Download Physical Geography Terms and Definitions

World Geography
Physical Geography
Terms and Definitions
Throughout the year we will focus on two main branches of geography: physical and cultural.
Physical geography refers to the natural world, or those parts of the world that are NOT
created by humans. Physical elements include landforms, bodies of water, climate,
vegetation, wildlife, and natural disasters.
Cultural geography refers to the study of people and their customs and systems. Cultural
elements include government systems, economic systems, language, traditions and customs,
values, religion, celebrations, clothing, music, art, dance, etc.
Elements of Physical Geography
Landforms:

archipelago – a group or chain of islands clustered together in a sea or ocean (i.e. Hawaii)

atoll – a low-lying, ring-shaped island that surrounds a lagoon

butte – a hill that rises abruptly from surrounding area and has a flat top

canyon – a deep valley with steep sides cut into the earth by a river

cape – a point of land that extends into a body of water (i.e. Cape Cod)

cavern – a large underground cave

delta – an area of land at the mouth of a river that forms from deposited silt, usually triangular
in shape (i.e. Mississippi River Delta)

desert – a dry region receiving less than 10 inches of precipitation annually, with extreme
temperatures and little or no plant life

forest – a large area of land densely covered with trees, plants, and underbrush

island – a body of land that is surrounded by water

isthmus – a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses and has water on two
sides

mesa – a land formation that has a flat area on top and steep walls – usually found in dry areas

mountain – a large, high elevation of land with steep sides (larger than a hill)

peninsula – a large piece of land that juts into a body of water and is surrounded on three sides
by water (i.e. Florida)

plain – a broad, flat area of land with few or no trees (i.e. Great Plains)

plateau – a large flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land

river – a body of water that flows over land from a source to a larger body of water

valley – a low place between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it

volcano – an opening in the earth’s crust that erupts with hot lava, ash, or steam

woods – an area covered trees and underbrush, smaller than a forest
Bodies of Water:

bay – a body of water that is partly enclosed by land, usually smaller than a gulf (i.e. San
Francisco Bay)

cove – a small, horseshoe-shaped body of water along the coast (i.e. Jordon Cove)

estuary – where a river meets the sea or ocean (i.e. Mystic River)

glacier – a large body of slow moving ice

gulf – a large area of sea or ocean partly enclosed by land (i.e. Gulf of Mexico)

lagoon – a shallow body of water separated from the sea or ocean by a narrow strip of land

lake – a large body of water surrounded by land on all sides; really huge lakes are often called
seas.

ocean – a large body of salt water that surrounds a continent; oceans cover more than twothirds of the earth

river – a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean

sea – a large body of salty water that is often connected to an ocean

sound – a wide inlet of the sea or ocean that often separates a coastline from a nearby island
(i.e. Long Island Sound)

strait – a narrow stretch of water that connects two larger bodies of water

tributary – a small river or stream that flows into a larger river
Climate: the usual, predictable pattern of weather in an area over a long period of time (for
example, each year in New England, our climate is marked by four distinct seasons).
Natural Disasters: any event or force of nature that has catastrophic consequences, such as
avalanche, earthquake, flood, forest fire, hurricane, lightning, tornado, tsunami, and volcanic
eruption