Download - Geographic Landforms
Geographic Landforms
Key Terms and DefinitionsFor
Washington State History-7
Mountain
• A landform that rises at least 1,000 feet above the surrounding area.
Valley
• An elongated depression, usually with an outlet, between bluffs, hills or mountains.
Basin
• A depression like a bowl that is a circular or oval shape in the ground.
Plateau
• An elevated plain or flat-topped region of considerable extent.
Peninsula
• An elongated portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected to a larger body of land.
Harbor
• A water area nearly surrounded by land or seawalls forming a safe anchorage for ships.
Bay
• A body of water that is partly enclosed by land and is smaller than a gulf.
Coastline
• The line that forms the boundary between land and the ocean.
Strait
• A narrow waterway between two larger bodies of water.
Island
• Land that is surrounded by water.
Slough
• A tidal waterway that creates a muddy marshland and usually connects other tidal areas.
Tributary
• A stream or river that flows into a larger river.
Headwater
• The source of a stream or river.
River Mouth
• Where a stream or river flows into a sea, lake, reservoir or ocean.