Landform
A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. Landforms are categorised by characteristics such as elevation, slope, orientation, stratification, rock exposure, and soil type. Landforms by name include berms, mounds, hills, cliffs, valleys, and so forth. Oceans and continents exemplify highest-order landforms.
A number of factors, ranging from plate tectonics to erosion and deposition can generate and affect landforms. Biological factors can also influence landforms—see for example the role of plants in the development of dune systems and salt marshes, and the work of corals and algae in the formation of coral reefs.
Many of the terms are not restricted to refer to features of the planet Earth, and can be used to describe surface features of other planets and similar objects in the Universe.
List of landforms
- alas
- continent
- limestone pavement
- plain and plateau
- rock formations
Slope landforms
- cliff
- cuesta
- dale
- dell
- escarpment
- glen
- gully
- hill
- knoll
- mountain
- ridge
- rock shelter
- scarp
- terrace & terracettes
- vale
- valley
- watershed
Coastal and oceanic landforms
- arch
- barrier bar & barrier island
- bay & gulf
- beach & raised beach
- boondock
- cape
- cave
- cliff
- coast
- coral reef
- cove
- delta
- dune system
- estuary
- fjord
- headland
- island, islet, island arc, archipelago & atoll
- lagoon
- machair
- ocean
- Ocean ridge & oceanic trench
- peninsula
- ria
- salt marsh
- sea
- sound
- spit
- stack & stump
- tombolo
- wave cut platform
Fluvial landforms
- bar
- basin
- beach
- cave
- cliff
- gully
- island
- lake
- levee
- marsh
- meander
- oasis
- ox-bow lake
- pool
- riffle
- river
- spring
- stream
- stream terrace
- swamp
- valley and vale
- waterfall
- watershed
Mountain and glacial landforms
- arête
- cirque
- crevasse
- cwm
- dirt cone
- drumlin
- drumlin field
- esker
- fjord
- glacial valley
- glacial horn
- glacier
- hanging valley
- kame
- kame delta
- kettle
- moraine
- mountain & mountain range
- outwash fan and outwash plain
- pingo
- stream terrace
- valley
Volcanic landforms
- Caldera
- Cinder cone
- Geyser
- lava dome
- lava flow & lava plain
- Ocean ridge
- Oceanic trench
- Vent
- Volcanic island
- Volcano, shield volcano & composite volcano (or stratovolcano)
- Butte
Erosion landforms
Landforms produced by erosion and weathering usually occur in coastal or fluvial environments, and many appear above under those headings. Some other erosion landforms that do not fall into the above categories include:
- canyon
- cave
- limestone pavement
- tea table
- Deposition landform -- landforms produced by deposition of load or sediment (usually coastal or fluvial).
- Eolian landform - landforms produced by wind weathering.