Glossary of landforms

Short description: none

Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as their creating process, shape, elevation, slope, orientation, rock exposure, and soil type.

## Contents

* 1 Landforms by process
* 1.1 Aeolian landforms
* 1.2 Coastal and oceanic landforms
* 1.3 Cryogenic landforms
* 1.4 Erosion landforms
* 1.5 Fluvial landforms
* 1.6 Impact landforms
* 1.7 Lacustrine landforms
* 1.8 Mountain and glacial landforms
* 1.9 Slope landforms
* 1.10 Tectonic landforms
* 1.11 Volcanic landforms
* 1.12 Weathering landforms
* 2 Landforms by shape
* 2.1 Positive landforms
* 2.2 Depressions
* 2.3 Flat landforms
* 3 Landforms, alphabetic
* 4 Further reading
* 5 See also

## Landforms by process

Landforms organized by the processes that create them.

### Aeolian landforms

Earth:Aeolian landform - Landforms produced by action of the winds include:

* Blowout - Depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind
* Earth:Desert pavement - Type of desert earth surface
* Earth:Desert varnish - Orange-to-black rock coating in arid environments
* Earth:Dry lake - Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
* Earth:Dune
* Erg - Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
* Earth:Inland dune - Sand dunes found outside of coastal areas
* Médanos \- continental dunes
* Earth:Mushroom rock - Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
* Paha - Type of loess hill
* Earth:Ripple marks - Wave structures created in sediments by bottom current
* Biology:Sandhill
* Earth:Sastrugi - Sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface
* Earth:Snowdrift - Snow deposit sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm
* Earth:Tukulan
* Earth:Ventifact
* Earth:Yardang

### Coastal and oceanic landforms

See also: Earth:List of submarine topographical features

Coastal and oceanic landforms include:

* Earth:Abyssal fan - Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
* Earth:Abyssal plain - Flat area on the deep ocean floor
* Earth:Archipelago
* Earth:Atoll
* Arch - Arch-shaped natural rock formation
* Earth:Barrier island - Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast
* Earth:Bay
* Earth:Baymouth bar - Sandbank that partially or completely closes access to a bay
* Earth:Beach
* Earth:Raised beach - Emergent coastal landform
* Earth:Beach cusps - Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
* Earth: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 - Type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow but long region
* Cape - Large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea
* Earth:Calanque - Narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
* Earth:Cliff
* Earth:Coast
* Earth:Continental shelf - Coastal and oceanic landform
* Earth:Coral reef - Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons
* Earth:Cove
* Earth:Cuspate foreland - Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores
* Dune system
* Earth:Estuary
* Earth:Firth
* Earth:Fjard
* Earth:Fjord
* Geo - Inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
* Earth:Gulf - Large inlet from the ocean into the landmass
* Earth:List of gulfs
* Earth:Headland
* Earth:Inlet - Indentation of a shoreline
* Earth:Island
* Earth:Islet
* Earth:Lagoon
* Earth:Machair
* Earth:Mid-ocean ridge - Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
* Earth:Ocean bank - Part of the sea which is shallow compared to its surrounding area
* Earth:Oceanic plateau - Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
* Earth:Oceanic trench - Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
* Earth:Peninsula
* Earth:Promontory - Prominent mass of land that overlooks lower-lying land or a body of water
* Earth:Ria - Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
* Chemistry:River delta - Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
* Earth:Salt marsh - Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded
* Earth:Sea cave - Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
* Earth:Seamount
* Earth:Shoal - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Earth:Shore - The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
* Earth:Skerry
* Sound - A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
* Spit - Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
* Earth:Strait
* Earth:Strandflat
* Stack - Geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock, and stump
* Earth:Submarine canyon - A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
* Earth:Surge channel - Type of coastal landform
* Earth:Tessellated pavement - Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
* Earth:Tidal island - Island accessible by foot at low tide
* Earth:Tidal marsh - Marsh subject to tidal change in water
* Earth:Tide pool - Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
* Earth:Tied island - Island that is connected to land only by a tombolo
* Earth:Tombolo - Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus
* Earth:Volcanic arc - Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
* Earth:Wave-cut platform - Narrow flat area created by erosion

### Cryogenic landforms

Landforms produced by or in low-temperatures include:

* Earth:Blockfield
* Cryoplanation terrace - Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
* Kurum - Mantle of loose rocks moving by creeping on gentle slopes.
* Earth:Lithalsa - Frost-induced raised land form in permafrost areas
* Nivation hollow
* Earth:Palsa
* Earth:Pingo
* Earth:Rock glacier - Glacial landform
* Earth:Solifluction lobes and sheets
* Earth:Thermokarst

### Erosion landforms

Landforms produced by erosion and weathering usually occur in rocky or fluvial environments, and many also appear under those headings.

* Earth:Arête - Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys
* Earth:Badlands
* Earth:Butte - Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
* Earth:Canyon
* Company:Cave
* Earth:Cirque - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
* Earth:Cliff
* Chink, regional term in Central Asia for steep chalk and limestone escarpments and cliffs of height up to 350m, often around flat-top elevations
* Cryoplanation terrace - Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
* Earth:Cuesta - Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
* Danxia
* Earth:Dissected plateau - Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
* Erg - Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
* Earth:Exhumed river channel - Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
* Earth:Fjord
* Earth:Flared slope - Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
* Flatiron - Steeply sloping triangular landform
* Earth:Gulch - Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
* Earth:Gully - Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
* Hogback - Long, narrow ridge
* Hoodoo - Tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
* Earth:Homoclinal ridge - Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
* Earth:Inselberg, also known as Monadnock
* Astronomy:Inverted relief - Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
* Earth:Lavaka
* Earth:Limestone pavement - Natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone
* Earth:Mesa
* Earth:Mushroom rock - Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
* Earth:Natural arch - Arch-shaped natural rock formation
* Earth:Outcrop
* Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
* Pediment - Very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
* Earth:Pediplain
* Earth:Peneplain - Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
* Earth:Planation surface - Large-scale surface that is almost flat
* Potrero - Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
* Earth:Ridge - Long, narrow, elevated landform
* Earth:Rôche moutonnée
* Earth:List of rock formations
* Strike ridge - Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
* Structural bench - Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
* Structural terrace - A step-like landform
* Earth:Tepui
* Earth:Tessellated pavement - Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
* Earth:Truncated spur - Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
* Tor - Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
* Earth:Valley
* Earth:Wave-cut platform - Narrow flat area created by erosion
* Earth:Wind gap - Topographic gap made by a former waterway

### Fluvial landforms

For a more comprehensive list, see Earth:List of fluvial landforms.

landforms include:

* Earth:Ait
* Earth:Alluvial fan - Fan-shaped deposit of sediment
* Earth:Anabranch - A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.
* Arroyo
* Earth:Asymmetric valley - Valley that has steeper slopes on one side
* Earth:Backswamp - Environment on a floodplain where deposits settle after a flood
* Bajada
* Bar - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Earth:Bayou
* Bench - Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
* Braided channel - Network of river channels
* Earth:Canyon
* Company:Cave
* Earth:Cliff
* Earth:Cut bank - Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
* Earth:Crevasse splay - Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
* Earth:Confluence
* Earth:Drainage basin - Land area where water converges to a common outlet
* Earth:Drainage divide - Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Earth:Endorheic basin - Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
* Earth:Esker
* Earth:Exhumed river channel - Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
* Earth:Floodplain
* Fluvial island - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:Fluvial terrace - Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
* Gorge
* Earth:Gully - Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
* Earth:Levee
* Earth:Marsh - Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land
* Earth:Meander
* Earth:Misfit stream - River too large or too small to have eroded the valley or cave passage in which it flows
* Earth:Narrows - Restricted land or water passage
* Earth:Oxbow lake - U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
* Earth:Palaeochannel
* Earth:Point bar - Landform related to streams and rivers
* Earth:Plunge pool - Depression at the base of a waterfall
* Pothole - Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
* Earth:Rapids
* Earth:Riffle - Shallow landform in a flowing channel
* Earth:River
* Chemistry:River delta - Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
* Earth:River island - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:River source - Starting point of a river
* Earth:Rock-cut basin - Cylindrical depression cut into stream or river beds
* Shut-in - Type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams
* Earth:Thalweg
* Towhead - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:Shoal - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Earth:Strath
* Earth:Stream
* Earth:Stream pool - Deep and slow-moving stretch of a watercourse
* Earth:Swamp
* Earth:Valley
* Earth:Wadi - River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
* Earth:Waterfall
* Watershed - Land area where water converges to a common outlet
* Earth:Yazoo stream - Hydrologic term
* Earth:V-shaped valley

