This document defines and provides examples of various landforms. It describes mountains and hills, valleys, glaciers, plains, plateaus, rivers, canyons, dams, deltas, rias, fjords, estuaries, waterfalls, lakes, peninsulas, capes, gulfs, bays, cliffs, islands, archipelagos, atolls, continental shelves, coastal lagoons, dunes, and streams. Accompanying photographs illustrate each landform type. Attribution and licensing information is provided for the images.

1. LANDFORMS

2. A mountain range or mountain belt is a geographic area containing
numerous geologically related mountains. The Himalayas is the highest
mountain range on earth, its highest peak is Mount Everest.
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3. VALLEY
RIVER
PEAK or SUMMIT
SLOPE
BASIN
CANYON
MOUNTAINS AND HILLS
STREAM
HILLS: small mountains
PEAK OR SUMMIT: the top of a mountain
SLOPE: the side of a hill or a mountain
STREAM: small river
CANYON: a long valley with steep sides made of rock
BASIN: a large area that is lower than the surrounding area
MON DAPORTA- CC-BY-SA2

4. A valley is an area of low land between hills or mountains,
often with a river running through it. Picture above: river
Conso, Galicia. It is an example of V-shaped valley
ADELA LEIRO- CC-BY-SA
3

5. A glacier is a large mass of
ice that moves slowly.
Picture: French Alps
4

6. U-shaped valley (created by a glacier). Leh valley, India
5

7. A Plain is a large area of flat land
Picture: Argentina
6

8. A plateau is a large flat area of land that is high
above sea level. Picture: Utah, EEUU
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9. MON DAPORTA-CC-BY-SA

10. A tributary is a river or stream that flows into a larger river or
a lake. Picture: rivers in Norway
9

11. Meanders or loops are parts of a river with a curved shape, like an S.
Picture: river Cauto in Cuba
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12. A canyon is a long valley with steep sides made of rock.
Picture: River Sil Canyon, Galicia
ADELA LEIRO-CC-BY-SA

13. A Dam is a
wall built across a river that stops the
river's flow and collects the water ,
especially to make a reservoir
(=an artificial lake) that provides
water for an area.
Picture: Hoover’s dam, Nevada, US
12

14. A delta is
an area of low, flat land,
sometimes shaped like
a triangle, where a river
divides into
several smaller rivers
before flowing into
the sea.
Picture: Nile River,
Egipt
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15. Ría is a galician word for a river valley flooded by the sea .
Picture: Cée-Corcubión, Galicia
ADELA LEIRO- CC-BY-SA

16. A fiord is the norwegian word
for a glacier valley flooded by
the sea. Picture: fiord in
Norway
15

17. An estuary is the wide part of a river at the place where it joins the
sea. Picture: river Umia estuary, Cambados, Galicia
ADELA LEIRO-CC-BY-SA

18. A waterfall is a place
where water flows over a
vertical drop in the course
of a stream or river.
Picture, Salto Ángel,
Venezuela
17

19. A lake is a large area of water surrounded by land and not
connected to the sea except by rivers or streams.
Picture: lake in New Zealand
18

20. MON DAPORTA-CC-BY-SA

21. A peninsula is a
a long piece of land that
is bordered by water on
three sides but connected to
mainland
Picture: Baja California,
México
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22. A cape is a large piece of land sticking out into the sea.
Picture: Cape Corwall, England
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23. A gulf is a very large area of sea surrounded on three sides by
a coast . Picture Gulf of Gabès , Tunisia
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24. A bay is smaller than a gulf.
Picture: San Sebastián, Basque Country.
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25. A cliff is a high area of
rock with a very steep
side, often on a coast.
Picture: Cliffs near the
Cape of Ortegal, A
Coruña
ADELA LEIRO- CC-BY-SA

26. An island or isle is a piece of land that is
surrounded by water
Picture: a small fijian island, Pacific Ocean
25

27. An arquipelago is a group of small islands.
Picture: Canary Islands
26

28. An atoll is is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim
that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.
Picture: Atafu Atoll in Tokelau (Pacific Ocean)
27

29. CONTINENTAL SHELF CONTINENTAL
SLOPE
ABYSSAL
PLAIN
The continental shelf is an underwater landmass which extends from a continent,
resulting in an area of relatively shallow sea. The shelf usually ends at a point of
increasing slope, the continental slope, which finally merges into the deep ocean
floor, the abyssal plain. Picture: Gulf of México 3D view
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30. A dune is a hill of sand near a beach or in a desert.
Picture: Dunes in Corrubedo, Galicia
ADELA LEIRO-CC-BY-SA

31. Coastal lagoons are small lagoons of swallow salt water
communicated with the sea. They are often separated from
the sea by a sandbar.
Picture: Coastal lagoon in Louro, Muros, A Coruña
COASTAL
LAGOON SANDBAR
SEA
ADELA LEIRO-CC-BY-SA

32. REFERENCIA DAS IMAXES QUE NON SE INDICAN
NA PROPIA DIAPOSITIVA
1- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
4- GFDL- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
5- DAN HOBLEY- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
6- JAVIER GABRIELLI- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS-CC-BY-SA
7- QFL247- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS-CC-BY-SA
9- PEPPIGUE- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS -CC-BY-SA
10- DOMINIO PÚBLICO -WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
11-MIKANO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
13- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
15- Frédéric de Goldschmidt- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
17- POCOAPOCO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS -CC-BY-SA
18- RICHARD PALMER- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
19- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
21- TOM CORSER- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS -CC-BY-SA
22- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
23- Hynek Moravec; modified by Generalpoteito- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS- CC-BY-SA
25- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
26- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
27- DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
28-DOMINIO PÚBLICO- WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

33. Dereitos de autor
Landforms. Maribel Iglesias Baldonedo, con licenza:
Dentro do curso: O tempo e o espazo con liñas e cores por Maribel
Iglesias e Manuel Busto. Baixo licenza
Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0
España.
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