5Th Grade Harcourt Horizons Land Forms

Front 1

waterfall

Back 1

steep drop from a high place to a lower place in a stream or river

Front 2

volcano

Back 2

opening in the earth, often raised, through which lava, rock, ashes, and gases are forced out

Front 3

valley

Back 3

low land between hills or mountains

Front 4

tributary

Back 4

stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river

Front 5

timberline

Back 5

line on a mountain above which it is too cold fro trees to grow

Front 6

swamp

Back 6

area of low, wet land with trees

Front 7

strait

Back 7

narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water

Front 8

source of river

Back 8

place where a river begins

Front 9

slope

Back 9

side of a hill or mountain

Front 10

sea level

Back 10

the level of the surface of an ocean or a sea

Front 11

sea

Back 11

body of salt water smaller than an ocean

Front 12

savanna

Back 12

area of grassland and scattered trees

Front 13

riverbank

Back 13

land along a river

Front 14

river

Back 14

large stream of water that flows across the land

Front 15

reef

Back 15

ridge of sand, rock, or coral that lies at or near the surface of a sea or ocean

Front 16

plateau

Back 16

area of high, mostly flat land

Front 17

plain

Back 17

area of flat or gently rolling low land

Front 18

peninsula

Back 18

land that is almost completely surrounded by water

Front 19

peak

Back 19

top of a mountain

Front 20

ocean

Back 20

body of salt water larger than a sea

Front 21

oasis

Back 21

area of water and fertile land in a desert

Front 22

mouth of river

Back 22

place where a river empties into another body of water

Front 23

mountain range

Back 23

row of mountains

Front 24

mountain pass

Back 24

gap between mountains

Front 25

mountain

Back 25

highest kind of land

Front 26

mesa

Back 26

flat topped mountain with steep sides

Front 27

marsh

Back 27

lowland with moist soil and tall grasses

Front 28

lake

Back 28

body of water with land on all sides

Front 29

lagoon

Back 29

body of shallow water

Front 30

isthmus

Back 30

narrow strip of land connecting two larger areas of land

Front 31

island

Back 31

land that has water on all sides

Front 32

inlet

Back 32

any area of water extending into the land from a larger body of water

Front 33

hill

Back 33

land that rises above the land around it

Front 34

gulf

Back 34

part of a sea or ocean extending into the land, usually larger than a bay

Front 35

glacier

Back 35

large ice mass that moves slowly down a mountain or across land

Front 36

foothills

Back 36

hilly area at the base of a mountain

Front 37

floodplain

Back 37

flat land that is near the edges of a river and is formed by silt deposited by floods

Front 38

fall line

Back 38

area along which rivers form waterfalls or rapids as the rivers drop to lower land

Front 39

dune

Back 39

full of sand piled up by the wind

Front 40

desert

Back 40

dry land with few plants

Front 41

delta

Back 41

triangle shaped area of land at the mouth of a river

Front 42

coastal plain

Back 42

area of flat land along a sea or ocean

Front 43

coast

Back 43

land along a sea or ocean

Front 44

cliff

Back 44

high, steep face of rock or earth

Front 45

channel

Back 45

deepest part of a body of water

Front 46

cataract

Back 46

large waterfall

Front 47

cape

Back 47

point of land that extends into water

Front 48

canyon

Back 48

deep, narrow valley with steep sides

Front 49

bluff

Back 49

high, steep face of rock or earth

Front 50

bay

Back 50

an inlet of the sea or some other body of water, usually smaller than a gulf

Front 51

basin

Back 51

bowl-shaped area of land surrounded by higher land