Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| acclivity | an upward slope. |
| aiguille | (Fr.) a needlelike peak of rock. |
| ait | a small island in a river. |
| alluvial | relating to running water activities or deposits; (noun) soil composed of alluvium. |
| alluvion | (Lat.) land gradually gained from the sea by the washing up of sand and earth. |
| alluvium | (Lat.) land gradually gained from the sea by the washing up of sand and earth. |
| alp | a mountain. |
| altiplano | (Spanish) a high plateau in Andes. |
| alvar | (Swedish) an area of exposed limestone. |
| anaclinal | of valleys, progressing in a direction opposite to the dip of the surrounding rock strata. |
| antar | (Shakesp.) a cave. |
| anticlinal | of or like an anticline; (noun) an anticlinal fold, axis, crest, or line; a line whence strata dip in opposite directions. |
| anticline | a fold that is convex upward, or that had such an attitude at some stage of its development. |
| anticlinorium | an arch-shaped group of anticlines and synclines. |
| antidune | a sandhill that forms a steep slope against the direction of the prevailing current. |
| antre | (Shakesp.) a cave. |
| archipelagian | of, relating to, or located in an archipelago. |
| archipelagic | of, relating to, or located in an archipelago. |
| archipelago | a chain or set of islands grouped together. |
| areic | of an area of the earth with little surface drainage. |
| arete | (Fr.) a narrow, saw-toothed mountain ridge developed by glacier erosion in adjacent cirques. |
| arroyo | (Spanish) a dry desert gully. |
| as | in whatever way; (conj.) because, since; (noun) a Norse god a gravel ridge or kame a Roman coin |
| ashfall | volcanic ash. |
| atoll | a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon. |
| avalanche | a generic term for any slide of snow, ice, and debris; (verb) to descend as an avalanche. |
| backcountry | a remote rural region. |
| backveld | (Afrikaans) country remote from towns. |
| badland | a barren, hilly area. |
| bahada | (Spanish) a broad, sloping depositional deposit caused by the coalescing of alluvial fans. |
| bajada | (Spanish) a broad, sloping depositional deposit caused by the coalescing of alluvial fans. |
| bankside | the slope of a bank, esp of the bank of a steam. |
| barchan | (Turkestan) a crescent-shaped dune. |
| barchane | (Turkestan) a crescent-shaped dune. |
| barkan | (Turkestan) a crescent-shaped dune. |
| barkhan | (Turkestan) a crescent-shaped dune. |
| barranca | (Spanish) a ravine caused by heavy rains or a watercourse. |
| barranco | (Spanish) a ravine caused by heavy rains or a watercourse. |
| barren | devoid of vegetation (noun) a plateau with shrubs but no timber |
| bayou | (Am. Ind.) the marshy offshoot of a lake or river. |
| beach | the shore of a sea or of a lake, esp when sandy or pebbly (verb) to drive ashore |
| beachfront | a strip of land that fronts a beach. |
| beachy | having a beach or beaches. |
| ben | (Gaelic) a mountain. |
| benchland | a former wave-cut shore of a sea or lake. |
| benchy | of a hillside, hollowed out in benches. |
| berg | (Afrikaans) a hill or mountain in S. Africa. |
| bergfall | (Ger.) a fall of mountain rock. |
| bergmehl | (Ger.) a powdery deposit of diatom frustules, aka kieselguhr. |
| bergschrund | (Ger.) a crevasse formed where a glacier or snowfield moves away from a mountain wall. |
| blowout | an irregular depression excavated by wind, usually in previously deposited blown sand. |
| bog | a marsh (verb) to sink into a bog |
| bogginess | the state of being boggy. |
| boggish | boggy. |
| boggy | like a bog. |
| boghole | a natural hole in the ground with a swampy bottom. |
| bogland | marshland. |
| bolson | (Spanish) a basin-shaped depression surrounded by mountains, esp in the southern US and Mexico. |
| bommie | an outcrop of coral reef. |
| boonies | remote, undeveloped country. |
| boschveld | (Afrikaans) veld made up largely of woodland. |
| bottomland | (US) alluvial deposits. |
| bottomset | as in bottomset bed, fine sediment deposited at the foot of a growing delta. No -S. |
| bouldery | of a landscape, characterized by boulders. |
| brae | (Scots) a steep bank beside a river valley. |
| braeheid | (Scots) the summit of a hill or slope. |
| brushland | an area covered with brush growth. |
| bundu | (Bantu) a remote uncultivated region. |
| bushland | land covered by bush. |
| bushveld | (Afrikaans) veld made up largely of woodland. |
| butte | (Fr.) an isolated hill rising abruptly from the surrounding area, having steep sides and a flat top. |
| cajon | (Spanish) a steep canyon. |
| caldera | (Spanish) a large, basin-shaped volcanic depression, more or less circular in form. |
| callow | unfledged; inexperienced CALLOWLY; (noun) an alluvial flat |
| callowly | (Adv.) CALLOW, unfledged, inexperienced. |
| campagna | (Ital.) an open level tract of country; esp "Campagna di Roma", the extensive undulating plain which surrounds Rome. |
