Earth:Glossary of landforms
From HandWiki
Short description: none
Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as their creating process, shape, elevation, slope, orientation, rock exposure, and soil type.
Landforms by process
Landforms organized by the processes that create them.
Aeolian landforms
Earth:Aeolian landform – Landforms produced by action of the winds include:
- Blowout – Depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind
- Earth:Desert pavement – Type of desert earth surface
- Earth:Desert varnish – Orange-to-black rock coating in arid environments
- Earth:Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
- Earth:Dune
- Erg – Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
- Earth:Inland dune – Sand dunes found outside of coastal areas
- Médanos - continental dunes
- Earth:Mushroom rock – Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
- Paha – Type of loess hill
- Earth:Ripple marks – Wave structures created in sediments by bottom current
- Biology:Sandhill
- Earth:Sastrugi – Sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface
- Earth:Snowdrift – Snow deposit sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm
- Earth:Tukulan
- Earth:Ventifact
- Earth:Yardang
Coastal and oceanic landforms
Coastal and oceanic landforms include:
- Earth:Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
- Earth:Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
- Earth:Archipelago
- Earth:Atoll
- Arch – Arch-shaped natural rock formation
- Earth:Barrier island – Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast
- Earth:Bay
- Earth:Baymouth bar – Sandbank that partially or completely closes access to a bay
- Earth:Beach
- Earth:Raised beach – Emergent coastal landform
- Earth:Beach cusps – Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
- Earth:Beach ridge – Wave-swept or wave-deposited ridge running parallel to a shoreline
- Bight – Shallowly concave bend or curve in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature
- Blowhole – Hole at the top of a sea-cave which allows waves to force water or spray out of the hole
- Channel – Type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow but long region
- Cape – Large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea
- Earth:Calanque – Narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
- Earth:Cliff
- Earth:Coast
- Earth:Continental shelf – Coastal and oceanic landform
- Earth:Coral reef – Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons
- Earth:Cove
- Earth:Cuspate foreland – Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores
- Dune system
- Earth:Estuary
- Earth:Firth
- Earth:Fjard
- Earth:Fjord
- Geo – Inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
- Earth:Gulf – Large inlet from the ocean into the landmass
- Earth:Headland
- Earth:Inlet – Indentation of a shoreline
- Earth:Island
- Earth:Islet
- Earth:Lagoon
- Earth:Machair
- Earth:Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
- Earth:Ocean bank – Part of the sea which is shallow compared to its surrounding area
- Earth:Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
- Earth:Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
- Earth:Peninsula
- Earth:Promontory – Prominent mass of land that overlooks lower-lying land or a body of water
- Earth:Ria – Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
- Chemistry:River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
- Earth:Salt marsh – Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded
- Earth:Sea cave – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
- Earth:Seamount
- Earth:Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Earth:Shore – The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
- Earth:Skerry
- Sound – A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
- Spit – Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
- Earth:Strait
- Earth:Strandflat
- Stack – Geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock, and stump
- Earth:Submarine canyon – A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
- Earth:Surge channel – Type of coastal landform
- Earth:Tessellated pavement – Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
- Earth:Tidal island – Island accessible by foot at low tide
- Earth:Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
- Earth:Tide pool – Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
- Earth:Tied island – Island that is connected to land only by a tombolo
- Earth:Tombolo – Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus
- Earth:Volcanic arc – Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
- Earth:Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion
Cryogenic landforms
Landforms produced by or in low-temperatures include:
- Earth:Blockfield
- Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
- Kurum – Mantle of loose rocks moving by creeping on gentle slopes.
- Earth:Lithalsa – Frost-induced raised land form in permafrost areas
- Nivation hollow
- Earth:Palsa
- Earth:Pingo
- Earth:Rock glacier – Glacial landform
- Earth:Solifluction lobes and sheets
- Earth:Thermokarst
Erosion landforms
Landforms produced by erosion and weathering usually occur in rocky or fluvial environments, and many also appear under those headings.
