Geography Terms: 60+ Landforms, Water Bodies, and Physical Features

Geography terminology is frequently tested in PSC exams — often as direct “What is X?” or matching questions. This note covers 60+ terms with definitions and examples.

Landforms

Term	Definition	Example
Peninsula	Land surrounded by water on three sides	India, Arabia, Iberia
Island	Land surrounded by water on all sides	Sri Lanka, Madagascar
Archipelago	Group/chain of islands	Andaman and Nicobar, Indonesia, Lakshadweep
Isthmus	Narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses	Isthmus of Panama, Isthmus of Suez (before canal)
Cape	Pointed piece of land jutting into sea	Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), Cape of Good Hope
Plateau	Elevated flat-topped land area	Deccan Plateau, Tibetan Plateau
Plain	Low-lying flat land area	Indo-Gangetic Plain, Great Plains (USA)
Valley	Low area between hills/mountains	Kashmir Valley, Nile Valley
Canyon	Deep, narrow valley with steep sides	Grand Canyon (USA), Gandikota (India)
Gorge	Narrow valley between rocky cliffs	Marble Rocks at Jabalpur
Mountain	Elevated land above 600 m with peak	Himalayas, Andes, Alps
Hill	Elevated land below 600 m	Nilgiris, Satpura
Volcano	Opening in earth’s crust through which lava erupts	Mount Vesuvius, Barren Island (India’s only active)
Cliff	Steep rock face at edge of coast/mountain	White Cliffs of Dover
Mesa	Flat-topped hill with steep sides (smaller than plateau)	Monument Valley, USA
Butte	Isolated hill with steep sides (smaller than mesa)	Found in deserts

Water Bodies and Coastal Features

Term	Definition	Example
Delta	Triangular deposit of sediment at river mouth	Sundarbans (Ganges), Nile Delta
Estuary	Wide mouth of river where tide meets current (no delta)	Narmada, Tapti
Gulf	Large body of sea partly enclosed by land	Gulf of Kutch, Persian Gulf
Bay	Part of sea enclosed by a wide curve of coastline	Bay of Bengal, Hudson Bay
Strait	Narrow waterway between two landmasses	Palk Strait, Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz
Lagoon	Shallow body of water separated from sea by sandbar	Chilika Lake, Vembanad Lake
Fjord	Long, narrow inlet with steep sides (glacially carved)	Norwegian coast, Milford Sound (NZ)
Atoll	Ring-shaped coral reef enclosing a lagoon	Maldives, Lakshadweep
Reef	Ridge of rock/coral at or near water surface	Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
Sound	Wide inlet between mainland and island	Puget Sound, Plymouth Sound
Channel	Wide strait or arm of sea	English Channel, Mozambique Channel
Creek	Narrow inlet of sea; also small stream	Thane Creek
Harbour	Sheltered body of water for anchoring ships	Mumbai Harbour, Sydney Harbour
Continental shelf	Shallow underwater extension of continent (up to 200 m depth)	Off India’s west coast
Trench	Deepest parts of ocean floor	Mariana Trench (deepest: 11,034 m)

River and Drainage Terms

Term	Definition	Example
Tributary	River that flows into a larger river	Yamuna (tributary of Ganga)
Distributary	Branch flowing away from main river (in delta)	Hooghly (distributary of Ganga)
Confluence	Point where two rivers meet	Prayagraj (Ganga + Yamuna)
Watershed/Water divide	Ridge separating two drainage basins	Western Ghats (separates east/west flowing rivers)
Meander	Curve/loop in a river	Common in plains (Ganga in Bihar)
Oxbow lake	Crescent-shaped lake from cut-off meander	Found in flood plains
Alluvial fan	Fan-shaped deposit where river enters plain from hills	Foot of Shivaliks
Flood plain	Flat area beside river prone to flooding	Brahmaputra flood plain
Gorge/Canyon	Deep, narrow river valley	Indus gorge in Ladakh
Rapids	Section of river with fast, turbulent flow	Before waterfalls
Waterfall	River dropping over steep cliff	Jog Falls, Niagara Falls

Desert and Arid Features

Term	Definition	Example
Oasis	Fertile spot in desert with water	Siwa Oasis (Egypt)
Sand dune	Mound of sand deposited by wind	Thar Desert, Sahara
Barchan	Crescent-shaped sand dune	Thar Desert
Wadi	Dry riverbed that flows only in rainy season	Common in Arabia, Rajasthan
Playa/Salt flat	Flat area of salt left after evaporation of lake	Rann of Kutch
Inselberg	Isolated rocky hill in desert	Common in African deserts

Glacial Features

Term	Definition	Example
Glacier	Slow-moving mass of ice	Siachen, Gangotri
Moraine	Debris deposited by glacier	Found at edges and end of glaciers
Cirque (Corrie)	Bowl-shaped depression carved by glacier on mountainside	Found in Himalayas
U-shaped valley	Valley carved by glacier (broad floor, steep sides)	Kashmir Valley section
Drumlin	Elongated hill of glacial deposits	Found in clusters
Iceberg	Floating mass of ice broken from glacier	Arctic/Antarctic oceans
Tundra	Treeless Arctic plain with permafrost	Siberia, Northern Canada

Atmospheric and Climate Terms

Term	Definition	Example
Monsoon	Seasonal reversal of wind direction	Indian Monsoon
Cyclone	Rotating storm system (low pressure)	Tropical cyclones in Bay of Bengal
Typhoon	Cyclone in Pacific Ocean	Same as cyclone, different name
Hurricane	Cyclone in Atlantic Ocean	Same as cyclone, different name
Tornado	Violent rotating column of air on land	Common in USA
Tsunami	Seismic sea wave caused by earthquake/underwater disturbance	Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004)
El Nino	Warming of Pacific Ocean affecting global weather	Causes drought in India
La Nina	Cooling of Pacific Ocean	Often brings more monsoon rain to India

Important Comparisons

Feature	Delta	Estuary
Formation	Sediment deposit at river mouth	Wide river mouth, no deposition
Shape	Triangular/fan-shaped	Funnel-shaped
Rivers (India)	Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Mahanadi	Narmada, Tapti
Reason	Gentle slope, low tidal action	Strong tides wash away sediment

Feature	Gulf	Bay
Size	Usually smaller, more enclosed	Usually larger, more open
Shape	Narrow opening	Wide opening
Example	Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar	Bay of Bengal

PSC Repeated Questions

Question	Answer
Narrow strip of land between two seas	Isthmus
Group of islands	Archipelago
Ring-shaped coral island	Atoll
Narrow waterway between two landmasses	Strait
Triangular land at river mouth	Delta
India’s only active volcano	Barren Island (Andaman)
Deepest ocean trench	Mariana Trench (Pacific)
Largest peninsula	Arabia
River that does NOT form delta in India	Narmada, Tapti (they form estuaries)
Crescent-shaped sand dune	Barchan
Glacially carved coastal inlet	Fjord
Shallow water body separated from sea	Lagoon
Wide river mouth with tidal influence	Estuary
Largest delta in the world	Sundarbans (Ganges-Brahmaputra)
Largest archipelago	Indonesia