1. Archipelago: a Group of Many Islands in the Sea

1. archipelago: a group of many islands in the sea

2. atoll: a ring-shaped coral island around a lagoon

3. bay: part of a large body of water that extends into the coastline

4. butte: steep hill standing alone in a plain; a small plateau

5. canyon: a long narrow valley with high cliffs on either side, usually with

a river running through it

6. cape: a piece of land that sticks out into a lake or sea

7. channel: a deep, narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water

8. delta: a triangular piece of land created by sand and soil deposited at the

mouth of a large river

9. desert: a dry sandy region with no plant life

10. divide: a ridge (stretch of high land) that separates two drainage basins; it causes

the rivers on each side of it to flow in opposite directions

11. elevation: the height above the surface of the Earth or above sea level

12. equator: an imaginary circle around the Earth; O˚latitude

13. escarpment: a high steep cliff

14. estuary: an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river where the river’s current

meets the sea’s tides; where the tide flows into the mouth of a wide river

15. fjord: a narrow inlet of sea between steep cliffs

16. grassland: land with a lot of grass; a meadow or prairie

17. gulf: a large area of ocean reaching into land

18. harbor: a place where ships anchor and are safe from storms; a port

19. inlet: a narrow strip of water running into land, as from a river, lake, or ocean

20. isthmus: a narrow strip of land, with water on each side, that connects two larger

bodies of land

21. lagoon: a shallow lake or pond surrounded by an atoll; a body of shallow water

cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars

22. lake: a large body of fresh water surrounded by land

23. latitude: a measurement, in degrees, of a place's distance north or south of the

equator

24. longitude: a measurement, in degrees, of a place's distance east or west of the

prime meridian

25. marsh: a type of wetland; low land that is wet and soft; usually overgrown with

grasses and sedges

26. mesa: a large, high rock having steep walls and a flat top

27. oasis: a fertile place with water in the desert

28. peninsula: a long piece of land almost completely surrounded by water

29. plain: a flat expanse of land, usually with few trees

30. perma frost: permanently frozen land

31. prime meridian: an imaginary circle around the Earth which runs through

Greenwich, England; O˚longitude

32. rain forest: thick, tropical forest found in areas of heavy rainfall and containing

trees with broad leaves that form a canopy

33. river: a large, natural stream of water flowing into an ocean or lake, etc.

34. savanna: a grassy plain in a tropical region

35. sea: a large body of salt water that covers most of the Earth

36. silt: river deposit with fine grained sediment at the bottom of a river or lake

37. sound: a channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water or separating an

island from the mainland

38. steppe: a vast plain (flat land); usually treeless, semiarid (dry), and covered with

grass

39. strait: a narrow channel of water, lying between two pieces of land, that joins two

larger bodies of water

40. swamp: a type of wetland; wet, spongy land; usually overgrown with trees and

shrubs

41. taiga: subarctic forests; coniferous forests of North America, northern Europe,

and Asia located south of the tundra

42. topography: the study of the mapping of surface features

43. tributary: a stream that flows into a larger one

44. tundra: a treeless, arctic plain between the ice cap and timber line of

North America and Eurasia

45. valley: a low lying area, often with a river running through it, that is surrounded

by higher ground

46. wetland: land that is wet, all or most of the time; a marsh, swamp, or bog