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Illustrated Glossary: Landforms and Bodies of Water

Geography pages

Definitions:

archipelago An archipelago is a group or chain of islands clustered together in a sea or ocean.

atoll

bay

butte

A butte is a flatA bay is a body of An atoll is a ring (or topped rock or water that is partly partial ring) of coral hill formation that forms an island in enclosed by land (and is with steep sides. usually smaller than a an ocean or sea. gulf).

channel cave canyon

cape

A cave is a large hole in

A channel is a body of water that connects two larger bodies of water

A canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a river.

A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.

(like the English the ground or Channel). A channel is in the side of a also a part of a river or hill or harbor that is deep mountain. enough to let ships sail through.

continent The land mass on Earth is col divided into continents. cove A The seven current A cove is small, horseshoemountain continents are Africa, cliff shaped body of water along pass. Antarctica, Asia, A cliff is a steep face the coast; the water is Australia, Europe, North of rock and soil. surrounded by land formed America, and South of soft rock. America.

delta

dune

A delta is a low, watery land formed at A dune is a hill the mouth of a river. It is formed from or a ridge made the silt, sand and small rocks that flow of sand. Dunes desert downstream in the river and are are shaped by deposited in the delta. A delta is often A desert is a the wind, and very dry (but not always) shaped like a triangle change all the area. (hence its name, delta, a Greek letter time. that is shaped like a triangle).

equator The equator is an imaginary circle around the earth, halfway between the north and south poles.

geomorphology estuary An estuary is where a river meets the sea or ocean.

Geomorphology is the geyser scientific field that fjord A geyser is a natural investigates how landforms A fjord is a long, hot spring that narrow sea inlet that are formed on the Earth (and occasionally sprays other planets). is bordered by steep water and steam cliffs. above the ground.

glacier A glacier is a slowly moving river of ice.

hill

gulf A gulf is a part of the ocean (or sea) that is partly surrounded by land (it is usually larger than a bay).

island

An island is a piece A hill is a raised of land that is area or mound surrounded by of land. water.

latitude lagoon

lake A lagoon is a A lake is a large shallow body isthmus body of water of water that An isthmus is a narrow surrounded by land is located strip of land connecting alongside a on all sides. Really two larger landmasses. huge lakes are often coast. An isthmus has water on called seas. two sides.

Latitude is the angular distance north or south from the equator to a particular location. The equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The North Pole has a latitude of 90 degrees North; the South Pole has a latitude of 90 degrees South.

marsh A marsh is a type mesa of freshwater, mountain Longitude is the angular A mesa is a land brackish water or A mountain is a distance east or west from the saltwater wetland formation with a very tall high, north-south line that passes that is found along flat area on top and natural place on through Greenwich, England, rivers, pond, lakes steep walls Earth - higher to a particular location. and coasts. Marsh usually occurring than a hill. The Greenwich, England has a plants grow up out in dry areas. tallest mountain longitude of zero degrees. of the water. on Earth is Mt. The farther east or west of Everest. Greenwich you are, the greater your longitude. Midway Islands (in the Pacific Ocean) have a longitude of 180 degrees

longitude

(they are on the opposite side of the globe from Greenwich).

plain

ocean An ocean is a large body peninsula of salt water that A peninsula is a surrounds a continent. body of land that is Oceans cover more the surrounded by water two-thirds of the Earth's on three sides. surface

prairie pond A pond is a small body of water surrounded by land. A pond is smaller than a lake.

A prairie is a wide, relatively flat area of land that has grasses and only a few trees.

plateau

Plains are flat A plateau is a large, lands that have flat area of land that is only small higher than the changes in surrounding land. elevation.

river

sea

A sea is a large body of A river is a large, salty water that is often flowing body of connected to an ocean. A water that usually sea may be partly or empties into a sea or completely surrounded by ocean. land.

sound A sound is a wide source inlet of the sea or A source is ocean that is parallel the to the coastline; it beginning of often separates a a river. coastline from a nearby island.

strait A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.

swamp A swamp is a type of freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddly land and a lot of water. Many trees and shrubs grow in swamps.

tributary A tributary is a stream or river that flows into a larger river.

valley tundra A tundra is a cold, treeless area; it is the coldest biome.

volcano A volcano is a mountainous vent in the Earth's crust. When a volcano erupts, it spews out lava, ashes, and hot gases from deep inside the Earth.

waterfall

A valley is a low place between mountains.

wetland

A wetland is an area of land that is often wet; When a river the soil in wetlands are often low in oxygen. Wetland plants are adapted to life in wet soil. falls off steeply, there There are many types of wetlands, including: swamp, slough, fen, bog, marsh, moor, is a waterfall. muskeg, peatland, bottomland, delmarva, mire, wet meadow, riparian, etc.