| campo | (Spanish) an area of open grassland in S. America. |
| canada | (Spanish) a narrow canyon. |
| canyon | (Spanish) a deep gorge or ravine. |
| carse | (Scots) alluvial lowland beside a river. |
| cave | a hollow in a rock; (verb) to hollow out. |
| cavern | a large cave; (verb) to hollow out as in a cavern. |
| cay | a small low island of coral, sand etc. |
| cenote | (Mayan) a deep natural hole in the ground with a pool at the bottom, esp in the Yucatan peninsula, often used by the Mayas as a place of sacrifice. |
| cerrado | an area of wooded savanna in S. America. |
| chalkland | land composed of chalk. |
| champaign | an expanse of level, open country, a plain. |
| chasm | a deep cleft in the earth. |
| chasmal | of or like a chasm. |
| chasmed | having chasms. |
| chasmic | of or like a chasm. |
| chasmy | abounding in chasms. |
| chersonese | a peninsula. |
| chott | (Arabic) a shallow saline lake of northern Africa; the dried bed of such a lake. |
| cirque | (Fr.) a bowl-shaped depression on a mountain that is carved out by an Alpine glacier. |
| cleeve | (Dial.) a cliff, a hillside. |
| cleuch | (Scots) a ravine, a gully. |
| cleugh | (Scots) a ravine, a gully. |
| cleve | (Dial.) a cliff, a hillside. |
| cliff | a high, steep face of rock. |
| cliffed | having cliffs. |
| clifflike | like a cliff. |
| cliffside | the side of a cliff. |
| clifftop | the top of a cliff. |
| cliffy | having cliffs, craggy. |
| clift | a cliff. |
| clifted | broken into cliffs. |
| clifty | broken into cliffs. |
| clint | a block in a limestone pavement. |
| clough | a ravine, a gully. |
| coastal | pertaining to or located near a seashore. |
| coastally | (Adv.) COASTAL, pertaining to a coast. |
| coastland | land along the coast. |
| coastline | the line or boundary of a coast. |
| col | a pass in a mountain range. |
| combe | a short deep valley; a hollow in a hillside. |
| coneless | of a volcano, not having a cone, like a maar. |
| continent | temperate, able to restrain (noun) a vast landmass not broken up by seas |
| coomb | a short deep valley; a hollow in a hillside. |
| coombe | a short deep valley; a hollow in a hillside. |
| corcass | (Irish) in Ireland, a salt-marsh, or land susceptible to flooding by a river. |
| cordillera | (Spanish) a mountain ridge or chain. |
| cordilleran | relating to a cordillera, a mountain ridge or chain. |
| corrie | a round hollow in a hillside. |
| coste | (Spenser) a coast. |
| coteau | (Fr.) uplands; higher ground of a region. |
| coulee | (Fr.) a lava-flow; a rocky ravine. |
| couloir | (Fr.) a steep mountainside gorge. |
| cove | a small inlet of the sea, a bay; (verb) to form or provide with an architectural cove. |
| covelet | a small cove. |
| crag | a rough steep rock. |
| cragged | full of crags, or steep, broken rocks. |
| craggedness | the state of being cragged, full of crags. |
| craggily | (Adv.) CRAGGY, rugged, full of crags. |
| cragginess | the quality of being craggy. |
| craggy | rugged, full of crags. |
| craig | (Scots) a crag, in the sense of cliff or neck. |
| crater | the bowllike mouth of a volcano; (verb) to make a crater in. |
| craterlet | a small crater. |
| craterlike | like a crater. |
| craterous | pertaining to, or resembling, a crater. |
| craton | (Greek) a large, relatively stable section of earth's crust, forming the basis of a continent or ocean. |
| cratonic | relating to a craton, a large, relatively stable section of earth's crust. |
| creston | (Spanish) an outcrop. |
| crevasse | a deep crevice or open fracture in glacier ice; (verb) to make a crevasse in. |
| crustal | relating to a crust, esp the earth's. |
| cuesta | (Spanish) a geological feature, gentle slope on one side, cliff on the other. |
| cutbank | a steep stream bank. |
| cwm | (Welsh) a valley. |
| dale | a valley. |
| dargle | (Scott) a dell. |
| debouchure | (Fr.) the mouth of a river or strait. |
| declivity | a descending slope. |
| deglaciated | showing deglaciation, the melting of ice due to the retreat of a glacier. |
| deglaciation | the melting of ice due to the retreat of a glacier. |
| dell | a small, retired valley. |
| delta | the often triangular-shaped alluvial deposition area at the mouth of a river. |
| deltaic | relating to a delta. |
| deltic | relating to a delta. |
| dene | a sandy tract or dune by the seashore. |
| desertic | like a desert, arid and barren. |
| diapir | an anticlinal fold in which the overlying rock has been pierced by material from beneath. |
| diapiric | of or like diapir, an anticlinal fold in which the overlying rock has been pierced by material from beneath. |
| diatreme | a volcanic vent produced by gaseous explosions. |
| diluvial | of, relating to, or brought about by a flood. |
| diluvian | of, relating to, or brought about by a flood. |
| dimble | a deep narrow wooded valley. |
| dingle | a deep narrow wooded valley, a dell. |
| djebel | (Arabic) a hill, a range of mountains. |