- Earth:Arête – Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys
- Earth:Badlands
- Earth:Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
- Earth:Canyon
- Company:Cave
- Earth:Cirque – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
- Earth:Cliff
- Chink, regional term in Central Asia for steep chalk and limestone escarpments and cliffs of height up to 350m, often around flat-top elevations
- Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
- Earth:Cuesta – Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
- Danxia
- Earth:Dissected plateau – Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
- Erg – Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
- Earth:Exhumed river channel – Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
- Earth:Fjord
- Earth:Flared slope – Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
- Flatiron – Steeply sloping triangular landform
- Earth:Gulch – Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
- Earth:Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
- Hogback – Long, narrow ridge
- Hoodoo – Tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
- Earth:Homoclinal ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
- Earth:Inselberg, also known as Monadnock
- Astronomy:Inverted relief – Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
- Earth:Lavaka
- Earth:Limestone pavement – Natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone
- Earth:Mesa
- Earth:Mushroom rock – Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
- Earth:Natural arch – Arch-shaped natural rock formation
- Earth:Outcrop
- Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
- Pediment – Very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
- Earth:Pediplain
- Earth:Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
- Earth:Planation surface – Large-scale surface that is almost flat
- Potrero – Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
- Earth:Ridge – Long, narrow, elevated landform
- Earth:Rôche moutonnée
- Earth:List of rock formations
- Strike ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
- Structural bench – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
- Structural terrace – A step-like landform
- Earth:Tepui
- Earth:Tessellated pavement – Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
- Earth:Truncated spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
- Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
- Earth:Valley
- Earth:Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion
- Earth:Wind gap – Topographic gap made by a former waterway
Fluvial landforms
landforms include:
- Earth:Ait
- Earth:Alluvial fan – Fan-shaped deposit of sediment
- Earth:Anabranch – A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.
- Arroyo
- Earth:Asymmetric valley – Valley that has steeper slopes on one side
- Earth:Backswamp – Environment on a floodplain where deposits settle after a flood
- Bajada
- Bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Earth:Bayou
- Bench – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
- Braided channel – Network of river channels
- Earth:Canyon
- Company:Cave
- Earth:Cliff
- Earth:Cut bank – Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
- Earth:Crevasse splay – Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
- Earth:Confluence
- Earth:Drainage basin – Land area where water converges to a common outlet
- Earth:Drainage divide – Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
- Earth:Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
- Earth:Esker
- Earth:Exhumed river channel – Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
- Earth:Floodplain
- Fluvial island – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
- Gorge
- Earth:Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
- Earth:Levee
- Earth:Marsh – Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land
- Earth:Meander
- Earth:Misfit stream – River too large or too small to have eroded the valley or cave passage in which it flows
- Earth:Narrows – Restricted land or water passage
- Earth:Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
- Earth:Palaeochannel
- Earth:Point bar – Landform related to streams and rivers
- Earth:Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall
- Pothole – Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
- Earth:Rapids
- Earth:Riffle – Shallow landform in a flowing channel
- Earth:River
- Chemistry:River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
- Earth:River island – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:River source – Starting point of a river
- Earth:Rock-cut basin – Cylindrical depression cut into stream or river beds
- Shut-in – Type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams
- Earth:Thalweg
- Towhead – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Earth:Strath
- Earth:Stream
- Earth:Stream pool – Deep and slow-moving stretch of a watercourse
- Earth:Swamp
- Earth:Valley
- Earth:Wadi – River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
- Earth:Waterfall
- Watershed – Land area where water converges to a common outlet
- Earth:Yazoo stream – Hydrologic term
- Earth:V-shaped valley
Impact landforms
Landforms created by extraterrestrial impacts – Collision of two astronomical objects – include:
- Astronomy:Complex crater – Large impact craters with uplifted centres
- Astronomy:Impact crater – Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
- Earth:Impact crater lake – Lake formed within an impact crater
Lacustrine landforms
Lacustrine – associated with lakes – landforms include:
- Earth:Beach
- Earth:Raised beach – Emergent coastal landform
- Earth:Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
- Earth:Chott
- Earth:Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
- Earth:Gilgai
- Earth:Lacustrine plain – Lakes filled by sediment
- Lacustrine terraces – A step-like landform
- Earth:Lake
- Earth:Oasis
- Earth:Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
- Earth:Pond
- Earth:Proglacial lake – Lake formed by the action of ice
- Salt pan, also known as salt flat – Flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals
Mountain and glacial landforms
Mountain and Earth:Glacial landform – Landform created by the action of glaciers – include:
