Geography Glossary
1. archipelago: a group of many islands in the sea
2. atoll: a ring-shaped coral island around a lagoon
3. bay: part of a large body of water that extends into the coastline
4. butte: steep hill standing alone in a plain; a small plateau
5. canyon: a long narrow valley with high cliffs on either side, usually with
a river running through it
6. cape: a piece of land that sticks out into a lake or sea
7. channel: a deep, narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water
8. delta: a triangular piece of land created by sand and soil deposited at the
mouth of a large river
9. desert: a dry sandy region with no plant life
10. divide: a ridge (stretch of high land) that separates two drainage basins; it causes
the rivers on each side of it to flow in opposite directions
11. elevation: the height above the surface of the Earth or above sea level
12. equator: an imaginary circle around the Earth; O˚latitude
13. escarpment: a high steep cliff
14. estuary: an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river where the river’s current
meets the sea’s tides; where the tide flows into the mouth of a wide river
15. fjord: a narrow inlet of sea between steep cliffs
16. grassland: land with a lot of grass; a meadow or prairie
17. gulf: a large area of ocean reaching into land
18. harbor: a place where ships anchor and are safe from storms; a port
19. inlet: a narrow strip of water running into land, as from a river, lake, or ocean
20. isthmus: a narrow strip of land, with water on each side, that connects two larger
bodies of land
21. lagoon: a shallow lake or pond surrounded by an atoll; a body of shallow water
cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars
22. lake: a large body of fresh water surrounded by land
23. latitude: a measurement, in degrees, of a place's distance north or south of the
equator
24. longitude: a measurement, in degrees, of a place's distance east or west of the
prime meridian
25. marsh:
a type of wetland; low land that is wet and soft; usually overgrown with
grasses and sedges
26. mesa: a large, high rock having steep walls and a flat top
27. oasis: a fertile place with water in the desert
28. peninsula: a long piece of land almost completely surrounded by water
29. plain: a flat expanse of land, usually with few trees
30. perma frost: permanently frozen land
31. prime meridian: an imaginary circle around the Earth which runs through
Greenwich, England; O˚longitude
32. rain forest: thick, tropical forest found in areas of heavy rainfall and containing
trees with broad leaves that form a canopy
33. river: a large, natural stream of water flowing into an ocean or lake, etc.
34. savanna: a grassy plain in a tropical region
35. sea: a large body of salt water that covers most of the Earth
36. silt: river deposit with fine grained sediment at the bottom of a river or lake
37. sound:
a channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water or separating an
island from the mainland
38. steppe: a vast plain (flat land); usually treeless, semiarid (dry), and covered with
grass
39. strait: a narrow channel of water, lying between two pieces of land, that joins two
larger bodies of water
40. swamp: a type of wetland; wet, spongy land; usually overgrown with trees and
shrubs
41. taiga: subarctic forests; coniferous forests of North America, northern Europe,
and Asia located south of the tundra
42. topography: the study of the mapping of surface features
43. tributary: a stream that flows into a larger one
44. tundra: a treeless, arctic plain between the ice cap and timber line of
North America and Eurasia
45. valley: a low lying area, often with a river running through it, that is surrounded
by higher ground
46. wetland: land that is wet, all or most of the time; a marsh, swamp, or bog