### Impact landforms

Landforms created by extraterrestrial impacts - Collision of two astronomical objects – include:

* Astronomy:Complex crater - Large impact craters with uplifted centres
* Astronomy:Impact crater - Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
* Earth:Impact crater lake - Lake formed within an impact crater

### Lacustrine landforms

Lacustrine – associated with lakes – landforms include:

* Earth:Beach
* Earth:Raised beach - Emergent coastal landform
* Earth:Dry lake - Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
* Earth:Chott
* Earth:Endorheic basin - Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
* Earth:Gilgai
* Earth:Lacustrine plain - Lakes filled by sediment
* Lacustrine terraces - A step-like landform
* Earth:Lake
* Earth:Oasis
* Earth:Oxbow lake - U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
* Earth:Pond
* Earth:Proglacial lake - Lake formed by the action of ice
* Salt pan, also known as salt flat - Flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals

### Mountain and glacial landforms

Mountain and Earth:Glacial landform - Landform created by the action of glaciers – include:

* Earth:Arête - Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys formed by glacial movement
* Earth:Cirque - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
* Earth:Col - Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
* Earth:Cordillera - Extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges
* Earth:Crevasse
* Corrie - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
* Cove (mountain) - Small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
* Earth:Dirt cone - Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
* Earth:Esker
* Earth:Fjord
* Earth:Fluvial terrace - Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
* Flyggberg
* Earth:Glacier
* Earth:Glacier cave - Cave formed within the ice of a glacier
* Earth:Glacier foreland - Area between the leading edge of a glacier and the moraines of latest maximum
* Earth:Highland
* Earth:Hill
* Earth:Inselberg, also known as monadnock
* Earth:Kame
* Earth:Kame delta - Glacial melt water landform
* Kettle - Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
* Earth:Moraine - Glacially formed accumulation of debris
* Earth: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
* Earth:Mountain
* Earth:Mountain pass - Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
* Earth:Mountain range - Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
* Earth:Nunatak - Landform within an ice field or glacier
* Earth:Proglacial lake - Lake formed by the action of ice
* Earth:Pyramidal peak, also known as Glacial horn - Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
* Earth:Outwash fan - Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
* Earth:Outwash plain - Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
* Earth:Rift valley - Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
* Earth:Rôche moutonnée
* Sandur - Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
* Earth:Side valley - Valley with a tributary to a larger river
* Earth:Summit
* Earth:Trim line - Clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the glacier
* Earth:Truncated spur - Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
* Earth:Tunnel valley - Glacial-formed geographic feature
* Earth:Valley
* Earth:U-shaped valley - Valleys formed by glacial scouring

### Slope landforms

Slope landforms include:

* Bluff
* Earth:Butte - Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
* Earth:Canyon
* Earth:Cliff
* Earth:Col - Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
* Earth:Cuesta - Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
* Dale
* Defile - Narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
* Dell - Small secluded hollow
* Place:Doab, also known as interfluve - Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
* Draw - Terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between
* Earth:Escarpment, also known as scarp - Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions
* Earth:Fall line - Meeting point of uplands and coastal plain
* Earth:Flat (landform) - Relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
* Earth:Glen
* Earth:Gully - Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
* Earth:Hill
* Earth:Hillock, also known as Knoll - Small hill
* Earth:Mesa
* Earth:Mountain pass - Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
* Earth:Plain
* Earth:Plateau - Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
* Earth:Ravine
* Earth:Ridge - Long, narrow, elevated landform
* Earth:Rock shelter - A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
* Saddle - Land connecting two high points
* Earth:Scree - Broken rock fragments at base of cliff
* Earth:Solifluction lobes and sheets
* Earth:Strath
* Earth:Summit
* Terrace - A step-like landform
* Earth:Terracette - Small natural step-arranged soil ridges on hillsides
* Vale
* Earth:Valley

