GEOGRAPHY VOCABULARY UNIT 1

Mountain range: A continuous chain of mountains.

Plateau: A flat area of land which sits at a certain altitude above sea level.

Peninsula: A large scale headland surrounded by water on three sides. A peninsula can be connected to the land by a thin stretch of land called and isthmus.

Inlet: A thin channel of water that leads inland from the sea. Inlets created by glaciations are called fjords and are usually found on mountains coastlines.

Headland: A small area of land that projects out into the sea.

Island: A piece of land completely surrounded by water. A group of related islands close together form an archipelago.

Gulf: An area of sea surrounded by land on three sides. It forms the shape of an arc. A bay is similar but generally smaller.

Oceanic ridge: An underwater mountain range that generally covers a large area and reaches high altitudes.

Oceanic trench: A long depression on the ocean floor that can be thousands of metres deep.

Abyssal plain: A flat area of the ocean floor. They are found at depths of between 3000 and 7000m.

Continental shelf: The undersea area extension of a continent that descends gradually to depths of around 400m.

Continental slope: A steep underwater area that links the continental shelf with the ocean floor.

Mountain: A large landform that is higher than the surrounding land.

Valley: A linear depression in the land. A river is V-shaped due to the action of a river running through it. Glacial valleys are U-shaped because they have been formed by a moving glacier.

Plain: A large, open, flat or slightly undulating area of land.