Basic geography terms

Main geographic terms such as island, gulf, jungle, bay, etc.

1. BASIC GEOGRAPHY TERMS

2. It’s a group of islands . The Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands are examples of archipelagos . ARCHIPELAGO

3. BAY It’s a body of water that is partially enclosed by land. An example is the bay of Biscay.

4. BAY

5. BEACH It’s the part of the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, lake, etc., washed by the tide or waves.

6. CANYON It’s a deep gorge , often created by a stream or river . The Grand Canyon is the most popular.

7. CAPE It’s a point or head of land projecting into a body of water.   Cape Finisterre is in Galicia.

8. CAVE It’s a hollow in the earth , especially opening more or less horizontally into a hill , mountain , etc.

9. CHANNEL It’s a length of water wider than a strait joining two large areas of water , such as seas. The English Channel is in Europe .

10. CLIFF It’s a steep rock-face near to the sea . The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland are enormous!

11. DELTA It’s a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river , typically where it diverges into several outlets . The Nile ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

12. DESERT It’s a dry area of land that gets very little rain. Atacama desert is in Chile.

13. FOREST It’s a large area of trees .

14. GEYSER It’s a hot spring in which water intermittently boils, sending a tall column of hot water and steam into the air.

15. GLACIER It’s a slowly moving mass of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles .

16. GRASSLAND It’s a large area of grass-covered land , especially used for pasturage .

17. GULF It’s a deep inlet of the sea almost surrounded by land , with a narrow mouth .

18. HILL It’s a naturally raised area of land. It’s not as high as a mountain.

19. ICEBERG It’s a large mass of ice floating into the sea.

20. ISLAND It’s a piece of land surrounded by water.

21. ISTHMUS It’s a narrow strip of land with sea on either side , linking two larger areas of land .

22. JUNGLE It’s an area of land with dense forest and tangled vegetation , typically found in tropical areas .

23. LAKE It’s a large area of water surrounded by land .

24. MARSH It’s an area of low-lying land which is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide , and typically remains waterlogged at all times.

25. MOUNTAIN It’s an elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly and to a large height from the surrounding level . It’s higher than a hill.

26. OCEAN It’s a large mass of water. It’s larger than a sea.

27. PENINSULA It’s a piece of land surrounded by water except by one side .

28. PLAIN It’s a large area of flat land with few trees.

29. PLATEAU It’s a flat area of high ground.

30. RIVER It’s a large natural flow of water travelling along a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river. Rivers usually form meanders in their middle course .

31. SEA It’s a mass of salt water smaller than an ocean.

32. STRAIT It’s a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or other large areas of water.

33. STREAM It’s a small , narrow river .

34. TUNDRA It’s a vast , flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe , Asia and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen .

35. VOLCANO It’s a mountain or hill having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour, and gas are or have been erupted to the earth's crust.

36. WATERFALL It’s a cascade of water falling from a height, formed when a river or stream flows over a precipice.