### Tectonic landforms

Landforms created by tectonic activity include:

* Earth:Asymmetric valley - Valley that has steeper slopes on one side
* Dome - Geological deformation structure
* Faceted spur - Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
* Earth:Fault scarp - Small vertical offset on the ground surface
* Earth:Graben
* Earth:Half-graben
* Horst - Raised fault block bounded by normal faults
* Earth:Mid-ocean ridge - Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
* Earth:Mud volcano - Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water, and gases
* Earth:Oceanic trench - Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
* Earth:Pull-apart basin - Type of basin in geology
* Earth:Rift valley - Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
* Earth:Sand boil - Cone formed by the ejection of sand on a surface from a central point
* Earth:Triple junction - Meeting point of three tectonic plates

### Volcanic landforms

Volcanic landforms include:

* Company:Caldera
* Earth:Cinder cone - Steep hill of pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
* Earth:Complex volcano - Landform of more than one related volcanic centre
* Astronomy:Cryovolcano
* Earth: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
* Earth:Geyser
* Earth:Guyot - Isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
* Earth:Hornito - Conical structures built up by lava ejected through an opening in the crust of a lava flow
* Earth:Kīpuka - Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows
* Earth:Lava - Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
* Earth:Lava dome - Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
* Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain - Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
* Earth:Lava lake - Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
* Earth:Lava spine - Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
* Earth:Lava tube - Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
* Earth:Maar
* Malpais - Rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
* Mamelon - Rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow vent
* Earth:Mid-ocean ridge - Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
* Earth:Pit crater - Depression formed by collapse of the surface into a void
* Earth:Pyroclastic shield - Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
* Earth:Resurgent dome - Volcanic landform
* Earth:Rootless cone, also known as pseudocrater - Volcanic landform
* Earth:Seamount
* Earth:Shield volcano - Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
* Earth:Stratovolcano
* Earth:Somma volcano - Volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone
* Earth:Volcanic crater lake - Lake formed within a volcanic crater
* Earth:Subglacial mound - Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
* Earth:Submarine volcano - Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt
* Earth:Supervolcano
* Earth:Tuya - Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
* Earth:Volcanic cone - Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
* Earth:Volcanic crater - Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic dam - Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
* Earth:Volcanic field - Area of Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic group - Collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
* Earth:Volcanic island - Island of volcanic origin
* Earth:Volcanic plateau - Plateau produced by volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic plug - Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano
* Earth:Volcano

### Weathering landforms

Weathering landforms include:

* Earth:Flared slope - Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
* Flute
* Earth:Inselberg
* Earth:Karst
* Nubbin - Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
* Earth:Panhole (Weathering pit)
* Earth:Tafoni - Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
* Tor - Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit

## Landforms by shape

### Positive landforms

* Earth:Cinder cone - Steep hill of pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
* Dome - Geological deformation structure
* Earth:Drumlin
* Earth:Hillock - Small hill
* Earth:Inselberg
* Earth:Lava dome - Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
* Earth:Lava spine - Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
* Earth:Mesa
* Earth:Mogote - Steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
* Nubbin - Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
* Earth:Palsa
* Earth:Pingo
* Earth:Pyroclastic shield - Shield volcano formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions
* Earth:Resurgent dome - Volcanic landform
* Earth:Seamount
* Earth:Shield volcano - Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
* Earth:Stratovolcano
* Tor - Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
* Earth:Tower karst
* Earth:Tuya - Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
* Earth:Volcanic cone - Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
* Earth:Volcanic island - Island of volcanic origin