| doab | (Urdu) a tongue or tract of land included between two rivers; as, the doab between the Ganges and the Jumna. |
| dolina | (Russian) a typically funnel-shaped basin in a karstic region. |
| doline | (Russian) a typically funnel-shaped basin in a karstic region. |
| donga | (Zulu) a gully made by soil erosion. |
| downland | a rolling treeless upland. |
| downwarp | a broad surface depression. |
| droke | (Canadian) a valley with steeply sloping sides. |
| drumlin | a long hill formed by glacial retreat. |
| dryland | an arid region. |
| dune | a hill of sand. |
| duneland | an area of dunes. |
| dunelike | like a dune. |
| earthfall | a landslide. |
| ejecta | material ejected esp from a volcano. |
| embayment | a bay; a recess in a coastline forming a bay. |
| embog | to bog down. |
| englacial | embedded in, carried in or running through a glacier. |
| englacially | (Adv.) ENGLACIAL, embedded in, carried in or running through a glacier. |
| eremic | of or belonging to deserts. |
| erupt | to break out or through, eg of a volcano. |
| eruption | the action of a volcano. |
| escar | a long narrow ridge of gravel deposited by a glacial stream. |
| escarp | a scarp or sudden slope; (verb) to make into a scarp. |
| eskar | a long narrow ridge of gravel deposited by a glacial stream. |
| esker | a long narrow ridge of gravel deposited by a glacial stream. |
| eugeosynclinal | of or like a eugeosyncline. |
| eugeosyncline | a narrow rapidly subsiding geosyncline usually with volcanic materials mingled with clastic sediments. |
| everglade | a swampy grassland, esp in southern Florida. |
| eyot | a small island in a river. |
| faultline | a surface along which faults have occurred, or are likely to occur. |
| fellfield | a tundra area of frost-shattered stony debris with fine interstitial particles which supports sparse vegetation, usually algae, lichens, and mosses. |
| fen | wet land with alkaline, neutral, or only slightly acid peaty soil. |
| fenland | marshy ground. |
| fennish | abounding in fens; fenny. |
| fiord | (Norwegian) a coastal valley which was sculpted by glacial action. |
| firn | (Ger.) granular ice formed by the recrystallization of snow, aka neve. |
| firth | a fjord, inlet. |
| fjeld | (Norwegian) a high, barren Scandinavian plateau. |
| fjord | (Norwegian) a coastal valley which was sculpted by glacial action. |
| fjordic | of or like a fjord. |
| flatland | land lacking significant variation in elevation. |
| floodplain | an area bordering a stream over which water spreads when the stream tops its channel banks. |
| flybelt | a belt of country infested by tsetse fly. |
| foothill | a minor elevation below a higher mountain or range. |
| foreland | a headland. |
| foreshore | that part of the shore that lies between the low and high tide marks. |
| fumarole | a hole in a volcanic region from which hot gases and vapors issue. |
| fumarolic | of or like a fumarole, a hole in a volcanic region from which hot gases and vapors issue. |
| fumerole | a hole in a volcanic region from which hot gases and vapors issue. |
| fynbos | (Afrikaans) in S. Africa, an area of low shrubs. |
| garigue | (Fr.) an uncultivated open scrubland of the Mediterranean region. |
| garrigue | (Fr.) an uncultivated open scrubland of the Mediterranean region. |
| gasfield | a region in which natural gas occurs. |
| geanticlinal | of or like a geanticline, a large upward fold. |
| geanticline | a large upward fold. |
| geest | alluvial matter on the surface of land, not of recent origin. |
| geo | a gully or creek. |
| geosynclinal | of or like a geosyncline. |
| geosyncline | a downwarping of the Earth's crust. |
| geyser | (Icelandic) a type of thermal spring which ejects water intermittently with considerable force; (verb) to eject jets of water and steam. |
| ghat | (Hindi) in India, a mountain pass; a landing stage; a place for cremation. |
| ghaut | (Hindi) in India, a mountain pass; a landing stage; a place for cremation. |
| ghilgai | (Aborig.) a saucer-shaped depression forming a natural reservoir. |
| ghyll | a narrow ravine. |
| gilgai | (Aborig.) a saucer-shaped depression forming a natural reservoir. |
| gio | a gully or creek. |
| glacial | very cold (noun) a glacial period |
| glacialist | a person who studies the geological effect of ice. |
| glacially | (Adv.) GLACIAL, very cold. |
| glaciation | the formation, advance and retreat of glaciers and the results of these activities. |
| glacier | a huge mass of ice. |
| glaciered | having a glacier or glaciers. |
| glen | a narrow valley with a stream, often with trees. |
| glenlike | like a glen. |
| goe | a gully or creek. |
| goyle | (Dial.) a ravine. |
| graben | (Ger.) a rift valley. |
| grassland | a habitat dominated by grass. |
| grike | (ON) a crevice in a limestone pavement. |
| grot | a grotto. |
| grotto | a cavern. |
| grottoed | having a grotto. |
| grough | a deep gully in a peat moor area. |
| gryke | (ON) a crevice in a limestone pavement. |
