CGC1D
Land and Water Features: Terms
Continents – large land masses separated by oceans
Cave - a hollow place in the ground
Oceans-the vast body of salt water that covers almost
three fourths of the earth's surface.
River: natural stream of water of fairly large size
flowing in a definite course of
diverging and converging channels
Seas -a sea is part of the ocean partially enclosed by
land
Gulf - large bay that is an arm of an ocean or sea
Bay - a body of water partially surrounded by land,
usually smaller and less enclosed than a gulf. The mouth
of the bay, where meets the ocean or lake, is typically
wider than that of a gulf.

Source of a River: Marshland, Spring, Glacier,
Lake
Mouth of a River - where a river meets a larger body of
water
Delta -the flat, low-lying plain that sometimes forms at
the mouth of a river from deposits of sediments.
Fjord – long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep
cliffs
Watershed -entire river system or an area drained by a
river and its tributaries
Peninsula - piece of land that is bordered by water on
three sides but connected to mainland.
Tributaries -stream that branches off from the main
stem of a river.
Isthmus - narrow strip of land with sea on either side,
forming a link between two larger areas of land
Valley an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or
mountains
Lake -is an area localized in a basin, that is surrounded
by land
Island - land that is surrounded by water
Archipelago -a group of closely scattered islands in a
large body of water
Mountain - large landform that stretches above the
surrounding land, usually in the form of a peak
Mountain Range – series of mountains ranged in a line
Volcano -an opening in the Earth's crust, through which
lava, ash, and gases erupt, and building a cone shape.
Glacier-persistent body of dense ice that is constantly
moving under its own weight
Cliff - a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure, formed
by erosion
Canyon - a deep, narrow valley with steep sides
Wetland - an area of land that is either covered by
water or saturated with water.
Plateau -large highland area of fairly level land
separated from surrounding land by steep slopes
Butte - tall, steep-sided towers of rock
Escarpment-an area of the Earth where elevation
changes suddenly (cliff or steep rock that separates two
level land surfaces)
Plains -a lowland area that is level or gently sloping
Prairies -Few trees, grassy plain
Tundra one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the
arctic regions