| Term | Definition |
| archipelago | a large group or chain of islands |
| atlas | a book of maps or charts |
| atoll | a ring-shaped reef, island, or chain
of islands formed of coral that
encircles a lagoon |
| bay | a body of water partly enclosed by land;
usually smaller than a gulf |
| canal | an artificial, long, narrow strip of water
made to allow the passage of boats
or ships or for irrigaIon |
| canyon | a deep and narrow valley
with very steep sides; usually created by
water erosion as a river moves
between the canyon walls |
| continent | any of the world’s large
expanses of land |
| delta | a flat, low-lying land built up from sand, silt, and small rocks that are carried downstream
by a river and deposited at its mouth |
| desert | a dry, waterless, barren area of land,
often covered with sand, that has little
or no trees and a low average
yearly rainfall |
| equator | an imaginary line drawn around the earth
equally distant from the North and South
Poles that divides the earth into northern
and southern hemispheres |
| glacier | a large, long-lastIng river of dense,
slow-moving ice |
| island | a piece of land surrounded by water |
| isthmus | a narrow strip of land with water
on both sides that joins two larger
land masses |
| lagoon | a shallow body of water along a coastline
that is separated from a larger body of
water by barrier islands or reefs |
