Landform

Cono de Arita, a landform in Salta (Argentina)

A glacial erratic, Waterville Plateau, Washington.

A landform is a word that describes a form of land. Each type of landform is defined by its size, shape, location, and what it is made of. The scientific study of landform is called geomorphology.

Slope landforms

• alas
• bluff
• cliff
• cuesta
• dale
• dell
• escarpment (scarp)
• glen
• gully
• hill
• knoll
• mountain
• plain
• plateau
• ravine
• ridge
• rock shelter
• terrace & terracettes
• vale
• valley
• valley shoulder

Coastal and oceanic landforms

• abyssal fan
• abyssal plain
• arch
• archipelago
• atoll
• confluence
• barrier island
• bay & gulf
• baymouth bar
• headwaters
• beach & raised beach
• beach ridge
• bight
• boondock
• cape
• cave
• cliff
• coast
• coral reef
• cove
• delta
• dune system
• estuary
• fjord
• headland
• isthmus
• island, islet, island arc, archipelago & atoll
• lagoon
• machair
• meadow
• notch
• ocean
• Ocean ridge & oceanic trench
• peninsula
• ria
• salt marsh
• sea
• shoal
• sound
• spit
• stack & stump
• tombolo
• cut landform
• Wave cut platform

Fluvial landforms

Landforms that are related to flowing water.

• ait
• anabranch
• arroyo
• bar
• bayou
• Carolina Bay
• basin
• beach
• cave
• cliff
• gully
• island
• lake
• levee
• marsh
• meander
• oasis
• ox-bow lake
• pond
• pool
• riffle
• river
• spring
• stream
• stream terrace
• swamp
• valley and vale
• waterfall
• watershed

Mountain and glacial landforms

• arête
• cirque
• crevasse
• corrie or cwm
• dirt cone
• drumlin
• drumlin field
• esker
• fjord
• U-shaped valley
• glacial horn
• glacier
• hanging valley
• inselberg
• kame
• kame delta
• kettle
• moraine
• mountain & mountain range
• outwash fan and outwash plain
• pingo
• stream terrace
• summit
• tunnel valley
• valley

Volcanic landforms

• Butte
• Caldera
• Cinder cone
• Geyser
• lava dome
• lava flow & lava plain
• mesa
• Mid-ocean ridge
• Oceanic trench
• Vent
• Volcanic island
• Volcano, shield volcano & composite volcano (or stratovolcano)

Erosion landforms

Landforms made by erosion and weathering usually occur in coastal or fluvial areas, and many are listed under those headings. Some other erosion landforms that are not listed in those categories include:

• canyon
• cave
• lavaka
• limestone pavement
• rock formations
• tea table

• Deposition landform -- landforms produced by deposition of load or sediment (usually coastal or fluvial).
• Eolian landform - landforms produced by wind weathering.

Landform Media

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  Karst tower landforms along Lijiang River, Guilin, China

Other websites

• Landform Design