The Island Groups

India is a land of natural beauty and islands in India forms a significant part
with well-encompassed by lush forests and possess the infinite variety of
striking fauna and flora. There are two major island groups in India – one in
the Bay of Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea. It is believed that these
islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains. However, some
smaller islands are volcanic in origin. Barren Island, the only active volcano in
India is also situated in the Nicobar Islands.

Landforms organized by the processes that create them.

Aeolian[edit]
Further information: Coastal geography and Physical oceanography
See also: List of submarine topographical features Coastal
and oceanic landforms include:

• Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
• Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
• Archipelago – A group of islands
• Atoll – Ring-shaped coral reef
• Arch – Natural rock formation where a rock arch forms
• Ayre – Shingle beaches in Orkney and Shetland
• Barrier bar
• Barrier island – Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the
mainland coast
• Bay – Recessed, coastal body of water connected to an ocean or lake
• Baymouth bar – A depositional feature as a result of longshore drift, a sandbank that partially or
completely closes access to a bay.
• Beach – Area of loose particles at the edge of the sea or other body of water
• Raised beach – A beach or wave-cut platform raised above the shoreline by a relative fall in the
sea level
• Beach cusps – Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
• 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 – A type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow
but long region
• Cape – A large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea
• Calanque – A narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
• Cliff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Coast – Area where land meets the sea or ocean
• Continental shelf – A portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow
water known as a shelf sea
• Coral reef – Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral
skeletons
• Cove – A small sheltered bay or coastal inlet
• Cuspate foreland – Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores that are created
primarily by longshore drift
• Dune system – A hill of loose sand built by aeolian processes or the flow of water
• Estuary – Partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with river stream flow, and with a
free connection to the sea
• Firth – Scottish word used for various coastal inlets and straits
• Fjard – A glacially formed, broad, shallow inlet
• Fjord – A long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
• Geo – An inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
• Gulf – A large inlet from the ocean into the landmass
o List of gulfs – Wikipedia list article
• Headland – A landform extending into a body of water, often with significant height and drop
• Inlet – An indentation of a shoreline that often leads to an enclosed body of salt water, such as a
sound, bay, lagoon, or marsh
• Island – Any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water
• Islet – Very small island
• Isthmus – Narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
• Lagoon – A shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or
reefs
• Machair – A fertile low-lying grassy plain
• Marine terrace
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Oceanic basin – Large geologic basins that are below sea level
• Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient
seabed
• Oceanic ridge – An underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
• Peninsula – Geographical feature
• Ria – A coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
• River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
• Salt marsh – Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded
• Sea cave – A cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former
coastlines
• Seamount – A mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface
• Seamount chains
• Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Shore – The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
• Sound – A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
• Spit – Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
• Strait – A naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies
of water
• Strandflat – A landform typical of the Norwegian coast consisting of a flattish erosion surface on
the coast and near-coast seabed
• Stack – geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock,
and stump
• Submarine canyon – A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
• Surge channel – A narrow inlet, usually on a rocky shoreline, and is formed by differential
erosion of those rocks by coastal wave action
• Tessellated pavement – A relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular
shapes by fractures
• Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
• Tide pool – A rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
• Tombolo – Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy
isthmus
• Volcanic arc – A chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
• Wave-cut platform – The narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the
shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion
Cryogenic landforms[edit]
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
Earth hummocks
• Lithalsa – A frost-induced raised land form in permafrost areas
• Nivation hollow – A geomorphic processes associated with snow patches
• Palsa – A low, often oval, frost heave occurring in polar and subpolar climates
• Permafrost plateau – A low, often oval, frost heave occurring in polar and subpolar climates
Pingo – Mound of earth-covered ice
• Rock glacier – Landform of angular rock debris frozen in interstitial ice, former "true" glaciers
overlain by a layer of talus, or something in between
• Solifluction lobes and sheets
• Thermokarst – Irregular land surface of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed as
permafrost thaws

Erosion landforms[edit]
Landforms produced by erosion and weathering usually occur in coastal or fluvial environments, and
many also appear under those headings.

