Geography TermsGeography Terms

Grade 6

Social Studies Online

Geography

Identify and use the key geographic elements on maps (i.e., island, bay, gulf, cape, river, plain, hills, mountain, plateau, peninsula, isthmus, strait, flood plain, swamp, delta, marsh, harbor, sea level, prairie, desert, oasis, mesa, valley, glacier, canyon, and cliff).

Island

An island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water.

Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands.

Bay

A bay is a body of water that is partly enclosed by land (and is usually smaller than a gulf).

Gulf

A gulf is a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land. Usually larger than a bay.

Cape

A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.

RiverA river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream.

Plain

Plains are flat lands that have only small changes in elevation.

Hills

A hill is a well-defined natural elevation smaller than a mountain.

Mountain A mountain is a very tall high, natural

place on Earth - higher than a hill. The tallest mountain on Earth is Mt. Everest.

Plateau

A plateau is a large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land.

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus.

Isthmus An isthmus is a narrow

strip of land that is bordered on two sides by water and connects two larger land masses. It is the inverse of a strait (which lies between two land masses and connects two larger bodies of water).

StraitA strait is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses.

Cliff A cliff is a steep

face of rock and soil.

Canyon A canyon is a deep valley with very

steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a river.

Glacier

A glacier is a slowly moving river of ice.

Mesa

A mesa is a land formation with a flat area on top and steep walls - usually occurring in dry areas

Oasis

An oasis is

small fertile area surrounded by desert.

Desert

A desert is a very dry area.

Prairie A prairie is a wide, relatively flat

area of land that has grasses and only a few trees.

Sea Level

Sea level is the average height, or elevation, of the sea surface.

Valley

A valley is a low place between mountains.

Harbor A harbor is a

naturally or artificially protected basin on an ocean, lake, or river where ships may be anchored or docked without danger.

Marsh

A marsh is a type of freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland that is found along rivers, pond, lakes and coasts. Marsh plants grow up out of the water.

Swamp

A swamp is a type of freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water. Many trees and shrubs grow in swamps.

Flood Plain A floodplain is a flat region of a valley

floor located on either side of a river channel.

Delta A delta is a low, watery

land formed at the mouth of a river. It is formed from the silt, sand and small rocks that flow downstream in the river and are deposited in the delta. A delta is often (but not always) shaped like a triangle (hence its name, delta, a Greek letter that is shaped like a triangle).

Resources http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/

landforms/glossary.shtml http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/landforms.htm http://www.geocities.com/monte7dco/ http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/Johnson/

Landforms/Landforms.html http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/land/landform/

landform.html http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/types_of_land_2/ http://web.archive.org/web/20090304001501/http:/

www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/students/activities/landformations/index.shtml