- Earth:Arête – Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys formed by glacial movement
- Earth:Cirque – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
- Earth:Col – Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
- Earth:Cordillera – Extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges
- Earth:Crevasse
- Corrie – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
- Cove (mountain) – Small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
- Earth:Dirt cone – Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
- Earth:Esker
- Earth:Fjord
- Earth:Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
- Flyggberg
- Earth:Glacier
- Earth:Glacier cave – Cave formed within the ice of a glacier
- Earth:Glacier foreland – Area between the leading edge of a glacier and the moraines of latest maximum
- Earth:Highland
- Earth:Hill
- Earth:Inselberg, also known as monadnock
- Earth:Kame
- Earth:Kame delta – Glacial melt water landform
- Kettle – Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
- Earth:Moraine – Glacially formed accumulation of debris
- Earth:Rogen moraine, also known as Ribbed moraines – Landform of ridges deposited by a glacier or ice sheet transverse to ice flow
- Moulin – Shaft within a glacier or ice sheet which water enters from the surface
- Earth:Mountain
- Earth:Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
- Earth:Mountain range – Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
- Earth:Nunatak – Landform within an ice field or glacier
- Earth:Proglacial lake – Lake formed by the action of ice
- Earth:Pyramidal peak, also known as Glacial horn – Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
- Earth:Outwash fan – Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
- Earth:Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Earth:Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
- Earth:Rôche moutonnée
- Sandur – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Earth:Side valley – Valley with a tributary to a larger river
- Earth:Summit
- Earth:Trim line – Clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the glacier
- Earth:Truncated spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
- Earth:Tunnel valley – Glacial-formed geographic feature
- Earth:Valley
- Earth:U-shaped valley – Valleys formed by glacial scouring
Slope landforms
Slope landforms include:
- Bluff
- Earth:Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
- Earth:Canyon
- Earth:Cliff
- Earth:Col – Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
- Earth:Cuesta – Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
- Dale
- Defile – Narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
- Dell – Small secluded hollow
- Place:Doab, also known as interfluve – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
- Draw – Terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between
- Earth:Escarpment, also known as scarp – Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions
- Earth:Fall line – Meeting point of uplands and coastal plain
- Earth:Flat (landform) – Relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
- Earth:Glen
- Earth:Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
- Earth:Hill
- Earth:Hillock, also known as Knoll – Small hill
- Earth:Mesa
- Earth:Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
- Earth:Plain
- Earth:Plateau – Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
- Earth:Ravine
- Earth:Ridge – Long, narrow, elevated landform
- Earth:Rock shelter – A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
- Saddle – Land connecting two high points
- Earth:Scree – Broken rock fragments at base of cliff
- Earth:Solifluction lobes and sheets
- Earth:Strath
- Earth:Summit
- Terrace – A step-like landform
- Earth:Terracette – Small natural step-arranged soil ridges on hillsides
- Vale
- Earth:Valley
Tectonic landforms
Landforms created by tectonic activity include:
- Earth:Asymmetric valley – Valley that has steeper slopes on one side
- Dome – Geological deformation structure
- Faceted spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
- Earth:Fault scarp – Small vertical offset on the ground surface
- Earth:Graben
- Earth:Half-graben
- Horst – Raised fault block bounded by normal faults
- Earth:Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
- Earth:Mud volcano – Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water, and gases
- Earth:Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
- Earth:Pull-apart basin – Type of basin in geology
- Earth:Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
- Earth:Sand boil – Cone formed by the ejection of sand on a surface from a central point
- Earth:Triple junction – Meeting point of three tectonic plates
Volcanic landforms
Volcanic landforms include:
- Company:Caldera
- Earth:Cinder cone – Steep hill of pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
- Earth:Complex volcano – Landform of more than one related volcanic centre
- Astronomy:Cryovolcano
- Earth:Diatreme – A volcanic pipe formed by a gaseous explosion
- Dike – A sheet of rock that is formed in a fracture of a pre-existing rock body
- Earth:Geyser
- Earth:Guyot – Isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
- Earth:Hornito – Conical structures built up by lava ejected through an opening in the crust of a lava flow
- Earth:Kīpuka – Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows
- Earth:Lava – Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
- Earth:Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
- Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain – Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
- Earth:Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
- Earth:Lava spine – Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
- Earth:Lava tube – Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
- Earth:Maar
- Malpais – Rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
- Mamelon – Rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow vent
- Earth:Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
- Earth:Pit crater – Depression formed by collapse of the surface into a void
- Earth:Pyroclastic shield – Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