• Arête – A narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys

• Badlands – A type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been
extensively eroded
• Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
• Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
• Canyon – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Cave – Natural underground space large enough for a human to enter
• Cirque – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
• Cliff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
• Cuesta – A hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
• Dissected plateau – Plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
• Erg – A broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
• Etchplain – A plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
• Exhumed river channel – A ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain
mudstone is eroded away
• Fjord – A long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
• Flared slope – A rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
• Flatiron – A steeply sloping triangular landform created by the differential erosion of a steeply
dipping, erosion-resistant layer of rock overlying softer strata.
• Gulch – Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
• Gully – Landform created by running water eroding sharply into soil
• Hogback – A long, narrow ridge or a series of hills with a narrow crest and steep slopes of nearly
equal inclination on both flanks
• Hoodoo – A tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
• Homoclinal ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
• Inselberg, also known as Monadnock – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly
from a relatively flat surrounding plain
• Inverted relief – Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
• Lavaka – A type of gully, formed via groundwater sapping
• Limestone pavement – A natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed
limestone
• Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs
• Mushroom rock – Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
• Natural arch – Natural rock formation where a rock arch forms
• Paleoplain
• Paleosurface – A surface made by erosion of considerable antiquity
• Pediment – A very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
• Pediplain – An extensive plain formed by the coalescence of pediments
• Peneplain – A low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
• Planation surface – A large-scale surface that is almost flat
• Potrero – A long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain.
• Ridge – A geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous
elevated crest for some distance
• Rôche moutonnée
• List of rock formations – Links to Wikipedia articles about notable rock outcrops
• Strike ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
• Structural bench – A long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and
below
• Structural terrace – A step-like landform
• Tepui – A table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
• Tessellated pavement – A relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular
shapes by fractures
• Truncated spur – A ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
• Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and
gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Wave-cut platform – The narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the
shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion

Fluvial landforms[edit]
Fluvial landforms include:
• Ait – Islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England
• Alluvial fan – A fan- or cone-shaped deposit of sediment crossed and built up by streams
• Anabranch – A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it
downstream.
• Arroyo – A dry creek or stream bed with flow after rain
• Asymmetric valley – A valley that has steeper slopes on one side
• Backswamp – Environment on a floodplain where deposits settle after a flood
• Bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Bayou – French term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying area
• Bench – A long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
• Braided channel – A network of river channels separated by small, and often temporary, islands
• Canyon – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Cave – Natural underground space large enough for a human to enter
• Cliff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Cut bank – Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
 Crevasse splay – Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
• Confluence – Meeting of two or more bodies of flowing water
• Drainage basin – Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet
• Drainage divide – Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
• Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that allows no outflow
• Entrenched meander
• Epigenetic valley – Valley created by erosion and with little or no sympathy for bedrock structure
• Esker – Long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel associated with former glaciers
• Exhumed river channel – A ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain
mudstone is eroded away
• Floodplain – Land adjacent to a stream or river which is flooded during periods of high discharge
Fluvial island – Exposed land within a river.
• Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
• Gorge – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Gully – Landform created by running water eroding sharply into soil
• Natural levee – Ridge or wall to hold back water
• Marsh – wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species
• Meander – Sinuous bend in a series in the channel of a river
• Misfit stream – a river too large or too small to have eroded the valley or cave passage in which
it flows
• Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake formed by a cut-off meander of a river
• Point bar – A depositional feature of alluvium that accumulates on the inside bend of streams
and rivers below the slip-off slope
• Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall created by the erosional force of falling
water and rocks where it lands
• Rapid
• Riffle – Shallow landform in a flowing channel
• River – Natural flowing watercourse
• River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river River island – Exposed land
within a river.
• Rock-cut basin – Cylindrical depressions cut into stream or river beds
• Shut-in – A type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams Thalweg – Line of lowest
elevation in a watercourse or valley Towhead – Exposed land within a river.
• Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Spring – A point at which water emenges from an aquifer to the surface
• Strath – Large valley
• Stream – Body of surface water flowing down a channel
• Stream pool – A stretch of a river or stream in which the water is relatively deep and slow
moving
• Swamp – A forested wetland
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Vale – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Wadi – River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
• Waterfall – Place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of a river
• Watershed – Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet
• Yazoo stream – Hydrologic term
• V-shaped valley
Impact landforms[edit]
Landforms created by extraterrestrial impacts – Collision of two astronomical objects with
measurable effects – include:

