Geographic Terms

Land and Water Forms

You will be creating your own country soon. In addition to taking notes, you will draw a visual of each term given. It will help your grade on this project.

Valley

• Space between hills or mountains

• Depression in the surface of the land

Yosemite

Valley

Isthmus

• Narrow strip of land with water on both sides, connecting 2 larger land areas

• Example: Panama connects North and South America

Mountain Range

• Series of hills or mountains

• Example: Himalayas Picture taken from International Space Station

Strait

• Narrow channel of the sea joining 2 bodies of water

Example: Strait of Gibraltar joins Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea

Morocco

Spain

Atlantic

Mediterranean

Delta

• Flat, low-lying plain, sometimes

formed at the end

of a river, usually

triangular shaped

Nile River Delta

of Egypt

Nile River Delta

Peninsula

• Land surrounded by water on 3 sides

Florida Peninsula

Sinai

Peninsula

Plateau

• High flatland

Plateau in the Grand Canyon

Canyon

• “hollow tube” between mountains Example: The Grand Canyon of Arizona

Gulf

• Large body of water (part of ocean or sea) that is partly enclosed by land

Gulf of Mexico

Lake

• Body of water (usually fresh water) that is surrounded by land

Lake Victoria

of Africa

Archipelago

• Group of islands

Examples: Virgin Islands of the Caribbean

Basin

• The land drained by a river; land surrounded by higher land. In some cases a basin has a lake that has no outlet to the ocean.

• Example = Death Valley Basin

Bay

• An inlet of the sea or other body of water, usually smaller than a gulf but of the same general character; part of a body of water that extends into land.

Cape

• An extension of land jutting into the water, usually smaller or thinner than a peninsula.

• Cape Cod, USA

Island

• body of land smaller than a continent and surrounded by water.

• Islands in the Caribbean

Plain

• A large area of level or nearly level land.• Example: Plain in Mexico

River

• A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another stream.

Sea

• A body of salt water that is smaller than an ocean.

• The Caribbean Sea