- Earth:Resurgent dome – Volcanic landform
- Earth:Rootless cone, also known as pseudocrater – Volcanic landform
- Earth:Seamount
- Earth:Shield volcano – Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
- Earth:Stratovolcano
- Earth:Somma volcano – Volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone
- Earth:Volcanic crater lake – Lake formed within a volcanic crater
- Earth:Subglacial mound – Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
- Earth:Submarine volcano – Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt
- Earth:Supervolcano
- Earth:Tuya – Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
- Earth:Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
- Earth:Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic dam – Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
- Earth:Volcanic field – Area of Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic group – Collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
- Earth:Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
- Earth:Volcanic plateau – Plateau produced by volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic plug – Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano
- Earth:Volcano
Weathering landforms
Weathering landforms include:
- Earth:Flared slope – Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
- Flute
- Earth:Inselberg
- Earth:Karst
- Nubbin – Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
- Earth:Panhole (Weathering pit)
- Earth:Tafoni – Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
- Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
Landforms by shape
Positive landforms
- Earth:Cinder cone – Steep hill of pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
- Dome – Geological deformation structure
- Earth:Drumlin
- Earth:Hillock – Small hill
- Earth:Inselberg
- Earth:Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
- Earth:Lava spine – Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
- Earth:Mesa
- Earth:Mogote – Steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
- Nubbin – Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
- Earth:Palsa
- Earth:Pingo
- Earth:Pyroclastic shield – Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
- Earth:Resurgent dome – Volcanic landform
- Earth:Seamount
- Earth:Shield volcano – Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
- Earth:Stratovolcano
- Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
- Earth:Tower karst
- Earth:Tuya – Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
- Earth:Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
- Earth:Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
Depressions
- Company:Caldera
- Company:Cave
- Earth:Cirque – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
- Earth:Crevasse
- Doline – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
- Earth:Graben
- Astronomy:Impact crater – Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
- Joint valley
- Kettle – Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
- Earth:Lagoon
- Earth:Lake
- Earth:Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
- Earth:Maar
- Nivation hollow
- Earth:Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
- Earth:Panhole
- Pothole – Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
- Earth:Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall
- Earth:Pond
- Earth:Pull-apart basin – Type of basin in geology
- Earth:Quarry
- Rift – Part of a volcano where a set of linear cracks form
- Earth:Sea cave – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
- Earth:Sinkhole – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
- Sor
- Earth:Tafoni – Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
- Earth:Thermokarst
- Earth:Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic dam – Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
Flat landforms
- Earth:Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
- Earth:Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
- Bench – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
- Earth:Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
- Earth:Coastal plain – Area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast
- Earth:Continental shelf – Coastal and oceanic landform
- Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
- Earth:Dissected plateau – Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
- Earth:Floodplain
- Earth:Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
- Inselberg plain
- Lacustrine terrace – A step-like landform
- Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain – Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
- Earth:Oceanic basin – Geologic basin under the sea
- Earth:Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
- Earth:Outwash fan – Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
- Earth:Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
- Earth:Pediplain
- Earth:Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
- Earth:Plain
- Earth:Planation surface – Large-scale surface that is almost flat
- Earth:Plateau – Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
- Earth:Polje – Type of large plain found in karst regions
- Earth:Raised beach, also known as Marine terrace – Emergent coastal landform
- Chemistry:River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
- Earth:Salt marsh – Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded
- Salt pan – Flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals
- Sandur – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Earth:Strandflat
- Earth:Strath
- Earth:Swamp
- Table – Raised landform with a flat top
- Earth:Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
- Earth:Tepui
- Earth:Volcanic plateau – Plateau produced by volcanic activity
- Earth:Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion
Landforms, alphabetic
- Earth:Abîme – Geographical term referring to vertical shaft in caves
- Earth:Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
- Earth:Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
- Earth:Ait
- Earth:Alluvial fan – Fan-shaped deposit of sediment
- Earth:Anabranch – A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.
