Landforms – What They Are and How They Are Formed

Landforms

Landforms Overview

There are many types of landforms and below are the landforms that are organized by the processes that create them.

We will be adding information to each type of landform and identifying those found in the Southwest.

Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical, or biological processes operating at or near the Earth’s surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do, to understand landform and terrain history and dynamics, and to predict changes through a combination of field observations, physical experiments and numerical modelling. Geomorphologists work within disciplines such as physical geography, geology, geodesy, engineering geology, archaeology, climatology and geotechnical engineering. This broad base of interests contributes to many research styles and interests within the field.

Aeolian landforms

Aeolian landform – Landforms produced by action of the winds are formed by the wind and include:

• Dry lake – Basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body
• Sandhill – Type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem
• Ventifact – Rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals
• Yardang – Streamlined aeolian landform

Coastal and oceanic landforms

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 – Collection 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 – 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 – Emergent coastal landform – 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 – 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
• Calanque – Narrow, steep-walled inlet on the Mediterranean coast
• Cliff – Tall, near vertical rock face
• Coast – Area where land meets the sea or ocean
• Continental shelf – Coastal and oceanic landform
• Coral reef – Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons
• Cove – Small sheltered bay or coastal inlet
• Cuspate foreland – Geographical features found on coastlines and lakeshores
• Dune system – Hill of loose sand built by aeolian processes or the flow of water
• Estuary – Partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water
• Firth – Scottish word used for various coastal inlets and straits
• Fjard – Glacially formed, broad, shallow inlet
• Fjord – Long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
• Geo – Inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff
• Gulf – Large inlet from the ocean into the landmass
• List of gulfs
• Headland – Landform extending into a body of water, often with significant height and drop
• Inlet – Indentation of a shoreline
• 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 – Shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform
• Machair – Fertile low-lying grassy plain
• Marine terrace – Emergent coastal landform
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Oceanic basin – Geologic basin under the sea
• 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 – Landform surrounded mostly, but not entirely by water
• 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 – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
• Seamount – 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 – Naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water
• Strandflat – Type of landform found in high-latitude areas
• Stack – Geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock, and stump
• Submarine canyon – Steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope
• Surge channel – Narrow inlet, usually on a rocky shoreline, and is formed by differential erosion of those rocks by coastal wave action
• Tessellated pavement – 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 – 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 – Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate
• Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion

Cryogenic landforms

• Blockfield
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
• Earth hummocks
• Kurum – Mantle of loose rocks moving by creeping on gentle slopes.
• Lithalsa – Frost-induced raised land form in permafrost areas
• Nivation hollow – 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 – Glacial landform
• Solifluction lobes and sheets
• Thermokarst – Irregular land surface of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed as permafrost thaws

Erosion Landforms

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 – Type of heavily eroded terrain
• 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 – Tall, near vertical rock face
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
• Cuesta – Hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other
• Dissected plateau – Plateaux area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
• Erg – Broad area of desert covered with wind-swept sand
• Etchplain – Plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
• Exhumed river channel – Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
• Fjord – Long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial activity
• Flared slope – Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
• Flatiron – Steeply sloping triangular landform
• Gulch – Deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion
• 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
• Homoclinal ridge – Ridge with a moderate sloping backslope and steeper frontslope
• Inselberg, also known as Monadnock – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Inverted relief – Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features
• Lavaka – Type of gully, formed via groundwater sapping
• Limestone pavement – 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 – A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
• Pediment – Very gently sloping inclined bedrock surface
• Pediplain – Extensive plain formed by the coalescence of pediments
• Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
• Planation surface – Large-scale surface that is almost flat
• Potrero – Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
• Ridge – Chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance
• Rôche moutonnée
• 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
• Tepui – Table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
• Tessellated pavement – Relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular shapes by fractures
• 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
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion
• Wind gap

Fluvial landforms

Fluvial landforms include:

