Alluvial plain - floodplain on which flooding rivers have deposited rich soil

Aquifer - underground water-bearing layers of porous rock, sand, or gravel

arable - land suitable for growing crops

Archipelago - a group or chain of islands

Atmosphere - layers of gases that surround the earth

Atoll - ring-shaped island formed by coral building up along the rim of an underwater volcano

Basin - area of land drained by a given river and its branches; area of land surrounded by lands of higher elevations

bay - part of a large body of water that extends into a shoreline, generally smaller than a gulf

Biosphere - the part of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life static.squidoo.com/resize/squidoo_images /-1/draft_lens module photo_ Golden_eagle_flight_enlarged.jpg

Canal - man-made waterway or artificially improved river for travel

Canyon - deep narrow valley with steep walls

Cape - a piece of land jutting into the sea or some other large body of water (smaller than a peninsula)

Capital city - town or city that is the official seat of government Photo by HazelAnne Prescott

Cascade - a descent of water over a steep surface; a waterfall, esp. one of considerable size

Channel - wide strait or waterway between two landmasses that lie close to each other

City - Center of population, commerce, and culture; a town of significant size and importance (usually over 2,500 people)

Coniferous - trees such as evergreens that have cones and needle-shaped leaves, and keep their foliage throughout the winter

Cordillera - parallel chains or ranges of mountains

Crevasse - huge, deep crack that forms in thick ice or snow

Current - cold or warm stream of seawater that flows in the oceans, generally in a circular pattern

Deciduous - trees, usually broad leaved such as oak and maple, that lose their leaves in autumn

Delta - flat, low lying land built from deposits of soil carried downstream and deposited at the mouth of a river

Depression - an area that is sunk below the surrounding area

Desert - area that receives less than 10 inches of rain in a year HP sample pictures

Divide - a high point or ridge that determines the direction rivers flow

Escarpment - steep cliff or slope between a higher and lower land surface

Estuary - an area where the tide meets a river current

Fauna - the animal life of a region

fjord - long steep-sided glacial valley now filled by sea water

Flora - the plant life of a region

Glacier - large body of ice that moves across the surface of the earth

Groundwater - water within the earth that supplies wells and springs

gulf - part of a large body of water that extends into a shoreline, generally larger and more deeply indented than a bay

Harbor - a sheltered place along a shoreline where ships can anchor safely

Highlands - elevated land – hills, mountains, and plateaus

Hill - a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain

Hydrosphere - the watery areas of the earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water

Island - land area, smaller than a continent that is surrounded by water

isthmus - narrow stretch of land connecting two larger land areas

Lake - a sizeable inland body of water Lake Tahoe by HazelAnne Prescott

Leeward - facing away from the direction of the ocean wind; usually dry

Lithosphere - surface land areas of the earth’s crust, including continents and ocean basins

Lowland - land usually level at low elevations (plain)

Mesa - broad, flat-topped landform with steep sides; smaller than a plateau

Mixed forest - forest with both coniferous and deciduous trees

Mountain peak - pointed top of a single mountain

Mountain range - a series of connected mountains; land with steep sides that rises sharply from the surrounding land (1,000 feet)

Mouth - place where a river or stream flows into a larger body of water

Oasis - small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well

ocean - one of five major bodies of salt water that surround the continents

Peninsula - body of land jutting into a lake or ocean, surrounded on three sides by water

Permafrost - permanently frozen layer of soil beneath the surface of the ground

Plain - area of level land, usually at low elevation and often covered with grasses

Plateau - area of flat rolling land of high elevation (300-3,000 feet)

Rainforest - a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall

River - large natural stream of water that runs through the land

Sea - large body of water completely or partly surrounded by land

Source - place where a river or stream begins, often in the highlands

strait - narrow stretch of water joining two larger bodies of water

Tributary - small river or stream that flows into a large river or stream; a branch of the river

Valley - area of low land usually between hills or mountains

Volcano - mountain or hill created as liquid rock and ash erupt from inside the earth

Waterfall - steep fall or flow of water in a watercourse from a height, as over a precipice; cascade (cataract) HP sample pictures

Windward - side of the mountain facing toward the ocean wind