| gumlands | in Australia, infertile land from which the original kauri gum has been removed or burnt. |
| guyot | a flat-topped underwater mountain of volcanic origin. |
| hagg | (Scots) broken ground in a moss or bog, a place from which peat has been dug. |
| hamada | (Arabic) a desert plateau of bedrock. |
| hammada | (Arabic) a desert plateau of bedrock. |
| haugh | (Scots) a low-lying meadow by the side of a river. |
| headland | a cape; a promontory. |
| headwall | a steep rockface at the end of a cirque. |
| heath | an evergreen shrub. |
| heathland | barren open country, esp covered with ericaceous and other low shrubs. |
| heathless | without heath. |
| heathlike | like a heath. |
| heathy | covered with heath; of the nature of heath. |
| heuch | (Scots) a crag, a steep-sided valley. |
| heugh | (Scots) a crag, a steep-sided valley. |
| highland | an elevated region. |
| highveld | a high altitude grassland region of E. S. Africa. |
| hill | a high mass of land, smaller than a mountain (verb) to rise into a mound |
| hillcrest | the top of a hill. |
| hilliness | the state of being hilly. |
| hilling | tobogganing down a slope of ice. |
| hillock | a small hill. |
| hillocked | having hillocks. |
| hillocky | full of hillocks. |
| hillside | the side of a hill. |
| hillslope | the slope of a hill. |
| hilltop | the top of a hill. |
| hilly | like a hill. |
| hogback | an eroded, steeply tilted ridge of resistant rocks with equal slopes on the sides. |
| hogh | (Spenser) a hoe, promontory. |
| holm | a river island. |
| hommock | (Arch.) a ridge in an ice field. |
| hornito | (Spanish) a low volcanic mound. |
| horst | (Ger.) a mass of the earth's crust that lies between two faults and is higher than the surrounding land. |
| horste | (Ger.) a mass of the earth's crust that lies between two faults and is higher than the surrounding land. |
| how | in what manner; (noun) a low hill. |
| hummock | a pile or ridge of ice (verb) to make hummocks on |
| icecap | a small ice sheet. |
| icecapped | having an icecap, a small ice sheet. |
| icefall | a steep part of a glacier resembling a frozen waterfall. |
| icefield | an expanse of ice eg on a glacier. |
| impolder | (Dutch) to make a polder of. |
| inselberg | (Ger.) an isolated mountain or hill rising abruptly from its surrounding, aka monadnock. |
| interfluve | an area between two rivers that flow in the same direction. |
| interfluvial | between two rivers flowing in same direction. |
| intervale | a low level tract of land, esp along a river. |
| island | a mass of land (not a continent) surrounded with water; (verb) to set or dot with or as with islands. |
| islet | a small island. |
| isleted | having islets. |
| isthmic | of or like an isthmus. |
| isthmoid | of or like an isthmus. |
| isthmus | (Lat.) a narrow neck of land joining two land masses. |
| jebel | (Arabic) a hill, a range of mountains. |
| jungle | land covered with dense tropical vegetation. |
| jungled | abounding in jungle. |
| junglelike | like a jungle. |
| jungly | of or relating to jungles. |
| kaim | (Scots) a comb; a ridge or mound of sand and gravel deposited on or near a glacier. |
| kame | (Scots) a comb; a ridge or mound of sand and gravel deposited on or near a glacier. |
| karoo | (Hottentot) a high inland pastoral tableland. |
| karroo | (Hottentot) a high inland pastoral tableland. |
| karst | (Ger.) a landscape composed of limestone features including sinkholes, caves, and underground streams. |
| karstic | of or like karst, a landscape composed of limestone features including sinkholes, caves, and underground streams. |
| karstification | the process of becoming karstified. |
| karstify | to make into karst, a landscape composed of limestone features including sinkholes, caves, and underground streams. |
| khor | (Arabic) a dry watercourse; a ravine. |
| khud | (Hindi) in India, a pit, hollow, ravine. |
| kipp | (Scots) anything beaked; a pointed hill. |
| kloof | (Afrikaans) a deep ravine in S. Africa. |
| knickpoint | a break of slope in a river profile, esp where a new curve of erosion arising from rejuvenation intersects an earlier curve. |
| knoll | a small hill (verb) an obsolete form of knell |
| knolly | like a knoll. |
| knowe | a small hill, a knoll. |
| kop | (S. Afr.) a hill. |
| kopje | (Afrikaans) a low hill. |
| koppie | (Afrikaans) a low hill. |
| kyle | (Gaelic) a narrow strait. |
| lahar | (Javanese) a mudflow composed chiefly of pyroclastic material on the flanks of a volcano. |
| laich | (Scots) a piece of low-lying ground; a hollow. |
| laigh | (Scots) low (noun) a piece of low-lying ground; a hollow |
| lakefront | the front of a lake. |
| lakeland | scenery with lakes. |
| lande | (Fr.) a heathy plain or sandy tract, esp in S.W. France. |
| landform | a geological feature. |
| landmass | a large continuous area of land, as opposed to seas or islands. |
| landscape | the appearance of the area of land which the eye can view at once; (verb) to create a landscape. |
