GLOSSARY UNIT 1 GEOGRAPHY

-INLET: is a thin channel of water that leads inland from the sea. Inlets created by glaciation are called fjords and are usually found on montainous coastlines.

-HEADLAND: is a small area of land that projects out into the sea.

-PLAIN: is a large, open, flat or slightly undulating area of land. 

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

  

-PENINSULA: is a large scale headland surrounded by water on three sides. A peninsula can be conected to the land by a thins stretch of land called isthmus.

-ISLAND: is a piece of land completately surrounded by water. A group of related islands close together form an archipielago.

-MOUNTAIN: is a large landform that is higher than the surrounding land. A mountain range is a continuous chain of mountains.

-BASIN: is an area of land that is drained by a river or a lake and that is lower than the surrounding area.

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

-PLATEAU: is a flat area of land which sits a certain altitude above sea level.

-OCEANIC RIDGE: is an underwater mountain range that generally covers a large area and reach high altitudes.

-OCEANIC TRENCH: is a long depression on the ocean floor that can be thousand of metres deep.

-CONTINENTAL SHELF: the undersea extension of continent that descends gradually to depths of around 400 m. The shelf might extend for only a few kilometres under the sea, or it may extend for many.

-CONTINENTAL SLOPE: is a steep underwater area that links the continental shelf with the ocean floor.

-ABYSSAL PLAIN: is a flat area of the ocean floor. They are found at depths of between 3000 and 7000 m.

-CLIFF: is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure.