface of the land or ocean floor

Ocean

A vast body of salt water

Tributary

Stream or small river that flows into a larger stream or river

Canal

Artificial waterway for navigation and/or irrigation

Plain

Broad area of fairly level land that is generally close to sea level

Plateau

Large area of high, flat, or gently rolling land

Sea

Body of salt water that is smaller than an ocean

Mountain

High, steep, rugged land area that rises sharply above land

Delta

Land area formed by soil that is deposited at the mouth of a river

Highland

Generic term for elevated region

Shield

A large, exposed area of rock that dates back billions of years