Boundaries Asia's border with Europe—which, geographically, may be regarded as a peninsula of the Eurasian landmass—lies approximately along the Urals, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, and the Aegean Sea. The connection of Asia with Africa is broken only by the Suez Canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. In the far northeast of Asia, Siberia is separated from North America by the Bering Strait. The continent of Asia is washed on the S by the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal; on the E by the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and Bering Sea; and on the N by the Arctic Ocean.

Geology and Geography Geologically, Asia consists of ancient Precambrian landmasses—the Arabian and Indian peninsulas in the south and the central Siberian plateau in the north—enclosing a central zone of folded ridges. In accordance with this underlying structure, Asia falls into the following major physiographic structures: the northern lowlands covering W central Asia and most of Siberia; the vast central highland zone of high plateaus, rising to c.15,000 ft

(4,570 m) in Tibet in China and enclosed by some of the world's greatest mountain ranges (the Himalayas, the Karakorum, the Kunlun, the Tian Shan, and the Hindu Kush); the southern peninsular plateaus of India and Arabia, merging, respectively, into the Ganges and Tigris-Euphrates plains; and the lowlands of E Asia, especially in China, which are separated by mountain spurs of the central highland zone. Mt. Everest (29,035 ft/8,850 m), in Nepal, is the world's highest peak; the Dead Sea (1,312 ft/400 m below sea level) is the world's lowest point. Great peninsulas extend out from the mainland, dividing the oceans into seas and bays, many of them protected by Asia's numerous offshore islands. Asia's rivers, among the longest in the world, generally rise in the high plateaus and break through the great chains toward the peripheral lowlands. They include the Ob-Irtysh, the Yenisei-Argana, and Lena of Siberia; the Amur-Argun, Huang He, Chang (Yangtze), Xi, Mekong, Thanlwin, and Ayeyarwady of E and SE Asia; and the Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, and Tigris-Euphrates of S and SW Asia. Central Asia has vast areas of interior drainage, including the Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Ili, and Tarim rivers, which empty into inland lakes or disappear into desert sands. The Aral Sea, Lake Baykal, and Lake Balkash are among the world's largest lakes. Climatically, the continent ranges through all extremes, from torrid heat to arctic cold and from torrential rains (the product of monsoons) to extreme aridity (as in the Tarim Basin). Asia can be divided into six regions, each possessing distinctive physical, cultural, economic, and political characteristics. Southwest Asia (Iran; Turkey, in Asia Minor; and the nations of the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian peninsula or Arabia), long a strategic crossroad, is characterized by an arid climate and irrigated agriculture, great petroleum reserves, and the predominance of Islam. South Asia (Afghanistan and the nations of the Indian subcontinent) is isolated from the rest of Asia by great mountain barriers. Southeast Asia (the nations of the southeastern peninsula and the Malay Archipelago) is characterized by monsoon climate, maritime orientation, the fusion of Indian and Chinese cultures, and a great diversity of ethnic groups, languages, religions, and politics. East Asia (China, Mongolia, Korea, and the islands of Taiwan and Japan) is located in the mid-latitudes on the Pacific Ocean, and is characterized by cultures strongly influenced by civilizations of the Huang He and Chang (Yangtze) river systems. It forms the most industrialized region of Asia. Russian Asia (in the northern third of the continent) consists of the vast region of Siberia and the Russian Far East. In the center of the continent is Central Asia, formed of a set of independent former republics of the Soviet Union. This region is characterized by desert conditions and irrigated agriculture, with ancient traditions of nomadic herding.

Population, Culture, and Economy The distribution of Asia's huge population is governed by climate and topography, with the monsoons and the fertile alluvial plains determining the areas of greatest density. Such are the Ganges plains of India and the Chang (Yangtze) and northern plains of China, the small alluvial plains of Japan, and the fertile volcanic soils of the Malay Archipelago. Urbanization is greatest in the industrialized regions of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, but huge urban centers are to be found throughout the continent.