- Arch – Arch-shaped natural rock formation
- Earth:Archipelago
- Earth:Arête – Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys
- Arroyo
- Earth:Atoll
- Earth:Badlands
- Bajada
- Bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Barrier bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Earth:Barrier island – Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast
- Earth:Bay
- Earth:Baymouth bar – Sandbank that partially or completely closes access to a bay
- Earth:Bayou
- Earth:Beach
- Earth:Beach cusps – Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
- Earth:Beach ridge – Wave-swept or wave-deposited ridge running parallel to a shoreline
- Bench – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
- Bight – Shallowly concave bend or curve in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature
- Blowhole – Hole at the top of a sea-cave which allows waves to force water or spray out of the hole
- Blowout – Depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind
- Bluff
- Braided channel – Network of river channels
- Earth:Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
- Earth:Calanque – Narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
- Company:Caldera
- Earth:Canyon
- Cape – Large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea
- Company:Cave
- Channel – Type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow but long region
- Earth:Cirque – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
- Corrie – Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
- Earth:Cliff
- Earth:Coast
- Earth:Coastal plain – Area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast
- Earth:Col – Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
- Astronomy:Complex crater – Large impact craters with uplifted centres
- Earth:Complex volcano – Landform of more than one related volcanic centre
- Earth:Confluence
- Earth:Continental shelf – Coastal and oceanic landform
- Earth:Coral reef – Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons
- Earth:Cordillera – Extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges
- Earth:Cove
- Cove (mountain) – Small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
- Earth:Crevasse splay – Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
- Earth:Crevasse
- Astronomy:Cryovolcano
- Earth:Cuesta – Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
- Earth:Cuspate foreland – Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores
- Earth:Cut bank – Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
- Dale
- Defile – Narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
- Dell – Small secluded hollow
- Delta, River – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
- Earth:Desert pavement – Type of desert earth surface
- Earth:Desert varnish – Orange-to-black rock coating in arid environments
- Earth:Diatreme – A volcanic pipe formed by a gaseous explosion
- Dike – A sheet of rock that is formed in a fracture of a pre-existing rock body
- Earth:Dirt cone – Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
- Earth:Dissected plateau – Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
- Place:Doab – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
- Doline – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
- Dome – Geological deformation structure
- Earth:Drainage basin – Land area where water converges to a common outlet
- Earth:Drainage divide – Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
- Draw – Terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between
- Earth:Drumlin
- Earth:Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
- Earth:Dune
- Dune system
- Earth:Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
- Erg – Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
- Earth:Escarpment – Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions (scarp)
- Earth:Esker
- Earth:Estuary
- Earth:Exhumed river channel – Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
- Faceted spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
- Earth:Fall line – Meeting point of uplands and coastal plain
- Earth:Fault scarp – Small vertical offset on the ground surface
- Earth:Firth
- Earth:Fjard
- Earth:Fjord
- Flat – Relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
- Flatiron – Steeply sloping triangular landform
- Earth:Floodplain
- Earth:Foothills
- Fluvial island – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
- Earth:Foiba – Type of deep natural sinkhole
- Geo – Inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
- Earth:Geyser
- Earth:Gilgai
- Glacial horn – Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
- Earth:Glacier cave – Cave formed within the ice of a glacier
- Earth:Glacier foreland – Area between the leading edge of a glacier and the moraines of latest maximum
- Earth:Glacier
- Earth:Glen
- Gorge
- Earth:Graben
- Earth:Gulch – Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
- Gulf
- Earth:Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