| landskip | (Arch.) landscape; (verb) to landscape. |
| landslidden | (PaP.) LANDSLIDE, to win a landslide victory. |
| landslide | a fall of land or rock from a hillside or cliff; (verb) to win a landslide victory. |
| landslip | the fall of a mass of earth. |
| lantskip | (Milton) landscape. |
| lapillus | (Lat.) a small stone ejected by volcanic eruption. |
| laund | (Shakesp.) a glade, a grassy place. |
| lauwine | (Ger.) an avalanche. |
| lava | magma that has been extruded out on to the earth's surface. |
| lavaform | like lava. |
| laval | of lava. |
| lavalike | like lava. |
| lawine | (Ger.) an avalanche. |
| liman | the deposit of slime at the mouth of a river. |
| litoral | pertaining to or on the seashore. |
| littoral | pertaining to or on the seashore; (noun) a shore region. |
| llano | (Spanish) an extensive plain with or without vegetation. |
| logan | a rocking-stone. |
| lowland | an area of land lying lower than the adjacent country. |
| lowveld | (Afrikaans) the lower altitude areas of the eastern Transvaal. |
| maar | (Ger.) a volcanic crater without a cone, usually filled by a lake. |
| machair | (Gaelic) a low-lying sandy beach, esp in the Hebrides. |
| magma | molten or partially molten rock material. |
| magmatic | of or like magma, molten or partially molten rock material. |
| mamelon | (Fr.) a rounded hill or protuberance. |
| maremma | (Ital.) seaside marshland; an Italian sheepdog. |
| marish | (Obs.) a marsh. |
| marsh | a tract of low, wet land. |
| marshed | having a marsh. |
| marshiness | the state of being marshy. |
| marshland | low poorly drained land that is sometimes flooded and often lies at the edge of lakes, streams, etc. |
| marshlike | like a marsh. |
| marshy | like marsh. |
| maskeg | (Am. Ind.) a swamp, bog or marsh. |
| massif | (Fr.) a large mountain-mass; a compact group of mountain heights. |
| meadowland | land that is or is used for meadow. |
| merse | (Scots) a low flat marshland. |
| mesa | (Spanish) a flat-topped land formation with steep sides, bigger than a butte but smaller than a plateau. |
| meseta | (Spanish) a plateau, esp that of central Spain. |
| mofette | (Fr.) a volcanic opening in the earth emitting carbon dioxide. |
| moffette | (Fr.) a volcanic opening in the earth emitting carbon dioxide. |
| molasse | soft sediment produced by the erosion of mountain ranges in the final stage of mountain building. |
| monadnock | a mountain or rocky mass that has resisted erosion and stands isolated in an essentially level area, aka inselberg. |
| montane | mountainous; mountain-dwelling; (noun) the lowest vegetation belt of a mountain. |
| monticle | a little hill. |
| monticule | (Fr.) a secondary volcanic cone. |
| monticulus | a little hill. |
| moorish | having the characteristics of a moor or heath. |
| moorland | a tract of marshy land. |
| moory | of or pertaining to moors. |
| morainal | of or pertaining to a moraine. |
| moraine | (Fr.) a landform made largely of glacial till. |
| morainic | of or pertaining to a moraine. |
| morass | a very wet or muddy area of ground. |
| morassy | like a morass, marshy > MORASSIER, MORASSIEST. |
| morro | (Spanish) a rounded hill or headland. |
| mossland | wet, peaty land. |
| motu | (Maori) a small reef island in the Pacific. |
| moulin | (Fr.) a nearly vertical, cylindrical shaft or cavity worn in a glacier, carved by melted surface water falling through a crack in the ice. |
| mountain | a large, natural elevation of the earth's surface. |
| mountained | having mountains. |
| mountainous | having mountains. |
| mountainously | (Adv.) MOUNTAINOUS, having mountains. |
| mountainousness | the state of being mountainous. |
| mountainside | the side of a mountain. |
| mountaintop | the summit of a mountain. |
| mountainy | mountainous. |
| moutonnee | (Fr.) of a rock, rounded by the action of a glacier. |
| moya | volcanic mud. |
| mudbank | a sloping area of mud alongside a body of water. |
| mudflat | a level tract alternately covered and left bare by the tide. |
| mudhole | a place that stays damp and muddy. |
| muir | (Scots) a moor. |
| muskeg | (Am. Ind.) a swamp, bog or marsh. |
| nala | (Hindi) a ravine, a watercourse. |
| nalla | (Hindi) a ravine, a watercourse. |
| nallah | (Hindi) a ravine, a watercourse. |
| naze | a headland or cape. |
| nek | (S. Afr.) a col, a pass in a mountain range. |
| ness | a headland. |
| neve | (Fr.) old compressed snow, aka firn. |
| nickpoint | a break of slope in a river profile, esp where a new curve of erosion arising from rejuvenation intersects an earlier curve. |
| nondesert | not related to or living in a desert. |
| nonvolcanic | not volcanic. |
| noup | (Obs.) in the Shetlands, a crag, a steep headland. |
| nulla | (Hindi) a ravine, a watercourse. |
| nullah | (Hindi) a ravine, a watercourse. |
| nunatak | (Inuit) a point of rock appearing above the surface of land ice. |
| oasis | a fertile spot in a desert. |
| orological | of or pertaining to orology. |
