| A | B |
|---|
| Absolute location | exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates |
| 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 |
| Canyon | deep and narrow valley with steep walls |
| Cape | point of land that extends into a river, lake, or ocean |
| Channel | wide strait or waterway between two landmasses that lie close to teach other; deep part of a river or other waterway |
| Cliff | steep, high wall of rock, earth, or ice |
| Continent | one of the seven large landmasses on the earth |
| Delta | flat, low-lying land built up from soil carried downstream by a river and deposited at its mouth |
| Divide | stretch of high land that separates river systems |
| Downstream | direction in which a river or stream flows from its source to its mouth |
| Elevation | height of land above sea level |
| Equator | imaginary line that runs around the earth halfway between the North and South Poles; used as the starting point to measure degrees of north and south latitude |
| Glacier | large, thick body of slowly moving ice |
| 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 |
| Highland | elevated land areas such as a hill, mountain, or plateau |
| Hill | elevated land with sloping sides and rounded summit; generally smaller than a mountain |
| Island | land area, smaller than a continent, completely surrounded by water |
| Isthmus | narrow stretch of land connecting two larger land areas |
| Lake | a sizable inland body of water |
| Latitude | distance north of south of the Equator, measured in degrees |
| Longitude | distance east of west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees |
| Lowland | land, usually level, at a low elevation |
| Map | drawing of the earth shown on a flat surface |
| Meridian | one of many lines on the global grid running from the North Pole to the South Pole; used to measure degrees of longitude |
| Mesa | broad, flat-topped landform with steep sides; smaller than a plateau |
| Mountain | land with steep sides that rises sharply (1,000 feet or more) from surrounding land; generally larger and more rugged than a hill |
| Mountain peak | pointed top of a mountain |
| Mountain range | a series of connected mountains |
| Mouth | place where a stream or river flows into a larger body of water |
| Ocean | one of the four major bodies of salt water that surround the continents |
| Ocean current | stream of either cold or warm water that moves in a definite direction through an ocean |
| Parallel | one of many lines on the global grid that circles the earth north or south of the Equator; used to measure degrees of latitude |
| Peninsula | body of land jutting into a lake or ocean, surrounded on three sides by water |
| Physical feature | characteristic of a place occurring naturally, such as a landform, body of water, climate pattern, or resource |
| Plain | Area of level land, usually at low elevation and often covered with grasses |
| Plateau | Area of flat or rolling land at a high elevation, about 300 to 3,000 feet (90 to 900 m) high |
| Prime Meridian | line of the global grid running from the North Pole to the South Pole at Greenwich, England; starting point for |
| Relief | changes in elevation over a given area of land |
| River | large natural stream of water that runs through the land |
| Sea | large body of water completely or partly surrounded by land |
| Seacoast | land lying next to a sea or an ocean |
| Sound | broad inland body of water, often between a coastline and one or more islands off the coast |
| Source | place where a r river or stream begins, often in 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 |
| Upstream | direction opposite the flow of a river, toward the source of a river or stream |
| Valley | area of low land usually between hills or mountains |
| Volcano | mountain or hill created as liquid rock and ask erupt from inside the earth |