• Central peak
• Complex crater – large impact crater morphology with uplifted centres
• Cratered landscape
• Ejecta blanket
• Impact crater – Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity
impact of a smaller object
• Impact crater lake
• Simple crater

Karst landforms[edit]
Karst – Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks – includes:

• Abîme – A vertical shaft in karst terrain that may be very deep and usually opens into a network
of subterranean passages
• Calanque – A narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
• Cave – Natural underground space large enough for a human to enter
• Cenote – A natural pit, or sinkhole, that exposes groundwater underneath
• Foiba – A type of deep natural sinkhole
• Karst fenster – An unroofed portion of a cavern which reveals part of a subterranean river
• Mogote – A steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
• Polje – Type of large flat plain found in karstic geological regions
• Scowle – Landscape features which range from amorphous shallow pits to irregular labyrinthine
hollows up to several metres deep
• Sinkhole – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing
void space
• Turlough – Type of disappearing lake found in limestone areas of Ireland
• Uvala – A local toponym in some regions in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and
Serbia for a closed karst depression

Lacustrine landforms[edit]
Lacustrine – associated with lakes – landforms include:

• Beach – Area of loose particles at the edge of the sea or other body of water
• Raised beach – A beach or wave-cut platform raised above the shoreline by a relative fall in the
sea level
• Carolina bay
• Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
• Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that allows no outflow
• Lacustrine plain – Lakes filled by sediment
• Lacustrine terraces – A step-like landform
• Lake – large body of relatively still water
• Oasis – Isolated source of fresh water in a desert
• Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake formed by a cut-off meander of a river
Parallel Roads of Glen Roy – Nature reserve in the Highlands of Scotland with ancient shoreline
terraces
• Pond – A relatively small body of standing water
Proglacial lake – A lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a
melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet
• Salt pan, also known as salt flat – Flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals

Mountain and glacial landforms[edit]

Mountain and glacial landform – Landform created by the action of glaciers – include:

• Arête – A narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys

• Cirque – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
• Col – The lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
• Crevasse – A deep crack, or fracture, in an ice sheet or glacier
• Corrie – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
• Cove (mountain) – A small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
• Dirt cone – Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
• Drumlin – Elongated hill formed by the action of glacial ice on the substrate and drumlin field
• Esker – Long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel associated with former glaciers
• Fjord – A long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
• Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
• Flyggberg – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively flat
surrounding plain
• Glacier – Persistent body of ice that is moving under its own weight
• Glacier cave – A cave formed within the ice of a glacier
• Glacier foreland – The region between the current leading edge of the glacier and the moraines
of latest maximum
• Hanging valley – A tributary valley that meets the main valley above the valley floor
• Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
• Inselberg, also known as monadnock – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly
from a relatively flat surrounding plain
• Kame – Mound formed on a retreating glacier and deposited on land
• Kame delta – A landform formed by a stream of melt water flowing through or around a glacier
and depositing sediments in a proglacial lake
• Kettle – A depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining
floodwaters
• Moraine – Glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris o 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
• Mountain – A large landform that rises fairly steeply above the surrounding land over a limited
area
• Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
• Mountain range – A geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
Nunatak – Exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or
snow within an ice field or glacier
Proglacial lake – A lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a
melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet
Pyramidal peak, also known as Glacial horn – Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
 Outwash fan – A fan-shaped body of sediments deposited by braided streams from a melting
glacier
• Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment that was transported by meltwater.
• Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
• Rôche moutonnée
• Sandur – Plain formed from glacier sediment that was transported by meltwater.
• Side valley – A valley with a tributary to a larger river
• Summit – A point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to
it, in topography
• Trim line – A clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the
glacier
• Truncated spur – A ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
• Tunnel valley – A U-shaped valley originally cut by water under the glacial ice near the margin of
continental ice sheets
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• U-shaped valley – Valleys formed by glacial scouring

Slope landforms[edit]
Slope landforms include:

