Hey, I like maps and cartography, but did you know words have meaning? Here’s a list that I created from shamelessly using Wikipedia as a source. A caveat: I am not a geologist, just an earth enthusiast that likes using reality to shape my fantasy.
Terrain
- archipelago: a chain, cluster, or collection of islands in a sea
- arroyo, gulch: deep gully cut by stream that flows part of the year; dry gulch
- atoll: partial or complete ring-shaped coral reef
- badlands: rugged, irregular topography from extensive wind and water erosion
- bay: coastal body of water connected to but recessed from a larger body of water; sheltered from strong winds and waves
- blackwater: slow-moving river channel through a swamp or wetland; high acidity from decaying vegetation
- bluff: steep slope or cliff marking the outer region of a flood plain
- butte: isolated hill or mountain with steep sides; less summit area than a mesa
- caldera: cauldron-shaped depression of volcanic origin
- canyon, gorge: deep cleft between cliffs resulting from weathering
- cape, headland, promontory: land extending into a body of water
- cay, key: small, sandy, low-elevation island on the surface of an otherwise submerged coral reef
- cenote: natural pit or sinkhole resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock which exposes groundwater underneath
- channel, strait: waterway separating two relatively close landmasses
- chimney, finger, monument, needle, pillar, pinnacle, spire, tower: a natural, free-standing, vertical column of earth or rock
- cinder cone: steep-sided volcano formed by the explosion of cinders around a volcanic vent
- cirque: amphitheater-shaped valley surrounded on three or more sides by steep, cliff-like slopes
- delta: formed by sediment deposit at the mouth of a river where the main stem splits into several distributaries
- dune: hill of loose sand built by erosion/deposition by wind or water
- estuary: lower course of a river where it enters the ocean and is affected by tides
- fjord: long, narrow, navigable marine inlet with steep sides created by glacial erosion
- flark: hollow or depression in a bog, often water-filled, usually part of a repeated series, connected by ridges called strings
- floodplain: broad, flat area of land adjacent to a river or stream, leveled by annual flooding
- gulf: a large arm or inlet of an ocean or sea that lies within a curved coastline
- gully: resembling a large ditch or small ravine created by swift running water eroding deeply and sharply into soil, typically on a hillside
- horn: a mountain formed by three or four adjacent cirques, leaving a distinctly pyramidal peak
- impact crater: raised rims higher in elevation and depressed floors lower in elevation than surrounding terrain
- inlet: shoreline indentation that leads to an enclosed body of salt water
- inselberg, mogote, monadnock: isolated rocky hill, knob, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a virtually level surrounding plain
- isthmus, land bridge: narrow piece of land connecting two larger land areas across an expanse of water that otherwise separates them
- jetty: man-made structure projecting out into a body of water
- kame: irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel, and glacial till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier and deposited on the land with glacier melting
- karst: surface topography resulting from subsurface limestone or dolomite
- kettle: shallow, sediment-filled body of water formed by blocks of ice calving from retreating glacier
- lagoon: small area of water connected to the ocean by blockaded by one or more islands
- lee: side or slope of a physical feature that faces downwind
- maar: broad, shallow, flat-bottomed volcanic crater created by an eruption involving groundwater coming into contact with magma
- mere: a shallow pond, lake, or wetland
- mesa: isolated, relatively flat-topped natural elevation; bigger than a butte, smaller than a plateau
- pan: shallow, rounded basin or hollow which may seasonally capture and hold water from rainfall or snowmelt, especially in an arid or semi-arid region
- peninsula: a piece of land surrounded by water along the majority of its border while still being connected to a mainland from which it projects
- plateau: a large area of relatively flat terrain that is significantly higher than the surrounding landscape
- playa: an exceptionally flat, arid basin that is the dry bed of an evaporated lake
- pond: a body of standing water smaller than a lake
- reach: a relatively straight, level, uninterrupted segment of a stream, river, channel, arm of sea or ocean, or other watercourse that implies a line-of-sight stretch of water between two points
- reef: submerged ridge- or mound-like structure built by sedentary organisms
- sinkhole: a crater formed when the roof of a cavern collapses
- skerry: a small, rocky islet or reef, often one of a series lying just offshore and parallel to the coastline
- sky island: an isolated mountain, mountain range, or high plateau with conspicuous elevational gradients in geology, climate, and/or biodiversity
- sound: a large inlet of a sea or ocean that is larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a fjord
- spring: a location where groundwater emerges from an underground aquifer
- swale: a shallow channel or trough with gently sloping sides
- tarn: a mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier
- tor: a prominent, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the smooth slopes of a gently rounded hill or ridge
- vale, valley: a low area between hills or mountains, often with a river running through it
- wadi: a dry, ephemeral riverbed that contains water only when heavy rainfall occurs
Flora
- bushveld, lowveld, veld: tropical or subtropical woodland region consisting of open savanna with scattered trees
- dell: small, secluded hollow within a grassy, park-like, partially wooded valley
- glade: any large, open, mostly treeless area within a forest
- glen: a long valley with gently sloping, concave sides, narrower and deeper than a strath
- grove: a small group of trees growing close together with little or no undergrowth
- ham: a plot of meadow land, especially a tract of rich pasture near a river
- heath: a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining, infertile, acidic soils and characterized by low-growing, woody vegetation
- moor: upland habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils; uncultivated hills but also low-lying wetlands
- pantanal: wetland region consisting of a usually dry savanna that is flooded by a river
- prairie: temperate grassland dominated by a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs rather than trees
- saddle: a low point on a ridge between two mountain summits
- savannah: mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem with scattered trees and brush
- steppe: a region characterized by expansive grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes
- strath: a large river valley, wider and shallower than a glen
- tundra: treeless plain characteristic of the Arctic and subarctic regions
Forests
- boreal: subarctic, generally evergreen and coniferous
- rainforest: forest characterized by abundant rainfall, dense layers of vegetation, and high biodiversity
- taiga: moist subarctic coniferous forest that begins where the tundra ends and is dominated by spruces and firs
Wetlands
- bog, mire, muskeg, quagmire: a wetland that accumulates dead plant material where the ground surface is acidic and low in dissolved nutrients
- fen: an area of spongy, waterlogged ground containing decaying vegetation and supplied with mineral-rich water by a larger water system
- marsh: wetland dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plants found at the edges of lakes and streams
- slough: a type of wetland in which water tends to be stagnant or flows very slowly on a seasonal basis
- swamp: forested wetland, often along a large river or on the shores of a large lake