Geography Definitions

By Sarah Cu

Mountain Range

A series of mountain ridges alike in form, direction, and origin.

Lake A large inland

body of fresh water or salt water.

Dune

A hill or ridge of wind-blown sand.

Beach

The shore of a body of water, especially when

sandy or pebbly.

Desert

A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures,

and sparse vegetation.

Tundra A treeless area between the icecap

and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation.

Reef A strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral

that rises to or near the surface of a body of water.

Atoll A ring like coral

island and reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon.

Ocean The entire body of salt water that

covers more than 70 percent of the earth's surface.

Prairie An extensive area of flat or rolling,

predominantly treeless grassland, especially the large tract or plain of central North America.

Hill A well-defined natural elevation smaller

than a mountain.

Reservoir An artificial lake, used to store

water for various uses.

Wetland A usually low-lying area of soft

waterlogged ground and standing water

Rural Of, relating to, or characteristic of the

country

Escarpment A steep slope or long cliff that results

from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.

Bay

A bay is a body of water forming an indentation of the shoreline, larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf.

River A large natural stream of water

emptying into an ocean, lake, or other body of water and usually fed along its course by converging tributaries.

Fault A fractured surface in the earth's crust

along which rocks have travelled relative to each other.

Canal An artificial waterway or artificially

improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.

Cliff A steep rock face, usually facing the

sea.

Mouth (of river) The end of a

river out of which water flows.