- Earth:Guyot – Isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
- Earth:Half-graben
- Earth:Headland
- Earth:Highland
- Earth:Hill
- Earth:Hillock – Small hill
- Hogback – Long, narrow ridge
- Earth:Homoclinal ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
- Hoodoo – Tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
- Horst – Raised fault block bounded by normal faults
- Astronomy:Impact crater – Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
- Earth:Inland dune – Sand dunes found outside of coastal areas
- Earth:Inlet – Indentation of a shoreline
- Interfluve – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
- Astronomy:Inverted relief – Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
- Earth:Island
- Earth:Islet
- Earth:Kame delta – Glacial melt water landform
- Earth:Kame
- Earth:Karst
- Karst valley
- Kettle – Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
- Earth:Kīpuka – Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows
- Knoll – Small hill
- Earth:Lacustrine plain – Lakes filled by sediment
- Earth:Lagoon
- Earth:Lake
- Earth:Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
- Earth:Lava – Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
- Earth:Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
- Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain – Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
- Earth:Lava spine – Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
- Earth:Lava tube – Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
- Earth:Lavaka
- Earth:Levee, natural
- Earth:Limestone pavement – Natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone
- Earth:Loess
- Lacustrine terraces – A step-like landform
- Earth:Maar
- Earth:Machair
- Malpaís – Rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
- Mamelon – Rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow vent
- Marine terrace – Emergent coastal landform
- Earth:Marsh – Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land
- Earth:Massif – The principal mass of a mountain
- Earth:Meander
- Médanos
- Earth:Mesa
- Earth:Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
- Earth:Mogote – Steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
- Monadnock
- Earth:Moraine – Glacially formed accumulation of debris
- Moulin – Shaft within a glacier or ice sheet which water enters from the surface
- Earth:Mountain
- Earth:Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
- Earth:Mountain range – Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
- Earth:Mud volcano – Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water, and gases
- Earth:Mushroom rock – Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
- Earth:Natural arch – Arch-shaped natural rock formation
- Earth:Nunatak – Landform within an ice field or glacier
- Earth:Oasis
- Earth:Ocean bank – Part of the sea which is shallow compared to its surrounding area
- Earth:Oceanic basin – Geologic basin under the sea
- Earth:Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
- Earth:Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
- Earth:Outcrop
- Earth:Outwash fan – Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
- Earth:Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Earth:Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
- Paha – Type of loess hill
- Earth:Palaeochannel
- Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
- Earth:Panhole
- Pediment – Very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
- Earth:Pediplain
- Earth:Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
- Earth:Peninsula
- Earth:Pingo
- Earth:Pit crater – Depression formed by collapse of the surface into a void
- Earth:Plain
- Earth:Plateau – Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
- Earth:Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall
- Earth:Point bar – Landform related to streams and rivers
- Earth:Polje – Type of large plain found in karst regions
- Earth:Pond
- Pothole – Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
- Potrero – Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
- Earth:Proglacial lake – Lake formed by the action of ice
- Earth:Promontory – Prominent mass of land that overlooks lower-lying land or a body of water
- Earth:Pull-apart basin – Type of basin in geology
- Earth:Quarry
- Earth:Raised beach – Emergent coastal landform
- Earth:Rapids
- Earth:Ravine
- Earth:Ria – Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
- Earth:Ridge – Long, narrow, elevated landform
- Earth:Riffle – Shallow landform in a flowing channel
- Earth:Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
- Earth:Ripple marks – Wave structures created in sediments by bottom current
- Earth:River
- Chemistry:River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
- Earth:River island – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:River source – Starting point of a river
- Earth:Rôche moutonnée