• Bluff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height

• Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
• Cliff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Col – The lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
• Cuesta – A hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
• Dale – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Defile – A narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
• Dell – Small secluded hollow
• Doab, also known as Interfluve – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers
• Draw
• Escarpment, also known as scarp – Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions
• Flat (landform) – A relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
• Glen – Name for valley commonly used in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man
• Gully – Landform created by running water eroding sharply into soil
• Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
• Hillock, also known as Knoll – A small hill
• Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs
• Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
• Plain – Extensive flat region that generally does not vary much in elevation
• Plateau – An area of a highland, usually of relatively flat terrain
• Ravine – Small valley, which is often the product of streamcutting erosion
• Ridge – A geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous
elevated crest for some distance
• Rock shelter – A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
• Saddle
• Scree – Broken rock fragments at the base of steep rock faces, that has accumulated through
periodic rockfall
• Solifluction lobes and sheets
 Strath – Large valley
Summit – A point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to
it, in topography
Terrace – A step-like landform
• Terracette – A ridge on a hillside formed when saturated soil particles expand, then contract as
they dry, causing them to move slowly downhill
• Vale
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it Valley shoulder

Tectonic landforms[edit]
Landforms created by tectonic activity include:

• Asymmetric valley – A valley that has steeper slopes on one side

• Dome – geological deformation structure
• Faceted spur – A ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
• Fault scarp – A small step or offset on the ground surface where one side of a fault has moved
vertically with respect to the other
• Graben – Depressed block of planetary crust bordered by parallel faults
• Horst – A raised fault block bounded by normal faults
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Mud volcano – Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases
• Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
• Pull-apart basin – A structural basin where two overlapping faults or a fault bend creates an area
of crustal extension which causes the basin to subside
• Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
• Sand boil – A cone of sand formed by the ejection of sand onto a surface from a central point by
water under pressure

Volcanic landforms[edit]
Volcanic landforms include:

• Caldera – Cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the emptying of a magma chamber

• Cinder cone – A steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
• Complex volcano – A landform of more than one related volcanic centre
• Cryptodome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
• Cryovolcano – A type of volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane,
instead of molten rock
• 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
• Fissure vent – Linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts
• Geyser – Hot spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and
accompanied by steam
• Guyot – An isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
Hornito – Conical structures built up by lava ejected through an opening in the crust of a lava
flow
Kīpuka – Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows
Lava – Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
Lava coulee – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava Lava
field, also known as lava plain
• Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
• Lava spine – A vertically growing monolith of viscous lava that is slowly forced from a volcanic
vent, such as those growing on a lava dome
• Lava tube – Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
• Maar – Low-relief volcanic crater
• Malpais – A rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
• Mamelon – A rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow
vent
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Pit crater – A depression formed by a sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or
empty chamber
• Pyroclastic shield – Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
• Resurgent dome – A dome formed by swelling or rising of a caldera floor due to movement in
the magma chamber beneath it
• Rootless cone, also known as pseudocrater
• Seamount – A mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's
surface
• Shield volcano – Low profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
• Stratovolcano – Tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava and other ejecta
• Somma volcano – A volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone
• Spatter cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
• Volcanic crater lake – Lake formed within a volcanic crater
• Subglacial mound – Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
• Submarine volcano – Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can
erupt
• Supervolcano – Volcano that has erupted 1000 cubic km in a single eruption
• Tuff cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
• Tuya – A flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice
sheet
• Volcanic vent
• Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
• Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
• Volcanic dam – A natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
• Volcanic field – Area of the Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
• Volcanic group – A collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
• Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
• Volcanic plateau – A plateau produced by volcanic activity
• Volcanic plug – Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active
volcano
• Volcano – rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and
gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface

Weathering landforms[edit]
Weathering landforms include:

Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock

Etchplain – A plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
 Flared slope – A rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone Flute
Honeycomb weathering – A form of cavernous weathering and subcategory of tafoni Inselberg
– Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively flat surrounding plain
• Karst – Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks
• Nubbin – A small and gentle hill consisting of a bedrock core dotted with rounded residual
blocks.
• Panhole – A shallow depression or basin eroded into flat or gently sloping cohesive rock
(Weathering pit)
• Tafoni – Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
• Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and
gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest

Landforms by shape[edit]

