Illustrated Glossary of Geography Terms

word absolute location definition exact location of a place on the earth, described by global coordinates picture

archipelago

a group of small islands

atlas

a book of maps

bay

a part of the sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land, generally smaller than a gulf a large natural hole in the side of a cliff or hill, or under the ground a deep valley with very steep sides of rock that usually has a river running through it

cave

canyon

canal

a long passage dug into the ground and filled with water, either for boats to travel along, or to take water to a place
Page 1 of 8

channel

an wide strait or waterway that connects two larger areas of water; the deepest part of a river, harbor, or sea, especially where it is deep enough to allow ships to sail in a large area of rock or a mountain with a very steep side, often at the edge of the sea or a river the seven large land masses on the earth

cliff

continents

crater

a round hole in the ground made by something that has fallen on it or by an explosion; the round open top of a volcano

dam

a special wall built across a river or stream to stop the water from flowing, especially in order to make a lake or reservoir or to produce electricity flat, low-lying land built up from soil carried downstream by a river and deposited at its mouth

delta

Page 2 of 8

desert

a large region of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand in the direction that the water in a river or stream is flowing

downstream

elevation

the height of a place above the level of the sea

Equator

an imaginary line drawn around the middle of the Earth that is exactly the same distance from the North Pole and the South Pole

forest

a large region of land that is covered with trees

glacier

a large mass of ice which moves slowly down a mountain valley

Page 3 of 8

grasslands

a large region of land covered with wild grass (also: prairie)

gulf

a large area of sea partly enclosed by land, generally larger and more deeply indented than a bay

harbor

an area of water next to the land where the water is calm, so that ships are safe when they are inside it, usually refers to a man-made structure an area of land that is higher than the land around it, with sloping sides and rounded top, generally smaller than a mountain piece of land, smaller than a continent, that is completely surrounded by water

hill

island

lake

a large area of fresh water surrounded by land

Page 4 of 8

latitude

the distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees

longitude

the distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees

map

a drawing of a particular area, for example a city or country, which shows its main features, such as its roads, rivers, mountains, etc. a hill with a flat top and steep sides, in the southwestern US, said to look like a table, smaller than a plateau (mesa = table, in Spanish) land with steep sides that rise sharply (1,000 feet or more) from surrounding land; generally larger and more rough than a hill

mesa

mountain

mountain peak the top of a mountain

mountain range

a group of mountains, usually in a line

Page 5 of 8

mouth (of a river)

the part of a river where it joins the sea

ocean

one of the four major areas of salt water on the Earth's surface that surround the continents

peninsula

a body of land that is surrounded by water on three sides a natural part of the land; landforms & bodies of water a large region of flat dry land, usually a low elevation and often covered with grasses a large area of flat land that is higher than the land around it a place where ships can be loaded and unloaded

physical feature plains

plateau

port

Prime Meridian

the imaginary line drawn from north to south on the earth, from which east and west are measured in degrees on a map
Page 6 of 8

relative location

where a particular place is, in relation to other areas, buildings, etc.

relief (map)

if you show a part of the Earth's surface in relief, you show the differences in height between different parts of it (elevation) a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean the land next to a river

river

river bank

sea

a large body of salty water that is completely or partly surrounded by land

shore

the land along the edge of a large area of water such as an ocean or lake the place where a stream or river starts

source (of a river)

Page 7 of 8

strait

a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water, generally more narrow than a channel a natural flow of water that moves across the land and is narrower than a river

stream

upstream

along a river, in the opposite direction from the way the water is flowing

valley

an area of lower land between two lines of hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust When a volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth. a place where water from a river or stream falls down over a cliff or rock

volcano

waterfall

Page 8 of 8