| ose | an esker, a narrow ridge of gravel and sand. |
| outback | the remote, uncultivated, and usually uninhabited inland districts of Australia; any remote or sparsely populated region. |
| outcrop | any place where bedrock is visible on the surface of the Earth; (verb) to form an outcrop. |
| outwash | a bed of sand and gravel laid down by glacial melt water. |
| overfold | a fold tilted over so that the dip on both sides of the axis is in the same direction; (verb) of folded strata, to be pushed beyond the vertical, so as to form an overfold. |
| overwash | material carried by glacier streams over a frontal moraine. |
| oxbow | a pronounced meander or horseshoe-shaped loop in a river. |
| padi | (Malay) a rice field. |
| pahoehoe | (Hawaiian) a hardened lava with a smooth or ropy surface. |
| pakahi | (Maori) acid land unfit for cultivation. |
| pakihi | (Maori) acid land unfit for cultivation. |
| pali | (Hawaiian) a cliff in Hawaii. |
| palsa | (Finnish) a landform of subarctic regions. |
| paludal | of marshes. |
| paludic | of marshes. |
| paludinal | of marshes. |
| paludine | of marshes. |
| paludinous | of marshes. |
| paludose | marshy; living in marshes. |
| paludous | marshy; living in marshes. |
| palustral | of marshes, inhabiting marshes. |
| palustrian | of marshes, inhabiting marshes. |
| palustrine | of marshes, inhabiting marshes. |
| pampa | (Quechua) a vast treeless plain in S. America. |
| pampas | (Quechua) a vast treeless plain in S. America. |
| paramo | (Spanish) a bare windswept elevated plain in S. America. |
| peak | the pointed end or highest point of anything (verb) to reach a maximum |
| peakish | of or relating to a peak. |
| peatary | a region, bog or moor covered with peat. |
| peatery | a region, bog or moor covered with peat. |
| peatland | an area of land consisting of peat bogs. |
| peneplain | a low gently, rolling landscape produced by long-continued erosion. |
| peneplanation | the state of being a peneplain. |
| peneplane | a low gently, rolling landscape produced by long-continued erosion. |
| peninsula | a strip of land jutting out into water, a near-island. |
| peninsular | relating to a peninsula. |
| peninsulate | to form into a peninsula. |
| periglacial | bordering a glacier. |
| petary | a region, bog or moor covered with peat. |
| phrygana | (Mod. Gr.) an uncultivated open scrubland of the Mediterranean region, aka garigue. |
| picacho | (Spanish) an isolated peak of a hill. |
| piedmont | an area of land formed or lying at the foot of a mountain or mountain range. |
| pindan | (Aborig.) a desert region of Western Australia. |
| pineland | land on which pine trees grow. |
| pingo | (Inuit) a cone-shaped mound with an ice core. |
| plateau | (Fr.) a flat highland (verb) to level out |
| platteland | (Afrikaans) rural districts. |
| playa | (Spanish) a basin which becomes a shallow lake after heavy rain, and dries out again. |
| pocosen | (Am. Ind.) an upland swamp of the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. |
| pocosin | (Am. Ind.) an upland swamp of the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. |
| pocoson | (Am. Ind.) an upland swamp of the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. |
| poechore | a semiarid region. |
| polder | (Dutch) an area of low-lying land reclaimed from a body of water (esp in the Netherlands); (verb) to reclaim low-lying land. |
| polje | (Serbo-Croat) a large elliptical depression in karst regions, sometimes containing a marsh or lake. |
| poort | (Afrikaans) a mountain pass. |
| pothole | a hole or basin cut into bedrock of a stream by the abrasive action of pebbles and sand swirled by turbulent stream flow; (verb) to explore (limestone potholes). |
| prairie | an extensive tract of treeless grassland, esp in N. America. |
| prairied | having prairies. |
| precepit | (Shakesp.) a precipice. |
| precipice | a high vertical or nearly vertical cliff or rock face. |
| precipiced | having precipices. |
| promontory | a high point of land or rock projecting into a body of water. |
| puy | a small volcanic cone. |
| pyroclast | ash and other debris ejected by a volcano. |
| quag | a quagmire. |
| quagginess | the state of being quaggy. |
| quaggy | boggy, like a quagmire. |
| quagmire | a bog (verb) to be sunk or stuck in a quagmire |
| quagmiry | like a quagmire. |
| quicksand | a loose watery sand which swallows up anyone who walks on it. |
| rambla | (Spanish) a dry ravine; a broad avenue esp in Barcelona. |
| ravine | a narrow, steep-sided valley. |
| reedbed | a stand of reeds. |
| reefy | full of reefs or rocks. |
| renosterveld | an area of high altitude in S. Africa, having fertile ground. |
| ria | a drowned valley. |
| ridgeline | a line marking or following a ridge. |
| ridgetop | the summit of a ridge. |
| rillmark | a marking produced by water running down a bank or beach. |
| rimaye | (Fr.) a bergschrund, a crevasse formed where a glacier or snowfield moves away from a mountain wall. |