### Depressions

* Company:Caldera
* Company:Cave
* Earth:Cirque - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
* Earth:Crevasse
* Doline - Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
* Earth:Graben
* Astronomy:Impact crater - Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
* Joint valley
* Kettle - Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
* Earth:Lagoon
* Earth:Lake
* Earth:Lava lake - Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
* Earth:Maar
* Nivation hollow
* Earth:Oxbow lake - U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
* Earth:Panhole
* Pothole - Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
* Earth:Plunge pool - Depression at the base of a waterfall
* Earth:Pond
* Earth:Pull-apart basin - Type of basin in geology
* Earth:Quarry
* Rift - Part of a volcano where a set of linear cracks form
* Earth:Sea cave - Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
* Earth:Sinkhole - Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
* Sor
* Earth:Tafoni - Small to large indentations in vertical to steeply sloping granular rock
* Earth:Thermokarst
* Earth:Volcanic crater - Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic dam - Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism

### Flat landforms

* Earth:Abyssal fan - Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
* Earth:Abyssal plain - Flat area on the deep ocean floor
* Bench - Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
* Earth:Butte - Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
* Earth:Coastal plain - Area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast
* Earth:Continental shelf - Coastal and oceanic landform
* Cryoplanation terrace - Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
* Earth:Dissected plateau - Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
* Earth:Floodplain
* Earth:Fluvial terrace - Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
* Inselberg plain
* Lacustrine terrace - A step-like landform
* Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain - Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
* Earth:Oceanic basin - Geologic basin under the sea
* Earth:Oceanic plateau - Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
* Earth:Outwash fan - Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
* Earth:Outwash plain - Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
* Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
* Earth:Pediplain
* Earth:Peneplain - Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
* Earth:Plain
* Earth:Planation surface - Large-scale surface that is almost flat
* Earth:Plateau - Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
* Earth:Polje - Type of large plain found in karst regions
* Earth:Raised beach, also known as Marine terrace - Emergent coastal landform
* Chemistry:River delta - Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
* Earth: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 transported by meltwater
* Earth:Strandflat
* Earth:Strath
* Earth:Swamp
* Table - Raised landform with a flat top
* Earth:Tidal marsh - Marsh subject to tidal change in water
* Earth:Tepui
* Earth:Volcanic plateau - Plateau produced by volcanic activity
* Earth:Wave-cut platform - Narrow flat area created by erosion