Positive landforms[edit]
• Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
• Cinder cone – A steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
• Cryptodome
• Dome – geological deformation structure
• Drumlin – Elongated hill formed by the action of glacial ice on the substrate
• Granite dome – Rounded hills of bare granite formed by exfoliation
• Hillock – A small hill
• Inselberg – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively flat
surrounding plain
• Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
• Lava spine – A vertically growing monolith of viscous lava that is slowly forced from a volcanic
vent, such as those growing on a lava dome
• Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs
• Mogote – A steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
• Nubbin – A small and gentle hill consisting of a bedrock core dotted with rounded residual
blocks.
• Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and
gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest
• Tower karst
• Tuya – A flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice
sheet
• Palsa – A low, often oval, frost heave occurring in polar and subpolar climates
• Pingo – Mound of earth-covered ice
• Pyroclastic shield – Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
• Resurgent dome – A dome formed by swelling or rising of a caldera floor due to movement in
the magma chamber beneath it
Seamount – A mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's
surface
Shield volcano – Low profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
Stratocone
Stratovolcano – Tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava and other ejecta
Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape Volcanic
island

Depressions[edit]
• Caldera – Cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the emptying of a magma chamber
• Cave – Natural underground space large enough for a human to enter
• Cenote – A natural pit, or sinkhole, that exposes groundwater underneath
• Cirque – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
• Crevasse – A deep crack, or fracture, in an ice sheet or glacier
• Deflation hollow
• Doline – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void
space
• Gnamma
• Graben – Depressed block of planetary crust bordered by parallel faults
• Honeycomb weathering – A form of cavernous weathering and subcategory of tafoni
• Impact crater – Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity
impact of a smaller object
• Joint valley
• Kettle – A depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining
floodwaters
• Lagoon – A shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or
reefs
• Lake – large body of relatively still water
• Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
• Maar – Low-relief volcanic crater
• Nivation hollow – A geomorphic processes associated with snow patches
• Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake formed by a cut-off meander of a river
• Panhole – A shallow depression or basin eroded into flat or gently sloping cohesive rock
• Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall created by the erosional force of falling
water and rocks where it lands
• Pond – A relatively small body of standing water
• Pull-apart basin – A structural basin where two overlapping faults or a fault bend creates an area
of crustal extension which causes the basin to subside
• Quarry – A place from which a geological material has been excavated from the ground
• Rift – Part of a volcano where a set of linear cracks form
• Sea cave – A cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former
coastlines
• Sinkhole – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing
void space
• Tafoni – Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
• Thermokarst – Irregular land surface of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed as
permafrost thaws
• Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
• Volcanic dam – A natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism

Flat landforms[edit]
• Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
Bench – A long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
Continental shelf – A portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow
water known as a shelf sea
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
• Dissected plateau – Plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
• Etchplain – A plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
• Floodplain – Land adjacent to a stream or river which is flooded during periods of high discharge
• Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
• Inselberg plain – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively flat
surrounding plain
• Lacustrine terrace – A step-like landform
• Lava field, also known as lava plain
• Oceanic basin – Large geologic basins that are below sea level
• Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient
seabed
• Outwash fan – A fan-shaped body of sediments deposited by braided streams from a melting
glacier
• Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment that was transported by meltwater.
Paleoplain
• Pediplain – An extensive plain formed by the coalescence of pediments
• Peneplain – A low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
• Plain – Extensive flat region that generally does not vary much in elevation
• Planation surface – A large-scale surface that is almost flat
• Plateau – An area of a highland, usually of relatively flat terrain
• Polje – Type of large flat plain found in karstic geological regions
• Raised beach, also known as Marine terrace – A beach or wave-cut platform raised above the
shoreline by a relative fall in the sea level
• River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
• 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 that was transported by meltwater.
• Strandflat – A landform typical of the Norwegian coast consisting of a flattish erosion surface on
the coast and near-coast seabed
• Strath – Large valley
• Swamp – A forested wetland
• Table – Raised landforms that have a flat top
• Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
• Tepui – A table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
• Volcanic plateau – A plateau produced by volcanic activity
• Wave-cut platform – The narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the
shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion

Landforms, alphabetic[edit]

