Physical Features

BasinTidal Basin in D.C. A partially enclosed, sheltered area along a shore, often partly man-made or dredged to a greater depth, where boats may be moored: a yacht basin.

Bay: Trunk Bay, Virgin IslandsA body of water forming an indentation of the shoreline, larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf.

Butte: Utah(mesas in background)An isolated hill or mountain rising abruptly above the surrounding land.

Canal : Corinth Canal, GreeceAn artificial waterway for navigation, irrigation, etc.

Canyon: Grand Canyon, A deep valley with steep sides, often with a stream flowing through it.

Cape: Cape Canaveral (from Space)A piece of land jutting into the sea or some other large body of water.

DeltaA nearly flat plain of alluvial deposit between diverging branches of the mouth of a river, often, though not necessarily, triangular: the Nile delta.

Desert: SaharaA region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all

Gulf: Gulf of MexicoA portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.

Island: Maldive Islands (Indian Ocean)A tract of land completely surrounded by water, and not large enough to be called a continent.

Isthmus: Isthmus of PanamaA narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, connecting two larger bodies of land.

Key/cay: Florida keysA reef or low island; cay.

Lake: Lacamas LakeA body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land.

Mesa: Northern UtahA land formation, less extensive than a plateau, having steep walls and a relatively flat top and common in arid and semiarid parts of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.

Mountain peak: Mt. HoodThe pointed top (summit) of a mountain or ridge.

Mountain Range: Cascade MountainsA row of connected mountains.

Ocean: PacificA vast body of salt water that covers almost3/4 of Earth’s surface.

Peninsula: BajaA portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body of land.

Plain: Po Plains, ItalyA large area of level land (tundra, prairie, savannahs, etc.).

Plateau: ColoradoAn elevated, level or nearly level portion of Earth’s surface, larger in summit area than a mountain and has at least one steep slope.

River: Columbia RiverA natural stream of water of a fairly large size.

River Mouth:A part of the river where its waters empty into a larger body of water.

River Source:The place the river begins; usually in highlands.

Sound:A recessed portion of the sea/narrow passage of water b/w larger bodies (i.e. mainland and island).

Strait: Bering StraitA narrow channel that connects two larger bodies of water

Tributary: A stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water.

Valley:An area of generally flat land extending many miles inland and drained or watered by a large river and its tributaries. OR an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, esp. one following the course of a stream.

Volcano: Costa RicaA mountain or hill, usually having a cup-like crater at the summit, formed around a vent from ash and lava expelled through it.