## Landforms, alphabetic

* Earth:Abîme - Geographical term referring to vertical shaft in caves
* Earth:Abyssal fan - Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
* Earth:Abyssal plain - Flat area on the deep ocean floor
* Earth:Ait
* Earth:Alluvial fan - Fan-shaped deposit of sediment
* Earth:Anabranch - A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.
* Arch - Arch-shaped natural rock formation
* Earth:Archipelago
* Earth:Arête - Narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys
* Arroyo
* Earth:Atoll
* Earth:Badlands
* Bajada
* Bar - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Barrier bar - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Earth:Barrier island - Coastal dune landform that forms by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast
* Earth:Bay
* Earth:Baymouth bar - Sandbank that partially or completely closes access to a bay
* Earth:Bayou
* Earth:Beach
* Earth:Beach cusps - Shoreline formations made up of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern
* Earth:Beach ridge - Wave-swept or wave-deposited ridge running parallel to a shoreline
* Bench - 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
* Braided channel - Network of river channels
* Earth:Butte - Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
* Earth:Calanque - Narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
* Company:Caldera
* Earth:Canyon
* Cape - Large headland extending into a body of water, usually the sea
* Company:Cave
* Channel - Type of landform in which part of a body of water is confined to a relatively narrow but long region
* Earth:Cirque - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
* Corrie - Amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion or cwm
* Earth:Cliff
* Earth:Coast
* Earth:Coastal plain - Area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast
* Earth:Col - Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
* Astronomy:Complex crater - Large impact craters with uplifted centres
* Earth:Complex volcano - Landform of more than one related volcanic centre
* Earth:Confluence
* Earth:Continental shelf - Coastal and oceanic landform
* Earth:Coral reef - Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons
* Earth:Cordillera - Extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges
* Earth:Cove
* Cove (mountain) - Small valley in the Appalachian Mountains between two ridge lines
* Earth:Crevasse splay - Sediment deposited on a floodplain by a stream which breaks its levees
* Earth:Crevasse
* Astronomy:Cryovolcano
* Earth:Cuesta - Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
* Earth:Cuspate foreland - Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores
* Earth:Cut bank - Outside bank of a water channel, which is continually undergoing erosion
* Dale
* Defile - Narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills
* Dell - Small secluded hollow
* Delta, River - Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
* Earth:Desert pavement - Type of desert earth surface
* Earth:Desert varnish - Orange-to-black rock coating in arid environments
* Earth: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
* Earth:Dirt cone - Depositional glacial feature of ice or snow with an insulating layer of dirt
* Earth:Dissected plateau - Plateaus area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
* Place:Doab - Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
* Doline - Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
* Dome - Geological deformation structure
* Earth:Drainage basin - Land area where water converges to a common outlet
* Earth:Drainage divide - Elevated terrain that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Draw - Terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between
* Earth:Drumlin
* Earth:Dry lake - Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
* Earth:Dune
* Dune system
* Earth:Endorheic basin - Closed drainage basin that has no outflow
* Erg - Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
* Earth:Escarpment - Steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level regions (scarp)
* Earth:Esker
* Earth:Estuary
* Earth:Exhumed river channel - Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
* Faceted spur - Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
* Earth:Fall line - Meeting point of uplands and coastal plain
* Earth:Fault scarp - Small vertical offset on the ground surface
* Earth:Firth
* Earth:Fjard
* Earth:Fjord
* Flat - Relatively level surface of land within a region of greater relief
* Flatiron - Steeply sloping triangular landform
* Earth:Floodplain
* Earth:Foothills
* Fluvial island - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:Fluvial terrace - Elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and river valleys
* Earth:Foiba - Type of deep natural sinkhole
* Geo - Inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
* Earth:Geyser
* Earth:Gilgai
* Glacial horn - Angular, sharply pointed mountainous peak
* Earth:Glacier cave - Cave formed within the ice of a glacier
* Earth:Glacier foreland - Area between the leading edge of a glacier and the moraines of latest maximum
* Earth:Glacier
* Earth:Glen
* Gorge
* Earth:Graben
* Earth:Gulch - Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
* Gulf
* Earth:Gully - Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
* Earth:Guyot - Isolated, flat-topped underwater volcano mountain
* Earth:Half-graben
* Earth:Headland
* Earth:Highland
* Earth:Hill
* Earth:Hillock - Small hill
* Hogback - Long, narrow ridge
* Earth:Homoclinal ridge - Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
* Hoodoo - Tall, thin spire of relatively soft rock usually topped by harder rock
* Horst - Raised fault block bounded by normal faults
* Astronomy:Impact crater - Circular depression in a solid astronomical body formed by the impact of a smaller object
* Earth:Inland dune - Sand dunes found outside of coastal areas
* Earth:Inlet - Indentation of a shoreline
* Interfluve - Land between two converging, or confluent, rivers, mainly in the Punjab
* Astronomy:Inverted relief - Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
* Earth:Island
* Earth:Islet
* Earth:Kame delta - Glacial melt water landform
* Earth:Kame
* Earth:Karst
* Karst valley
* Kettle - Depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
* Earth:Kīpuka - Area of land surrounded by one or more younger lava flows
* Knoll - Small hill
* Earth:Lacustrine plain - Lakes filled by sediment
* Earth:Lagoon
* Earth:Lake
* Earth:Lava dome - Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
* Earth:Lava - Molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption
* Earth:Lava lake - Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
* Earth:Lava field, also known as lava plain - Large, mostly flat area of lava flows
* Earth:Lava spine - Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
* Earth:Lava tube - Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
* Earth:Lavaka
* Earth:Levee, natural
* Earth:Limestone pavement - Natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone
* Earth:Loess
* Lacustrine terraces - A step-like landform
* Earth:Maar
* Earth:Machair
* Malpaís - Rough and barren landscape of relict and largely uneroded lava fields
* Mamelon - Rock formation created by eruption of relatively thick or stiff lava through a narrow vent
* Marine terrace - Emergent coastal landform
* Earth:Marsh - Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land
* Earth:Massif - The principal mass of a mountain
* Earth:Meander
* Médanos
* Earth:Mesa
* Earth:Mid-ocean ridge - Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