Abîme – A vertical shaft in karst terrain that may be very deep and usually opens into a network
of subterranean passages
Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
Ait – Islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England
• Alluvial fan – A fan- or cone-shaped deposit of sediment crossed and built up by streams
• Anabranch – A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it
downstream.
• Arch – Natural rock formation where a rock arch forms
• Archipelago – A group of islands
• Arête – A narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys
• Arroyo – A dry creek or stream bed with flow after rain
• Atoll – Ring-shaped coral reef
• Ayre – Shingle beaches in Orkney and Shetland
• Badlands – A type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been
extensively eroded
• Bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Barchan – A crescent-shaped dune
• Barrier bar – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Barrier island – Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the
mainland coast
• Bay – Recessed, coastal body of water connected to an ocean or lake
• Baymouth bar – A depositional feature as a result of longshore drift, a sandbank that partially or
completely closes access to a bay.
• Bayou – French term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying area
• Beach – Area of loose particles at the edge of the sea or other body of water
• Beach cusps – Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
• Beach ridge – Wave-swept or wave-deposited ridge running parallel to a shoreline
• Bench – A 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 – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
• Braided channel – A network of river channels separated by small, and often temporary, islands
• Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
• Calanque – A narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
• Caldera – Cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the emptying of a magma chamber
• Canyon – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Cape – A large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea Carolina bay
• Cave – Natural underground space large enough for a human to enter
• Cenote – A natural pit, or sinkhole, that exposes groundwater underneath
• Channel – A type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow
but long region
• Cirque – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
• Corrie – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
• Cliff – A vertical, or near vertical, rock face of substantial height
• Coast – Area where land meets the sea or ocean
• Col – The lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
 Complex crater – large impact crater morphology with uplifted centres
Complex volcano – A landform of more than one related volcanic centre
Confluence – Meeting of two or more bodies of flowing water
Continental shelf – A portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow
water known as a shelf sea
• Coral reef – Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral
skeletons
Cove – A small sheltered bay or coastal inlet
• Cove (mountain) – A small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
• Crevasse splay – Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
• Crevasse – A deep crack, or fracture, in an ice sheet or glacier
• Cryovolcano – A type of volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane,
instead of molten rock
• Cuesta – A hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
• Cuspate foreland – Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores that are created
primarily by longshore drift
• Cut bank – Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
• Dale – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Defile – A narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
• Dell – Small secluded hollow
• Delta, River – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
• Desert pavement – A desert surface covered with closely packed, interlocking angular or
rounded rock fragments of pebble and cobble size.
• 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
• Dirt cone – Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
• Dissected plateau – Plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
• Doab – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers
• Doline – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void
space
• Dome – geological deformation structure
• Drainage basin – Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet
Drainage divide – Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
• Draw
• Dreikanter – A type of ventifact that typically forms in desert or periglacial environments due to
the abrasive action of blowing sand
• Drumlin – Elongated hill formed by the action of glacial ice on the substrate
• Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
• Dune – A hill of loose sand built by aeolian processes or the flow of water
• Dune system – A hill of loose sand built by aeolian processes or the flow of water Ejecta
blanket
• Endorheic basin – Closed drainage basin that allows no outflow
• Erg – A broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
• Escarpment – Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions (scarp)
• Esker – Long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel associated with former glaciers
• Estuary – Partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with river stream flow, and with a
free connection to the sea
Exhumed river channel – A ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain
mudstone is eroded away
Faceted spur – A ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
Fault scarp – A small step or offset on the ground surface where one side of a fault has moved
vertically with respect to the other
Firth – Scottish word used for various coastal inlets and straits
Fissure vent – Linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts
• Fjard – A glacially formed, broad, shallow inlet
Fjord – A long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
Flat – A relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
• Flatiron – A steeply sloping triangular landform created by the differential erosion of a steeply
dipping, erosion-resistant layer of rock overlying softer strata.
• Floodplain – Land adjacent to a stream or river which is flooded during periods of high discharge
Fluvial island – Exposed land within a river.
• Fluvial terrace – Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
• Foiba – A type of deep natural sinkhole
• Geo – An inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
• Geyser – Hot spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and
accompanied by steam
• Glacial horn – Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