• Ait – Islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England
• Alluvial fan – Fan-shaped deposit of sediment
• Anabranch – A section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel and rejoins it downstream.
• Arroyo – Dry creek or stream bed with flow after rain
• Asymmetric valley – 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 – Long, relatively narrow land bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below
• Braided channel – 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 – Tall, near vertical rock face
• 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 neighboring 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 – Ridge of sandstone that remains when the softer flood plain mudstone is eroded away
• Floodplain – Land adjacent to a 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 and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
• Levee – Ridge or wall to hold back water
• Marsh – Wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species
• Meander – One of a series of curves in a channel of a matured stream
• Misfit stream – River too large or too small to have eroded the valley or cave passage in which it flows
• Narrows – Restricted land or water passage
• Oxbow lake – Part of meanders
• Point bar – Landform related to streams and rivers
• Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall
• 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 – 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 – 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 – Natural river formation
• Watershed – Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet
• Yazoo stream – Hydrologic term
• V-shaped valley

Impact landforms

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 – Symmetrical apron of ejecta that surrounds an impact crater
• Impact crater – Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a smaller object’s impact

Lacustrine landforms

Lacustrine – associated with lakes – landforms include:

• Beach – Area of loose particles at the edge of the sea or other body of water
• Raised beach – Emergent coastal landform – 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 – A fertile area in a desert or semi-desert environment
• Oxbow lake – Part of meanders
• Parallel Roads of Glen Roy – Nature reserve in the Highlands of Scotland with ancient shoreline terraces
• Pond – Relatively small body of standing water
• Proglacial lake – 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

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

• Arête – A narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys formed by glacial movement
• Cirque – An amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion
• Col – 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) – 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 – Geological feature formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine and drumlin field
• Esker – Long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel associated with former glaciers
• Fjord – 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, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Glacier – Persistent body of ice that is moving under its own weight
• Glacier cave – 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
• Highland – Mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau
• Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
• Inselberg, also known as monadnock – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Kame – Mound formed on a retreating glacier and deposited on land
• Kame delta – Glacial melt water landform
• Kettle – Depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
• Moraine – Glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris
• 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 – 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 – Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains
• Nunatak – Landform within an ice field or glacier
• Proglacial lake – 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 – 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 – Valley with a tributary to a larger river
• Summit – Point on a surface with a higher elevation than all immediately adjacent points
• Trim line – Clear line on the side of a valley marking the most recent highest extent of the glacier
• Truncated spur – Ridge that descends towards a valley floor or coastline that is cut short
• Tunnel valley – Glacial-formed geographic feature
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• U-shaped valley – Valleys formed by glacial scouring

Slope landforms

Slope landforms include:

• Bluff – Tall, near vertical rock face
• Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
• Canyon – Deep ravine between cliffs
• Cliff – Tall, near vertical rock face
• Col – Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks
• Cuesta – 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 – 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) – 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 and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil
• Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
• Hillock, also known as Knoll – 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 – Expanse of land which is mostly flat and treeless
• Plateau – Area of a highland, usually of relatively flat terrain
• Ravine – Small valley, often due to stream erosion
• Ridge – Chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance
• Rock shelter – Shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
• Saddle
• Scree – Broken rock fragments at base of cliff
• Solifluction lobes and sheets
• Strath – Large valley
• Summit – Point on a surface with a higher elevation than all immediately adjacent points
• Terrace – A step-like landform
• Terracette – Small natural step-arranged soil ridges on hillsides
• Vale
• Valley – Low area between hills, often with a river running through it
• Valley shoulder

Tectonic landforms

Landforms created by tectonic activity include:

• 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
• Fault scarp – Small vertical offset on the ground surface
• Graben – Depressed block of planetary crust bordered by parallel normal faults
• Horst – 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 – Type of basin in geology
• Rift valley – Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault
• Sand boil – Cone of sand formed by the ejection of sand onto a surface from a central point by water under pressure

Volcanic landforms

Volcanic landforms include:

• Caldera – Cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the emptying of a magma chamber
• Cinder cone – Steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
• Complex volcano – Landform of more than one related volcanic centre
• Cryptodome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
• Cryovolcano – Type of volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock
• Diatreme – 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 – Hydrothermal explosion of hot water
• Guyot – 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 – One or more flows of lava over a flat area of land, covering all or most of the area
• Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
• Lava spine – Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
• Lava tube – Natural conduit through which lava flows beneath the solid surface
• Maar – Low-relief volcanic crater
• 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
• Mid-ocean ridge – Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading
• Pit crater – 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 – 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 – Volcanic landform
• Seamount – 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 – Type of conical volcano composed of layers of lava and tephra
• Somma volcano – 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 – 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 – Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism
• Volcanic field – Area of Earth’s crust prone to localized volcanic activity
• Volcanic group – Collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms
• Volcanic island – Island of volcanic origin
• Volcanic plateau – 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 planet that allows lava, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface

Weathering landforms

Weathering landforms include:

• Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
• Etchplain – Plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
• Flared slope – Rock-wall with a smooth transition into a concavity at the foot zone
• Flute
• Honeycomb weathering – Form of cavernous weathering and subcategory of tafoni
• Inselberg – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Karst – Topography from dissolved soluble rocks
• Nubbin – Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
• Panhole – 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 on a gentle hill summit

Positive landforms

• Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
• Cinder cone – Steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent
• Cryptodome
• Dome – Geological deformation structure
• Drumlin – Geological feature formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine
• Granite dome – Rounded hills of bare granite formed by exfoliation
• Hillock – Small hill
• Inselberg – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Lava dome – Roughly circular protrusion from slowly extruded viscous volcanic lava
• Lava spine – Vertical growth of solid volcanic lava
• Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs
• Mogote – Steep-sided residual hill of limestone, marble, or dolomite on a flat plain
• Nubbin – Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks
• Tor – Large, free-standing rock outcrop on a gentle hill summit
• Tower karst
• Tuya – 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 – Dome formed by swelling or rising of a caldera floor due to movement in the magma chamber beneath it
• Seamount – 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 – Type of conical volcano composed of layers of lava and tephra
• Volcanic cone – Landform of ejecta from a volcanic vent piled up in a conical shape
• Volcanic island

Depressions

• 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 – 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 – Geologically-formed topological depression
• Gnamma
• Graben – Depressed block of planetary crust bordered by parallel normal faults
• Honeycomb weathering – Form of cavernous weathering and subcategory of tafoni
• Impact crater – Circular depression on a solid astronomical body formed by a smaller object’s impact
• Joint valley
• Kettle – Depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters
• Lagoon – Shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform
• Lake – Large body of relatively still water
• Lava lake – Molten lava contained in a volcanic crater
• Maar – Low-relief volcanic crater
• Nivation hollow – Geomorphic processes associated with snow patches
• Oxbow lake – Part of meanders
• Panhole – Depression or basin eroded into flat or gently sloping cohesive rock
• Plunge pool – Depression at the base of a waterfall
• Pond – Relatively small body of standing water
• Pull-apart basin – Type of basin in geology
• 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 – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
• Sinkhole – Geologically-formed topological depression
• 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 – Natural dam produced directly or indirectly by volcanism

Flat landforms

• Abyssal fan – Underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition
• Abyssal plain – Flat area on the deep ocean floor
• Bench – 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 – Coastal and oceanic landform
• Cryoplanation terrace – Formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments
• Dissected plateau – Plateaux area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
• Etchplain – Plain where the bedrock has been subject to considerable subsurface weathering
• Floodplain – Land adjacent to a 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, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
• Lacustrine terrace – A step-like landform
• Lava field, also known as lava plain – One or more flows of lava over a flat area of land, covering all or most of the area
• Oceanic basin – Geologic basin under the sea
• Oceanic plateau – Relatively flat submarine region that rises well above the level of the ambient seabed
• Outwash fan – 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 – A buried erosion plain; a particularly large and flat erosion surface
• Pediplain – Extensive plain formed by the coalescence of pediments
• Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion
• Plain – Expanse of land which is mostly flat and treeless
• Planation surface – Large-scale surface that is almost flat
• Plateau – 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 – Emergent coastal landform – 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 – Type of landform found in high-latitude areas
• 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 – Table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
• Volcanic plateau – Plateau produced by volcanic activity
• Wave-cut platform – Narrow flat area created by erosion

Resources Used

• Wikipedia – Landforms
• Wikipedia – Landforms of Arizona
• Wikipedia – Landforms of California
• Wikipedia – Landforms of Nevada
• Wikipedia – Landforms of Utah
• National Geographic – Landforms
• National Park Service – Landforms

Landforms