Geographic Dictionary
Terms
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- an opening in the earth, usually raised, through which gasses and lava escape from the earth's interior
- volcano
- a narrow strip of water connecting two large bodies of water
- strait
- a body of land surrounded by water
- island
- an area of land that is saturated by water
- swamp
- flat land near the edges of rivers formed by mud and silt deposited by floods
- flood plain
- a triangular area of land formed from deposits at the mouth of a river
- delta
- soft, wet, low-lying, grassy land that serves as a transition between water and land
- marsh
- the place where a river flows into a lake or ocean
- mouth (of a river)
- a sheltered area of water, deep enough for docking ships
- harbor
- part of an ocean or lake partially enclosed by land
- bay
- level of the ocean's surface, used as a reference point when measuring the height or depth of the earth's surface
- sea level
- a pointed piece of land extending into an ocean or lake
- cape
- a dry area where few plants grow
- desert
- a spot of fertile land in a desert, fed by water from wells or underground springs
- oasis
- a raised, flat area of land with steep cliffs, smaller than a mesa
- butte
- a large, level area of grassland with few or no trees
- prairie
- a wide, treeless plain
- steppe
- natural elevation of the earth's surface with steep sides and greater height than a hill
- mountain
- low land between hills or mountains
- valley
- a large ice mass that moves slowly down a mountain or over land
- glacier
- a wide, flat-topped mountain with steep sides, larger than a butte
- mesa
- a broad, flat area of land higher than the surrounding land
- plateau
- the steep, almost vertical edge of a hill, mountain, or plain
- cliff
- a narrow, deep valley with steep sides
- canyon
- a large, powerful waterfall
- cataract