• Glacier cave – A cave formed within the ice of a glacier
• Glacier foreland – The region between the current leading edge of the glacier and the moraines
of latest maximum
• Glacier – Persistent body of ice that is moving under its own weight
• Parallel Roads of Glen Roy – Nature reserve in the Highlands of Scotland with ancient shoreline
terraces
• Glen – Name for valley commonly used in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man
• Gorge – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Graben – Depressed block of planetary crust bordered by parallel faults
• Gulf – Wikipedia list article
• Gully – Landform created by running water eroding sharply into soil
• Guyot – An isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
• Hanging valley – A tributary valley that meets the main valley above the valley floor
• Headland – A landform extending into a body of water, often with significant height and drop
• Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
• Hogback – A long, narrow ridge or a series of hills with a narrow crest and steep slopes of
nearly equal inclination on both flanks
• Homoclinal ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
• Hoodoo – A tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
• Horst – A raised fault block bounded by normal faults
• Impact crater – Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a hypervelocity
impact of a smaller object
• Inlet – An indentation of a shoreline that often leads to an enclosed body of salt water, such as a
sound, bay, lagoon, or marsh
• Interfluve – Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers
• Inverted relief – Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
Island – Any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water
• Islet – Very small island
• Isthmus – Narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
Kame delta – A landform formed by a stream of melt water flowing through or around a glacier
and depositing sediments in a proglacial lake
Kame – Mound formed on a retreating glacier and deposited on land
Karst – Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks
Karst fenster – An unroofed portion of a cavern which reveals part of a subterranean river
Karst valley – Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks
Kettle – A depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining
floodwaters
Kīpuka – Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows Knoll
– A small hill
• Lacustrine plain – Lakes filled by sediment
• Lagoon – A shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or
reefs
• Lake – large body of relatively still water
• Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
• Lava – Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
• Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
• Lava field, also known as lava plain
• Lava spine – A vertically growing monolith of viscous lava that is slowly forced from a volcanic
vent, such as those growing on a lava dome
• Lava tube – Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
• Lavaka – A type of gully, formed via groundwater sapping
• Levee – Ridge or wall to hold back water, natural
• Limestone pavement – A natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed
limestone
• Loess – A predominantly silt-sized clastic sediment of accumulated wind-blown dust
• Lacustrine terraces – A step-like landform
• Maar – Low-relief volcanic crater
• Machair – A fertile low-lying grassy plain
• Malpaís – A rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
• Mamelon – A rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow
vent
• Marine terrace – A beach or wave-cut platform raised above the shoreline by a relative fall in the
sea level
• Marsh – wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species
• Meander – Sinuous bend in a series in the channel of a river
• Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Mogote – A steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
• Monadnock – Isolated rock hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively flat
surrounding plain
• Moraine – Glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris
• Moulin – Shaft within a glacier or ice sheet which water enters from the surface
• Mountain – A large landform that rises fairly steeply above the surrounding land over a limited
area
• Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
• Mountain range – A geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
• Mud volcano – Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases
• Mushroom rock – Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
Natural arch – Natural rock formation where a rock arch forms
 Nunatak – Exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or
snow within an ice field or glacier
Oasis – Isolated source of fresh water in a desert
Oceanic basin – Large geologic basins that are below sea level
Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient
seabed
Oceanic ridge – An underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
Oceanic trench – Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
• Outwash fan – A fan-shaped body of sediments deposited by braided streams from a melting
glacier
• Outwash plain – Plain formed from glacier sediment that was transported by meltwater.
• Oxbow lake – U-shaped lake formed by a cut-off meander of a river
• Pediment – A very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
• Pediplain – An extensive plain formed by the coalescence of pediments
• Peneplain – A low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
• Peninsula – Geographical feature
• Pingo – Mound of earth-covered ice
• Pit crater – A depression formed by a sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or
empty chamber
• Plain – Extensive flat region that generally does not vary much in elevation
• Plateau – An area of a highland, usually of relatively flat terrain
• Playa lake
• Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall created by the erosional force of falling
water and rocks where it lands
• Point bar – A depositional feature of alluvium that accumulates on the inside bend of streams
and rivers below the slip-off slope
• Polje – Type of large flat plain found in karstic geological regions
• Pond – A relatively small body of standing water
• Potrero – A long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain.
• Proglacial lake – A lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a
melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet
• Pseudocrater
• Pull-apart basin – A structural basin where two overlapping faults or a fault bend creates an
area of crustal extension which causes the basin to subside
• Quarry – A place from which a geological material has been excavated from the ground
• Raised beach – A beach or wave-cut platform raised above the shoreline by a relative fall in the