| rimland | an outlying land. |
| riva | (ON) in Shetland, a cleft in rock. |
| rivage | (Fr.) a shore, bank. |
| riverbank | the bank of a river. |
| riverside | the area at the side of a river. |
| riviera | (Ital.) a warm coastal district. |
| rockslide | a fall of rocks down a hillside. |
| rognon | (Fr.) an isolated rock outcrop on a glacier. |
| sabkha | (Arabic) a broad, salt-encrusted coastal plain above the level of normal tides. |
| sabkhah | (Arabic) a broad, salt-encrusted coastal plain above the level of normal tides. |
| sabkhat | (Arabic) a broad, salt-encrusted coastal plain above the level of normal tides. |
| salina | (Spanish) a salt lagoon. |
| salse | (Fr.) a mud volcano. |
| sandbank | a large mass of sand. |
| sandbar | a sandbank, esp one formed at the mouth of a river or harbour. |
| sandhill | a hill of sand. |
| sandspit | a small point of land created by sand dunes. |
| sault | a waterfall or rapid in some rivers; as, the Sault Ste. Marie. |
| savanna | (Spanish) tropical grassland. |
| savannah | (Spanish) tropical grassland. |
| scabland | an area of bare, usually volcanic rock in the NW US that has been deeply channelled by glacial meltwater. |
| scaw | a low cape or headland. |
| scoria | (Lat.) dross or slag from metal-smelting; a slag-like mass of lava. |
| scrubland | land covered by scrub. |
| seabank | a bank beside the sea. |
| seabeach | a beach lying along the sea. |
| seaboard | the line where land and sea meet, the coastline. |
| seacoast | the shore or border of the land adjacent to the sea or ocean. |
| seamount | a volcanic mountain on the seafloor; if flat-topped, it is a guyot. |
| seashore | land bordering on the sea. |
| seaside | the seashore. |
| seastrand | the seashore. |
| sedgeland | land where sedge grows. |
| seif | (Arabic) a long sand-dune lying parallel to the direction of the wind that forms it. |
| seismism | seismic phenomena collectively. |
| semicirque | a semicircular hollow or opening among trees or hills. |
| semidesert | a half desert. |
| serac | (Fr.) a large mass of ice broken off a glacier and remaining behind in a crevasse. |
| shore | the seaward edge of coast between low tide and effective wave action; (verb) to prop up. |
| shoreline | the line separating land and water, that fluctuates as water rises and falls. |
| shott | (Arabic) a shallow saline lake of northern Africa; the dried bed of such a lake. |
| shrubland | land covered by shrubs. |
| sidehill | the side or slope of a hill. |
| sierra | (Spanish) a ridge of mountain and craggy rocks, with a serrated or irregular outline. |
| sierran | relating to a mountain range. |
| sinkhole | a depression in ground surface caused by collapse into a cave below. |
| sinky | yielding underfoot. |
| skaw | a low cape or headland. |
| skerry | (ON) a small rocky island. |
| slade | a little valley or dell. |
| sleech | slimy mud; a mudflat. |
| slickenside | a polished and smoothly striated rock surface that results from friction along a fault plane. |
| slickensided | in the form of a slickenside. |
| slieve | (Irish) a mountain. |
| slobland | a mudflat, reclaimed alluvial land. |
| slough | a quagmire (verb) to cast off |
| sloughy | full of sloughs, miry. |
| slumpy | marshy. |
| snowbelt | a region that receives an appreciable amount of snow each year. |
| snowland | land permanently under snow. |
| snowscape | a landscape under snow. |
| soakaway | a depression or pit into which water percolates. |
| soffioni | (Ital.) volcanic steam-holes. |
| solfatara | (Ital.) a volcanic vent emitting only gases. |
| solfataric | relating to a solfatara, a volcanic vent emitting only gases. |
| sourveld | in S. Africa, a type of grazing characterised by long coarse grass. |
| sowback | an eroded, steeply tilted ridge of resistant rocks with equal slopes on the sides. |
| spewiness | the state of being spewy, boggy. |
| spewy | boggy. |
| steppe | (Russian) one of the vast plains in SE Europe and in Asia. |
| stoss | the side of a hill facing upstream. |
| strandflat | in Norway, a gently sloping coastal platform extending seaward. |
| strandline | the shoreline. |
| strata | (Lat.) a layer, a stratum. |
| strath | (Scots) a valley of considerable size, through which a river runs. |
| stratovolcano | a composite volcano, composed of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material, along with abundant dikes and sills. |
| strond | (Spenser) a strand, a beach. |
| subcontinent | a large landmass smaller than a continent. |
| succussive | characterized by a shaking motion, esp an up and down movement. |
| superterranean | above or on surface of earth. |
| swail | a marshy hollow or depression. |
| swale | a marshy hollow or depression (verb) to scorch, singe |
| swaly | marshy. |
| swamp | a tract of wet spongy land (verb) to inundate |
| swampiness | the state of being swampy. |
| swampish | like a swamp. |
| swampland | swamp country. |
| swampy | like a swamp. |