* Earth:Mogote - Steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
* Monadnock
* Earth:Moraine - Glacially formed accumulation of debris
* Moulin - Shaft within a glacier or ice sheet which water enters from the surface
* Earth:Mountain
* Earth:Mountain pass - Route through a mountain range or over a ridge
* Earth:Mountain range - Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
* Earth:Mud volcano - Landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water, and gases
* Earth:Mushroom rock - Naturally occurring rock whose shape resembles a mushroom
* Earth:Natural arch - Arch-shaped natural rock formation
* Earth:Nunatak - Landform within an ice field or glacier
* Earth:Oasis
* Earth:Ocean bank - Part of the sea which is shallow compared to its surrounding area
* Earth:Oceanic basin - Geologic basin under the sea
* Earth:Oceanic plateau - Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
* Earth:Oceanic trench - Long and narrow depressions of the sea floor
* Earth:Outcrop
* Earth:Outwash fan - Type of sediment deposition by a melting glacier
* Earth:Outwash plain - Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
* Earth:Oxbow lake - U-shaped lake or pool left by an ancient river meander
* Paha - Type of loess hill
* Earth:Palaeochannel
* Paleoplain - A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
* Earth:Panhole
* Pediment - Very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
* Earth:Pediplain
* Earth:Peneplain - Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
* Earth:Peninsula
* Earth:Pingo
* Earth:Pit crater - Depression formed by collapse of the surface into a void
* Earth:Plain
* Earth:Plateau - Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
* Earth:Plunge pool - Depression at the base of a waterfall
* Earth:Point bar - Landform related to streams and rivers
* Earth:Polje - Type of large plain found in karst regions
* Earth:Pond
* Pothole - Natural bowl-shaped hollow carved into a streambed
* Potrero - Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
* Earth:Proglacial lake - Lake formed by the action of ice
* Earth:Promontory - Prominent mass of land that overlooks lower-lying land or a body of water
* Earth:Pull-apart basin - Type of basin in geology
* Earth:Quarry
* Earth:Raised beach - Emergent coastal landform
* Earth:Rapids
* Earth:Ravine
* Earth:Ria - Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley
* Earth:Ridge - Long, narrow, elevated landform
* Earth:Riffle - Shallow landform in a flowing channel
* Earth:Rift valley - Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
* Earth:Ripple marks - Wave structures created in sediments by bottom current
* Earth:River
* Chemistry:River delta - Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river
* Earth:River island - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:River source - Starting point of a river
* Earth:Rôche moutonnée
* Earth:Rogen moraine - Landform of ridges deposited by a glacier or ice sheet transverse to ice flow
* Rock formations
* Earth:Rock shelter - A shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
* Earth:Rock-cut basin - Cylindrical depression cut into stream or river beds
* Saddle - Land connecting two high points
* Earth: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)
* Earth:Sand boil, also known as sand volcano - Cone formed by the ejection of sand on a surface from a central point
* Biology:Sandhill
* Sandur - Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater
* Earth:Sastrugi - Sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface
* Earth:Scree - Broken rock fragments at base of cliff
* Earth:Sea cave - Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
* Earth:Seamount
* Earth:Shield volcano - Low-profile volcano usually formed almost entirely of fluid lava flows
* Earth:Shoal - Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface
* Earth:Shore - The fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water
* Shut-in - Type of rock formation found in Ozarks streams
* Earth:Side valley - Valley with a tributary to a larger river
* Earth:Sinkhole - Depression or hole in the ground caused by collapse of the surface into an existing void space
* Earth:Skerry
* Earth:Snowdrift - Snow deposit sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm
* Sound - A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water
* Spit - Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift
* Stack - Geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock and stump
* Earth:Strait
* Earth:Strandflat
* Earth:Strath
* Earth:Stratovolcano
* Earth:Stream pool - Deep and slow-moving stretch of a watercourse
* Earth:Stream
* Strike ridge - Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
* Structural bench - Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
* Structural terrace - A step-like landform
* Earth:Subglacial mound - Volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet
* Earth:Submarine canyon - A steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
* Earth:Submarine volcano - Underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt
* Earth:Summit
* Earth:Supervolcano
* Earth:Surge channel - Type of coastal landform
* Earth:Swamp
* Earth:Tepui
* Terrace - A step-like landform
* Earth:Terracette - Small natural step-arranged soil ridges on hillsides
* Earth:Tessellated pavement - Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
* Earth:Thalweg
* Earth:Tidal island - Island accessible by foot at low tide
* Earth:Tidal marsh - Marsh subject to tidal change in water
* Earth:Tide pool - Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater
* Earth:Tied island - Island that is connected to land only by a tombolo
* Earth:Tombolo - Deposition landform in which an island is connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus
* Tor - Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
* Tower karst
* Towhead - Exposed landmass within a river
* Earth:Trim line - Clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the glacier
* Earth:Triple junction - Meeting point of three tectonic plates
* Earth:Truncated spur - Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
* Earth:Tukulan
* Earth:Tunnel valley - Glacial-formed geographic feature
* Turlough - Type of seasonal or periodic lake found in limestone areas of Ireland
* Earth:Tuya - Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet
* Earth:U-shaped valley - Valleys formed by glacial scouring
* Uvala - Toponym for a closed karst depression
* Vale
* Earth:Valley
* Earth:Ventifact
* Earth:Volcanic arc - Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
* Earth:Volcanic cone - Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
* Earth:Volcanic crater - Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic crater lake - Lake formed within a volcanic crater
* Earth:Volcanic dam - Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
* Earth:Volcanic field - Area of Earth's crust prone to localized volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic group - Collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
* Volcanic island - Island of volcanic origin
* Earth:Volcanic plateau - Plateau produced by volcanic activity
* Earth:Volcanic plug - Volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano
* Earth:Volcano
* Earth:Wadi - River valley, especially a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain
* Earth:Waterfall
* Watershed - Land area where water converges to a common outlet
* Earth:Wave-cut platform - Narrow flat area created by erosion
* Earth:Wetland - Land area that is permanently, or seasonally saturated with water
* Earth:Yardang

