Geography Terms Flashcards
A hollow place for water; an enclosed part of water, forming a broad space within a strait or narrow entrance; a little bay.
Basin
A steep slope of ground rising from a lake, a river, or the sea.
Bank
A ring-shaped coral reef, island, or set of small islands nearly or completely surrounding a lagoon.
Atoll
A long, narrow passage of water; a creek.
Arm
A body of water interspersed with many isles
Archipelago
The elevation of an object in relationship to a given plane, often sea level.
Altitude
A smaller stream running into a larger one or proceeding from it.
Branch
Soft, wet ground covered with grass or other plants, too soft to bear a man.
Bog
A high bank, almost perpendicular, projecting into the sea.
Bluff
The shore of the sea or of a lake, washed by the tide and waves.
Beach
A soggy,swampy, slow moving body of water, obstructed by vegetation.
Bayou
An arm of the sea, extending up into the land, smaller than a gulf and larger than a creek.
Bay
A rock that breaks the waves; a wave that breaks against a rock, a sand bank, or the shore,exhibiting a white foam
Breakers
The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice or the bank of a river.
Brink
A small natural stream of water; a current flowing from a spring
Brook
An artificial cut or passage for water used for transportation
Canal
A long deep hollow with steep, rocky sides worn by a stream or torrent of water.
Canyon
A head land; the head, point, or termination of a neck of land, extending some distance into the sea
Cape
a hollow place in the earth; a subterraneous cavern; a den; maybe natural or artificial
Cave
A deep, naturally hollow place in the earth, deeper than a cave
Cavern
an arm of the sea; a straight or narrow sea between two continents or between a continent and an isle
Channel
A cleft or fissure in a rock or the earth’s surface caused by a disrupture
Chasm
a cone-shaped hill of volcanic material surrounding an opening in the earth.
Cinder Cone
A high, steep almost vertical rock, usually on a coast
Cliff
The edge or margin of the land next to the sea; the seashore
Coast
A great extent of land,not disjoined or interrupted by a sea.
Continent
The edge of a continent that is submerged in water
Continental Shelf
Any tract of land or inhabited land; any region, as distinguished from other regions;a kingdom,state,or lesser district
Country
A small inlet or bay; a recess in the sea shore
Cove
A steep, rugged rock; a rough, broken rock or point of a rock
Crag
The aperture or mouth of a volcano
Crater
A small inlet, a recess in the shore of the sea or of a river, a small stream.
Creek
Land prepared for crops
Cultivated land
A flowing or passing of water; a stream
Current
A low place between hills; a vale or valley
Dale
A bank or mound of earth; any wall or a frame of wood raised to obstruct a current of water.
Dam
A small vale with woods
Dell
an area of triangular shaped land located at the mouth of a main river from which distributaries flow
Delta
A vast sandy plain characterized by minimal precipitation and plant growth.
Desert
A ditch, a mound of earth, stones, or other materials, intended to prevent low lands from being inundated by the sea or a river.
Dike
A ridge that determines the direction water drains for adjacent water systems; a watershed
Divide
The direction a river flows; flowing with the current
Downstream
Area drained by a river and it’s tributaries; a watershed
Drainage Basin
Hill, mound, or ridge of sand formed by wind
Dune
The terraqueous globe that we inhabit
Earth
Elevated ground; a rising ground; a hill or mountain
Elevation
The point where rivers descend rapidly due to a distinct decline in elevation
Fall Line
An arm of the sea; the mouth of a river or lake where the tide meets the current.
Estuary
A piece of land enclosed for tillage or pasture
Field
A long, narrow, deep valley formed by glacial erosion and flooded by ocean water.
Fjord
A hill at the base of the mountain.
Foothill
A place in a river or other water where it may be passed by man or beast on foot or by wading.
Ford
An extensive wood; a large tract of land covered with trees.
Forest
A field or an immense mass of ice formed in deep but elevated valleys, remaining frozen throughout the heat of summer.
Glacier
A valley; a dale; a depression or space between hills
Glen
A narrow hollow with steep, rocky sides worn by a stream or torrent of water
Gorge
a wood of small extent
Grove
a small, narrow hollow with steep walls worn by a stream or torrent of water
Gulch
a recess in the ocean from the general line of the shore into the land; a tract of water extending from the ocean or a sea into the land between two points or promontories; a large bay
Gulf
A port or haven for ships/ a bay or inlet of the sea where ships can moor
Harbor
a cape; a promontory; a point of land projecting from the shore into the sea or other expanse of water.
Headland
a natural elevation of land; a mass of earth rising above the common level of the surrounding land
Hill
the line that terminates the view when extended on the surface of the earth
Horizon
a hill or mountain of ice; a vast body of ice accumulated in valleys in high northern latititudes
Iceberg
a bay or recess in the shore of the sea, a lake, or a large river; a narrow body of water between isles.
