What are landforms? The natural shapes or features on the Earth’s surface are called landforms. Many different types of landforms can be found on the Earth – here are just a few examples:

Peninsula Peninsula – a large piece of land that juts far out into the water and is almost surrounded by water. Florida is a peninsula.

Harbor Harbor – a deep, sheltered bay. The Statue of Liberty is in New York Harbor.

Bay Bay – a small area of sea or lake partly enclosed by dry land. Coves and inlets are very small bays. The Golden Gate Bridge is in the San Francisco Bay.

Island Island – a piece of land that is smaller than a continent and completely surrounded by water. The famous prison, Alcatraz, was built on an island in the San Francisco Bay!

Mountains Mountain – a rugged, upthrust mass of rock that looms high above the surrounding land. The Earth’s highest mountain is Mount Everest (29,029 ft). Highest in the US is Denali in Alaska (Mt. McKinley – 20,310 ft)

River River – a long, large stream. The Mississippi River is the largest river in the United States.

Coast Coast – the edge of land that borders a body of water. Most of the world’s major cities are along coasts or rivers leading to coasts.

Valley River made Valley – a gently sloping depression between hills or mountains. Yosemite Valley in California is a glacial valley (one formed by a glacier). Glacier made

Desert Desert – a very dry or desolate land that receives little or no rainfall. The largest desert is the Sahara in Africa which is 3.5 million square miles.

Oasis Oasis - an isolated green spot in the desert where water flows up from an underground spring. The Sahara Desert has about 90 oases.

Prairie Prairie – a temperate grassland characterized by a rich variety of grasses. Prairie once covered more than 400,000 square miles of North America.

Delta Delta – a fan shaped deposit of mud and sand, often green with vegetation, found at the mouths of many rivers. There is a delta where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Plateau Plateau – a large highland plain that rises sharply above the surrounding land. In Idaho, farmers have irrigated and planted crops atop plateaus.

Isthmus Isthmus – a narrow strip of land that connects two much larger areas of land and narrowly separates two large bodies of water. The Isthmus of Panama connects North and South America.

Beach Sandy or rocky land at the edge of an ocean, sea, or lake

Strait Strait – a narrow waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Canyon A canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides. Rivers often flow through canyons. The Grand Canyon is a perfect example of this!

Hill A hill is a rounded area of land higher than the area around it (not as high as a mountain).

Dune A sand dune is a hill of sand that is deposited by the wind.

Cave A cave is a large underground chamber in a hillside or cliff.

Butte An isolated hill or mountain with steep sides

Lagoon A shallow body of saltwater separated from the sea by a shallow sandbank or coral reef

Atoll A ring-shaped coral reef that encircles a lagoon

Archipelago A stretch of water containing many islands A famous archipelago are the Hawaiian Islands.

Fjord a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high glacier cliffs

Volcano a mountain having a vent through which lava and gas erupts from the earth's crust there are 169 volcanoes in the United States

Cliff a steep rock face at the edge of the sea

Tributary a river or stream flowing into a larger river  

That’s ALL folks! There are many more landforms that make up our beautiful planet, but for now…. That’s ALL folks!