- Earth:Rogen moraine – Landform of ridges deposited by a glacier or ice sheet transverse to ice flow
- Rock formations
- Earth:Rock shelter – A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
- Earth:Rock-cut basin – Cylindrical depression cut into stream or river beds
- Saddle – Land connecting two high points
- Earth:Salt marsh – Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded
- Salt pan – Flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals (salt flat)
- Earth:Sand boil, also known as sand volcano – Cone formed by the ejection of sand on a surface from a central point
- Biology:Sandhill
- Sandur – Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
- Earth:Sastrugi – Sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface
- Earth:Scree – Broken rock fragments at base of cliff
- Earth:Sea cave – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
- Earth:Seamount
- Earth:Shield volcano – Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
- Earth:Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
- Earth:Shore – The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
- Shut-in – Type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams
- Earth:Side valley – Valley with a tributary to a larger river
- Earth:Sinkhole – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
- Earth:Skerry
- Earth:Snowdrift – Snow deposit sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm
- Sound – A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
- Spit – Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
- Stack – Geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock and stump
- Earth:Strait
- Earth:Strandflat
- Earth:Strath
- Earth:Stratovolcano
- Earth:Stream pool – Deep and slow-moving stretch of a watercourse
- Earth:Stream
- Strike ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
- Structural bench – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
- Structural terrace – A step-like landform
- Earth:Subglacial mound – Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
- Earth:Submarine canyon – A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
- Earth:Submarine volcano – Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt
- Earth:Summit
- Earth:Supervolcano
- Earth:Surge channel – Type of coastal landform
- Earth:Swamp
- Earth:Tepui
- Terrace – A step-like landform
- Earth:Terracette – Small natural step-arranged soil ridges on hillsides
- Earth:Tessellated pavement – Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
- Earth:Thalweg
- Earth:Tidal island – Island accessible by foot at low tide
- Earth:Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
- Earth:Tide pool – Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
- Earth:Tied island – Island that is connected to land only by a tombolo
- Earth:Tombolo – Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus
- Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
- Tower karst
- Towhead – Exposed landmass within a river
- Earth:Trim line – Clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the glacier
- Earth:Triple junction – Meeting point of three tectonic plates
- Earth:Truncated spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
- Earth:Tukulan
- Earth:Tunnel valley – Glacial-formed geographic feature
- Turlough – Type of seasonal or periodic lake found in limestone areas of Ireland
- Earth:Tuya – Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
- Earth:U-shaped valley – Valleys formed by glacial scouring
- Uvala – Toponym for a closed karst depression
- Vale
- Earth:Valley
- Earth:Ventifact
- Earth:Volcanic arc – Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
- Earth:Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
- Earth:Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic crater lake – Lake formed within a volcanic crater
- Earth:Volcanic dam – Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
- Earth:Volcanic field – Area of Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic group – Collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
- Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
- Earth:Volcanic plateau – Plateau produced by volcanic activity
- Earth:Volcanic plug – Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano
- Earth:Volcano
- Earth:Wadi – River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
- Earth:Waterfall
- Watershed – Land area where water converges to a common outlet
- Earth:Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion
- Earth:Wetland – Land area that is permanently, or seasonally saturated with water
- Earth:Yardang
Further reading
Hargitai H., Kereszturi Á. (eds): Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer. https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3
See also
- Physics:Geomorphology – Scientific study of landforms
- Glossary of geology
- Types of bodies of water
- Volcanic landforms in the Canary Islands – list of examples in the Canary Islands (with photos)
 |  |