Inlet
land watered by causing a stream to flow upon it and spread over it.
Irrigated Land
a tract of land surrounded by water
Island
a neck or narrow slip of land by which two continents are connected or by a which a peninsula is united to the mainland
Isthmus
the place or point of union
Junction
a chain or range of rocks lying at or near the surface of the water; a cay
Keys
A round hill or mount
Knob
The top or crown of a hill; a little round hill or mount; a small elevation of earth
Knoll
An enclosed or partially enclosed shallow body of salt water divided from the ocean by low sandy dunes or a coral reef.
Lagoon
A large and extensive collection of water contained in a cavity or hollow of the earth
Lake
Earth; the solid matter that constitutes the fixed part of the surface of the globe.
Land
The distance of any place on the globe, north or south of the equator
Latitude
A ridge; a prominent row
Ledge
the slope of ground on the left-hand side of the river when facing downstream
Left-bank
A bank or causeway, particularly along a river to prevent inundation
Levee
The barrier of a canal that confines the water and can be opened or shut at pleasure.
Locks
The distance of any place on the globe from another place, eastward or westward; the distance of any place from a given meridian
Longitude
A tract of low land, very wet and miry and overgrown with coarse grass.
Marsh
Pasture or grassland annually mown for hay.
Meadow
A flat topped mountain with steep walls
Mesa
A pit of excavation in the earth from which metallic ores, mineral substances, and other fossil bodies are taken by digging.
Mine
A tract of land overrun with heath, a marsh, a fen: ground covered with stagnant water.
Moor
A large mass of earth and rock, rising above the common level of the earth or adjacent land, but of no definite altitude.
Mountain
A line of connected mountain ranges.
Mountain Chain
A row of mountains
Mountain Range
The opening or entrance of a cave, pit, well, or den.
Mouth
Materials found in nature, such as land, forests, and minerals, that have economic value
Natural Resources
Small fertile area in a desert, irrigated by natural springs or other source of fresh water
Oasis
The vast body of water that covers more than three-fifths of the surface of the globe, also called the sea
Ocean
A gap in a mountainous area suitable for passing through; a means of passage through a rugged area
Pass
Ground covered with grass appropriated for the food of cattle
Pasture
The top of a hill or mountain, ending in a point
Peak
A portion of land connected with a continent by a narrow neck or isthmus but nearly surrounded with water
Peninsula
The bottom of a mountain
Piedmont
A structure constructed perpendicular to the harbor for securing vessels and receiving goods unladen or to be shipped on board
Pier
Large area of flat land
Plain
Flat section of land higher than the surrounding area
Plateau
A small cape, headland, or promontory: a tract of land extending into the sea
Point
A body of stagnant water usually without an outlet, larger than a puddle and smaller than a lake.
Pond
A small collection of water in a hollow place, supplied by a spring and discharging its surplus water by an outlet, smaller than a lake.
Pool
An extensive tract of land, mostly level, destitute of trees, and covered with tall, coarse grass
Prairie
A steep fall or descent of land, perpendicular or nearly so
Precipice
A fast-moving river current, caused by a moderate descent
Rapids
A chain or range of rocks, lying at or near the surface of the water.
Reef
A place where water is collected and kept for use when wanted.
Reservoir
A long or continued range of hills or mountains, the upper part of such a range
Ridge
The slope of ground on the right-hand side of the river when facing downstream.
Right bank
A large stream of water flowing in a channel on land toward the ocean, a lake, or another river, larger than a brook.
River
Ocean surface level used as base for measuring elevation and sea depth; the average tide level
Sea Level
A harbor of the sea, accommodating seafaring vessels.
Seaport
A place where the water is shallow or of little depth; a sand bank or bar; a shallow
Shoal
The coast or land adjacent to the sea, a large lake, or a river
Shore.
The place where a body of water meets the land.
Shoreline
Any ground whose surface forms an angle with the plane of the horizon
Slope
The altitudinal border above which a mountain is always covered in snow.
Snowline
The upper stratum of the earth, the compound substance that furnishes nutriment to plants or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them.
Soil
A narrow passage of water; a strait between the mainland and an isle; a strait connecting two seas or connecting a sea or lake with the ocean.
Sound
A small point of land running into the sea; a long narrow shoal extending from the shore into the sea.
Spit
A prairie; a grassy plain characterized by a lack of trees and a shortage of rain.
Steppe
A narrow pass or passage, either in a mountain or in the ocean, between continents or other portions of land.
Strait
A current of water like a river, brook, or rivulet; a current of water in the ocean.
Stream
The highest point of a mountain
Summit
Spongy land; low ground filled with water; soft, wet ground.
Swamp