| sweetveld | in S. Africa, a type of grazing characterised by sweet grass. |
| swire | a hollow between two hills. |
| syntexis | (Greek) the alteration of magma by the melting or assimilation of another rock. |
| syrtis | (Milton) a patch or area of quicksand. |
| tableland | a plateau. |
| taiga | (Russian) subarctic Siberian evergreen forest. |
| talweg | (Ger.) a line following the lowest point of a valley; the middle of a navigable waterway used as boundary line. |
| tel | in Arab lands, a hill or ancient mound formed from the accumulated debris from earlier mud or wattle habitations. |
| tephra | (Greek) ash and debris ejected by a volcano. |
| terrain | (Fr.) ground, a tract, regarded as a field of view or of operations. |
| thalweg | (Ger.) a line following the lowest point of a valley; the middle of a navigable waterway used as boundary line. |
| thwaite | (ON) a piece of reclaimed wasteland. |
| tideland | (US) land which is submerged at high tide. |
| timberland | (US) land covered with trees used for timber. |
| tombolo | (Ital.) a bar of sand or gravel connecting one island with another. |
| tomo | (Maori) a shaft formed by the action of water on volcanic or limestone rock. |
| tor | a hill, a rocky height. |
| treeline | the line marking the altitude above which trees will not grow. |
| tremblor | an earth tremor. |
| tumpy | hummocky. |
| tumulose | full of small hills or mounds; hilly. |
| tumulosity | the state of being tumulose, full of small hills or mounds. |
| tumulous | full of small hills or mounds; hilly. |
| tundra | (Lapp) a vast treeless zone lying between the ice cap and the timber line of N. America and Eurasia and having a permanently frozen subsoil. |
| undercliff | a subordinate cliff on a shore, consisting of material that has fallen from the higher cliff above. |
| unerupted | of a volcano, that has not erupted. |
| updoming | the upward deformation of a rock mass into a dome shape. |
| upland | the higher land of a region. |
| uplandish | (Obs.) rustic, rural. |
| upwrap | in geology, an anticline. |
| urman | (Russian) swampy pine forest. |
| vae | in Orkney or Shetland, a bay or creek. |
| vale | a broad valley. |
| valley | a depression of the earth's surface. |
| valleyed | having valleys. |
| varve | a seasonal layer of sediment deposited in still water, used in establishing Ice Age chronology. |
| varved | stratified in varves, seasonal layers of sediment deposited in still water, used in establishing Ice Age chronology. |
| vega | (Spanish) a low fertile plain; a tobacco field. |
| veld | (Afrikaans) open grassland. |
| veldt | (Afrikaans) open grassland. |
| versant | the general slope of a mountain. |
| vesicular | having vesicles eg of a rock. |
| vesicularly | (Adv.) VESICULAR, having vesicles. |
| vlei | (Afrikaans) low-lying ground where a shallow lake forms in the wet season. |
| vly | (Afrikaans) low-lying ground where a shallow lake forms in the wet season. |
| voe | in Orkney or Shetland, a bay or creek. |
| volcanian | relating to a volcanic eruption, esp one that discharges gases and ash but little or no lava. |
| volcanic | of or like a volcano (noun) a volcanic rock |
| volcanically | (Adv.) VOLCANIC, of or like a volcano. |
| volcanicity | the state of being volcanic. |
| volcanise | to subject to the action of volcanic heat. |
| volcanism | volcanic power or action. |
| volcanist | one versed in the history and phenomena of volcanoes. |
| volcanize | to subject to the action of volcanic heat. |
| volcano | (Ital.) a centre of eruption of subterranean matter. |
| volcanologic | relating to volcanology. |
| volcanological | relating to volcanology. |
| volcanologist | one who studies volcanology. |
| volcanology | the study of volcanoes. |
| vulcanian | relating to a volcanic eruption, esp one that discharges gases and ash but little or no lava. |
| vulcanic | of or like a volcano. |
| vulcanicity | the state of being vulcanic. |
| vulcanism | volcanic power or action. |
| vulcanist | one versed in the history and phenomena of volcanoes. |
| vulcanological | relating to vulcanology. |
| vulcanologist | one who studies vulcanology. |
| vulcanology | the study of volcanoes. |
| wadi | (Arabic) the dry bed of a torrent; a river valley. |
| wady | (Arabic) the dry bed of a torrent; a river valley. |
| wagmoire | (Spenser) a quagmire. |
| washaway | an erosion of the earth's surface due to running water. |
| washland | an area periodically flooded by a river. |
| wasteland | a desolate, barren area. |
| waterside | the edge of a sea, lake, etc, a shore. |
| wayboard | a thin geological seam separating larger strata. |
| wetland | land containing much soil moisture. |
| wilderness | a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings. |
| wildland | land completely uncultivated. |
| wold | an open tract of country. |
| woodland | land covered with trees. |
| yardang | (Turkish) a ridge formed by wind erosion parallel to prevailing winds. |