sea level
• Rapid
• Ravine – Small valley, which is often the product of streamcutting erosion
• Ria – A coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
• Ridge – A geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous
elevated crest for some distance
• Riffle – Shallow landform in a flowing channel
• Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
• River – Natural flowing watercourse
• River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river River island – Exposed land
within a river.
• Rôche moutonnée
• Rogen moraine – Landform of ridges deposited by a glacier or ice sheet transverse to ice flow
Rock formations – Links to Wikipedia articles about notable rock outcrops
Rock shelter – A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
Rock-cut basin – Cylindrical depressions cut into stream or river beds
Saddle
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)
Sand boil, also known as sand volcano – A cone of sand formed by the ejection of sand onto a
surface from a central point by water under pressure
• Sandhill – A type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem Sandur
– Plain formed from glacier sediment that was transported by meltwater.
• Scowle – Landscape features which range from amorphous shallow pits to irregular labyrinthine
hollows up to several metres deep
• Scree – Broken rock fragments at the base of steep rock faces, that has accumulated through
periodic rockfall
• Sea cave – A cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former
coastlines
• Seamount – A mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's
surface
• Shield volcano – Low profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
• Shoal – Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
• Shore – The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
• Shut-in – A type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams
• Side valley – A valley with a tributary to a larger river
• Sinkhole – Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing
void space
• Sound – A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
• Spit – Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
• Spring – A point at which water emenges from an aquifer to the surface
• Stack – geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock
and stump
• Strait – A naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies
of water
• Strandflat – A landform typical of the Norwegian coast consisting of a flattish erosion surface on
the coast and near-coast seabed
• Strath – Large valley
• Stratovolcano – Tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava and other ejecta
• Stream pool – A stretch of a river or stream in which the water is relatively deep and slow
moving
• Stream – Body of surface water flowing down a channel
• Strike ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
• Structural bench – A long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and
below
• Structural terrace – A step-like landform
• Subglacial mound – Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
• Submarine canyon – A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
• Submarine volcano – Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma
can erupt
• Summit – A point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to
it, in topography
Supervolcano – Volcano that has erupted 1000 cubic km in a single eruption
Surge channel – A narrow inlet, usually on a rocky shoreline, and is formed by differential
erosion of those rocks by coastal wave action
Swamp – A forested wetland
Tepui – A table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
Terrace – A step-like landform
Terracette – A ridge on a hillside formed when saturated soil particles expand, then contract as
they dry, causing them to move slowly downhill
• Tessellated pavement – A relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular
shapes by fractures
• Thalweg – Line of lowest elevation in a watercourse or valley
• Tidal marsh – Marsh subject to tidal change in water
• Tide pool – A rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
• Tombolo – Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy
isthmus
• Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and
gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest
• Tower karst – Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks Towhead – Exposed
land within a river.
• Trim line – A clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the
glacier
• Truncated spur – A ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
• Tunnel valley – A U-shaped valley originally cut by water under the glacial ice near the margin of
continental ice sheets
• Turlough – Type of disappearing lake found in limestone areas of Ireland
• Tuya – A flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice
sheet
• U-shaped valley – Valleys formed by glacial scouring
• Uvala – A local toponym in some regions in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and
Serbia for a closed karst depression
• Vale
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Valley shoulder
• Ventifact – A rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals
• Volcanic arc – A chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
• Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
• Volcanic crater – Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
• Volcanic crater lake – Lake formed within a volcanic crater
• Volcanic dam – A natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
• Volcanic field – Area of the Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
• Volcanic group – A collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
• Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
• Volcanic plateau – A plateau produced by volcanic activity
• Volcanic plug – Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active
volcano
• Volcanic vent
• Volcano – rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and
gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface
• Wadi – River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
 Waterfall – Place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of a river
Watershed – Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet
Wave-cut platform – The narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the
shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion
Wetland – land area that is permanently or seasonally saturated with water Yardang
– A streamlined aeolian landform

Further readingedit

Hargitai H., Kereszturi Á. (eds): Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer.

See also[edit]

• Geomorphology – The scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape
them
• Ocean – A body of water that composes much of a planet's hydrosphere
Sea – Large body of salt water