The document provides descriptions of various landforms, detailing their characteristics and geographical features. Examples include canyons, valleys, deserts, and lakes, each with distinct physical attributes and formations. It serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding these natural structures and their significance in the environment.

1. SOSE – Geography – Landforms and their descriptions Page |1
SOSE Geography
Landforms and their descriptions
Landforms Description
This landform is an elongated lowland between ranges of mountains, hills or
1 Arch other uplands, often having a river or stream running along the bottom.
2 Archipelago This landform is a chain of islands.
This landform is basically an island that is constructed of coral and encircles
a lagoon. It is considered one of the most beautiful of formations to be
3 Atoll found in warm waters; most often in tropical sections of the Pacific and
Indian oceans.
This landform is a large, bowl shaped depression in the surface of the land,
4 Basin often drained by a single river.
This landform is part of a body of salt water that reaches into the land;
5 Bay usually smaller than a gulf.
This landform is a coastal landform consisting of deposits of sediments that
6 Beach run parallel to the shore.
This landform is formed as sea caves grow landwards and upwards into
7 Blowhole vertical shafts and expose themselves towards the surface, which can result
in blasts of water from the top of the blowhole.
This landform is a structure built to break the force of the waves or stop the
8 Breakwater erosion of a beach.
This landform is a hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding area and has
9 Butte sloping sides and a flat top.
This landform is a man-made waterway connecting two bodies of water and
10 Canal is designed to shorten travel time or irrigate.
11 Canyon This landform is a narrow valley with steep sides; usually created by erosion.
This landform is a curved or hooked piece of land extending into a body of
12 Cape water.
13 Cataract This landform is a large or high waterfall.
This landform is a large hole in the ground or in the side of a hill or
14 Cave mountain.
This landform is bowl-shaped depression formed by snow and ice; found on
15 Cirque mountains in glaciated areas.
16 Cliffs These landforms are steep faces of rock and soil.
17 Coast This landform is land along the sea or ocean.
18 Continent This landform is a very large land mass.
These landforms help prevent erosion of beaches, provide breeding and
19 Coral Reefs feeding grounds for marine life and control carbon dioxide in the water.
This landform is small, horseshoe-shaped body of water along the coast; the
20 Cove water is surrounded by land formed of soft rock.

2. SOSE – Geography – Landforms and their descriptions Page |2
21 Dam This landform is a wall built across a stream or river to hold back water.
This landform is a place at the river’s mouth, where the river spits into many
22 Delta different sections, forming a marshy triangle.
23 Desert This landform is an area with very little rainfall or vegetation.
This landform is an extended ridge of high land often with a steep slope on
24 Escarpment one side and a gently slope on the other.
Fjord This landform is a long, narrow inlet of the sea, bordered by steep cliffs, and
25
(Fiord) carved by glacial action.
This landform is a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush;
26 Forest extensive wooded area.
This landform is a natural hot spring that occasionally sprays water and
27 Geyser steam above the ground.
28 Glacier This landform is a huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a land mass.
29 Gulf This landform is a large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land.
This landform is a sheltered part of a body of water deep enough to provide
30 Harbour anchorage for ships.
31 Headland This landform is a point of land or promontory that juts out into the sea.
This landform is a raised part of the earth’s surface with sloping sides; an old
32 Hill mountain which because of erosion has become rounder and shorter.
This landform is a large floating piece of ice that has broken away from an
33 Iceberg ice shelf or a glacier.
This landform is a small part of a body of water (lake, sea) that reaches into
34 Inlet a coast.
35 Island This landform is a piece of land completely surrounded by water.
This landform is a narrow strip of land, like a bridge, connecting two larger
36 Isthmus strips of land.
37 Lagoon This landform is a shallow body of water that is located alongside a coast.
38 Lake This landform is a large inland body of fresh water or salt water.
This landform is an area of soft, wet, low lying land, with grassy vegetation,
39 Marsh often forming a transition zone between water and land.
This landform is a broad, flat topped elevation with one or more cliff-like
40 Mesa sides.
This landform is an accumulation of boulders, stones, or other debris carried
41 Moraine and deposited by a glacier.
This landform is a high, rocky land, usually with steep sides and a pointed or
42 Mountain rounded top, higher than a hill.

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This landform is a fertile place in the desert where there is water and some
43 Oasis vegetation.
This landform is the largest body of salt water; these cover ¾ of the earth’s
44 Ocean surface.
This landform is a piece of land that extends into a body of water and is
45 Peninsula surrounded on three sides by water.
These landforms are broad, flat or gently rolling areas; usually low in
46 Plains elevation.
47 Plateau This landform is a flat highland area with one steep face; an elevated plain.
This landform is an extensive area of flat or rolling, mostly treeless
48 Prairie grassland.
These landforms are a part of a river, generally shallow, where the currents
49 Rapids move swiftly over rocks.
50 Reservoir This landform is a man-made lake that is primarily used for storing water.
This landform is a large natural stream of water emptying into an ocean, lake
51 River or other body of water.
This landform is a large body of water, usually salt water, partly or
52 Sea completely surrounded by land.
This landform is a block of erosion-resistant rock isolated from the land by
53 Sea Stack sea.
54 Steppe This landform is a vast grass covered plain.
This landform is a narrow channel of water joining two larger bodies of
55 Strait water.
This landform is an area of land that is always soaked with water; low, wet
56 Swamp land that supports grass and trees.
This landform is a natural bridge that is formed when sand is deposited
57 Tombolo between the shoreline and an island.
This landform is an elongated lowland between ranges of mountains, hills or
58 Valley other uplands, often having a river or stream running along the bottom.
This landform is a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust. When a volcano
59 Volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth.
This landform is when a river falls off steeply; a place where running water
60 Waterfall makes a sheer drop, usually over a cliff.