Almost two thirds of Asia's indigenous population is of Mongolic stock. Major religions are Hinduism (in India); Theravada Buddhism (in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos); Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism (in Mongolia and China, particularly Tibet); East Asian Buddhism (in China and Korea, mixed with Confucianism, shamanism, and Taoism; in Japan mixed with Shinto and Confucianism); Islam (in SW and S Asia, W central Asia, and Indonesia); and Catholicism (in the Philippines, East Timor, and Vietnam). Subsistence hunting and fishing economies prevail in the forest regions of N and S Asia, and nomadic pastoralism in the central and southwestern regions, while industrial complexes and intensive rice cultivation are found in the coastal plains and rivers of S and E Asia. Because of extremes in climate and topography, less than 10% of Asia is under cultivation. Rice, by far the most important food crop, is grown for local consumption in the heavily populated countries (e.g., China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Japan), while countries with smaller populations (Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan) are generally rice exporters. Other important crops are wheat, soybeans, peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, jute, silk, rubber, tea, and coconuts. Although Asia's economy is predominantly agricultural, regions where power facilities, trained labor, modern transport, and access to raw materials are available have developed industrially. Japan, China, Russian Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Israel are distinguished for their industrialization. China and India are making considerable strides in this direction. The most spectacular industrialization has occurred in Japan and the “Four Little Dragons”—Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The economies of Thailand, Indonesia, and South China are booming thanks to Japanese investment in plants and to cheap indigenous labor. The development of railroads is greatest in the industrialized countries, with Japan, India, China, and Russian Asia having the greatest track mileage. Also contributing greatly to the income of many Asian countries are vital mineral exports —petroleum in SW Asia, Russian Asia, and Indonesia and tin in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Asia's other valuable mineral exports include manganese from India and chromite from Turkey and the Philippines; China produces great amounts of tungsten, antimony, coal, and oil.

Population, Culture, and Economy The distribution of Asia's huge population is governed by climate and topography, with the monsoons and the fertile alluvial plains determining the areas of greatest density. Such are the Ganges plains of India and the Chang (Yangtze) and northern plains of China, the small alluvial plains of Japan, and the fertile volcanic soils of the Malay Archipelago. Urbanization is greatest in the industrialized regions of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, but huge urban centers are to be found throughout the continent. Almost two thirds of Asia's indigenous population is of Mongolic stock. Major religions are Hinduism (in India); Theravada Buddhism (in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand,

Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos); Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism (in Mongolia and China, particularly Tibet); East Asian Buddhism (in China and Korea, mixed with Confucianism, shamanism, and Taoism; in Japan mixed with Shinto and Confucianism); Islam (in SW and S Asia, W central Asia, and Indonesia); and Catholicism (in the Philippines, East Timor, and Vietnam). Subsistence hunting and fishing economies prevail in the forest regions of N and S Asia, and nomadic pastoralism in the central and southwestern regions, while industrial complexes and intensive rice cultivation are found in the coastal plains and rivers of S and E Asia. Because of extremes in climate and topography, less than 10% of Asia is under cultivation. Rice, by far the most important food crop, is grown for local consumption in the heavily populated countries (e.g., China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Japan), while countries with smaller populations (Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan) are generally rice exporters. Other important crops are wheat, soybeans, peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, jute, silk, rubber, tea, and coconuts. Although Asia's economy is predominantly agricultural, regions where power facilities, trained labor, modern transport, and access to raw materials are available have developed industrially. Japan, China, Russian Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Israel are distinguished for their industrialization. China and India are making considerable strides in this direction. The most spectacular industrialization has occurred in Japan and the “Four Little Dragons”—Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The economies of Thailand, Indonesia, and South China are booming thanks to Japanese investment in plants and to cheap indigenous labor. The development of railroads is greatest in the industrialized countries, with Japan, India, China, and Russian Asia having the greatest track mileage. Also contributing greatly to the income of many Asian countries are vital mineral exports —petroleum in SW Asia, Russian Asia, and Indonesia and tin in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Asia's other valuable mineral exports include manganese from India and chromite from Turkey and the Philippines; China produces great amounts of tungsten, antimony, coal, and oil.