## Further reading

Hargitai H., Kereszturi Á. (eds): Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer. https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3

## See also

* Physics:Geomorphology - Scientific study of landforms
* Glossary of geology
* Types of bodies of water
* Volcanic landforms in the Canary Islands – list of examples in the Canary Islands (with photos)

* v
* t
* e

Earth's landform

List of landforms

Mountainous|

* Table
* Butte
* Flat
* Hill
* Mountain
* Mountain range
* Plateau
* Ridge
* Valley

Continental plain|

* Ice sheet
* Plain
* Steppe
* Tundra

Fluvial|

* Alluvial fan
* Beach
* Canyon
* Cave
* Channel
* Cliff
* Floodplain
* Lake
* Levee
* Meander
* Oasis
* Pond
* Rapids
* River
* River delta
* River mouth
* River valley
* Strait
* Swamp
* Waterfall

Glacial|

* Arête
* Cirque
* Esker
* Fjord
* Glacier
* Ice field
* Tunnel valley

Oceanic and
coastal landforms|

* Atoll
* Bay
* Cape
* Channel
* Coast
* Continental shelf
* Coral reef
* Estuary
* High island
* Island
* Isthmus
* Lagoon
* Mid-ocean ridge
* Oceanic trench
* Peninsula
* Seamount

Volcanic|

* Caldera
* Crater lake
* Geyser
* High island
* Mid-ocean ridge
* Lava dome
* Lava field
* Lava plateau
* Submarine volcano
* Guyot
* Volcanic crater
* Volcanic plug
* Volcano
* Wall rock

Aeolian|

* Desert
* Dry lake
* Dune
* Sandhill
* Tundra

Artificial|

* Artificial island
* Artificial reef
* Bridge
* Building
* Canal
* Dam
* Ditch
* Land reclamation
* Levee
* Polder
* Quarry
* Reservoir
* Road
* Tunnel

* See also: Geographical feature

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