Identify Landforms Quiz!
Name each landform by looking closely at the image above.
1
Mountain
Volcano
lake
valley
Waterfall
butte
plateau
canyon
tribulary
10
river
11
plain
12
harbor
13
beach
14
Clue: Strait.
15
cape
16
Clue: Gulf
17
isthmus
18
peninsula
19
islet
20
Clue: delta
21
Clue: Sound
22
Clue: ocean
23
Archipelago
Write a definition for each of the following landforms:
Alluvial fan
land formation that occurs when sedimentary materials such as rocks, gravel, and silt, are deposited onto land as a result of decreasing
or stopped water flow from a river or stream source.
Divide
the highest ridge of land separating river basins.
Mesa
a land formation having a relatively flat top and steep rock walls.
Moraine
deposits of rock and sediment left from a former or receding glacier.
Sandbar
an area of sand or sentiment that has been collecting and rises above or just below the water.
River mouth
A river mouth is the part of a river that flows into a lake, reservoir or ocean.
Flood Plain
an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding.
Cloze activity
Complete the following cloze activity - fill in the gaps:
Landforms are often the result of natural changes on and within the Earth. Some changes occur gradually as water, wind and
changing temperatures wear away rock and soil. Other changes, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes , are quite dramatic.
Many islands have been formed as the result of volcanic eruptions.
One of the coldest spot on earth is on a high plateau in Antarctica.
Tiny sea creatures take 1000s of years to build a coral reef.
Very few people reach the summit of Mt Everest.
Earths highest waterfall flows over the side of a mountain in Venezuela.
You might find a cactus in a desert.
Landforms a-z
A
alluvial fan
B
badlands
butte
C
canal
canyon
D
delta
desert
E
equator
F
Waterfalls
G
geyser
Glacier
H
headlandhill
hillside
I
iceberg
island
J
Jungle
K
knob
knoll
L
lagoon
lake
lakebed
landform
M
marsh
meander
mountain
N
narrows
natural arch
O
oasis
ocean
oceanic trench
overhang
overlook
oxbow lake
P
peninsula
Plateau
R
reef
riverbed
S
sandbar
sand dune
T
tar pit
tundra
U
U-shaped valley
V
valley
volcano
W
waterfall
wetland
Y
Yardang
How mountains are formed
LI: Use SEEC paragraphing for all three paragraphs
Mountains are likely to be the most well known landform.
Many mountains were formed by tectonic plates colliding. The Earth's crust is made up of
multiple tectonic plates that still move today as a result of activity in the geosphere below the
surface. When two tectonic plates meet , their edges can crumple. The result of these tectonic
plates crumpling is huge pieces of rock being pushed up into the air. This is one way that
mountains can be formed.
Mountains can also form along natural fault lines. These are places where Earths tectonic
plates grind against each other. From time to time , two plates will grind together making one
plate lift up and one peeking over. This creates a mountain range.
One other way mountains form is with volcanic activity below Earth's surface. Sometimes
magma gets pushed up toward the surface. When that happens, it cools and forms hard rock.
Eventually, the softer rock above it wears away to reveal a mountain below. If the magma
breaks through to the surface it forms a volcano!
Mountains can also form by way of erosion. In an area with rivers and streams can carve away
stone. Over millions of it creates a mountain.
