Coastal and Oceanic Landforms

Coastal and Oceanic Landforms

 

• Abyssal fan - An underwater deposit of sediment formed by water currents
• Abyssal plain - A flat, smooth underwater surface that covers over 50% of the Earth's surface. It forms the bottom of the continental rise and the top of the oceanic trench
• Archipelago - A group of islands
• Atoll - A ring-shaped coral reef
• Arch - A rock formation with an opening
• Ayre - A narrow beach across the ends of a shallow bay
• Barrier bar and barrier island - A flat formation of sand that is parallel to the coast
• Bay and gulf - A body of water connected to an ocean but surrounded on most sides by land
• Beach and raised beach - The land along the edge of a body of water, consisting of loose rocks or sand.
• Beach cusps - Sediment in an arc shape on the shore, caused by the wave action
• Beach ridge - A ridge running parallel to the water's edge, caused by wave action
• Bight - A recessed area in a coastline
• Blowhole - A hole in the end of a sea cave
• Channel - A narrow body of water
• Cape - A portion of land that extends into the sea or ocean
• Calanque - A steep cove
• Cliff - A vertical wall of rock
• Coast - Where the water meets the land
• Continental shelf - The extended edge of each continent which is underwater
• Coral reef - Underwater formations of calcium carbonate
• Cove - A small bay
• Cuspate foreland - An accumulation of sand and gravel forming a land body that extends like a "finger" into the body of water
• Dune system - Groups of sand dunes
• Estuary - A semi-enclosed body of water with a connection to the sea and with at least one inbound source of water
• Firth - A large bay
• Fjard - A short, shallow and broad fjord
• Fjord - a long narrow inlet with steep cliffs
• Headland - A point of land that extends into a body of water and has a steep drop
• Inlet - A connection between a bay and the ocean
• Island, islet - A portion of land that is surrounded on all sides by water
• Islet - A rock that is surrounded on all sides by water
• Isthmus - A narrow strip of land with water on each side
• Lagoon - A shallow body of water
• Machair - The grassy fields that are inland from a dune ridge
• Marine terrace - A flat, often slightly inclined, surface with a slight slope on the water side and a steeper slope on the land side
• Mid-ocean ridge - An underwater mountain system
• Ocean - A body of salt water
• Oceanic basin - A basin that is below sea level
• Oceanic plateau - A flat rock formation that is above the continental slope
• Oceanic trench - A long, narrow opening on the ocean floor
• Peninsula - A piece of land that has water on three sides
• Ria - A river valley that is open to the sea
• River delta - A deposit of sediment at the mouth of a river where it flows into a larger body of water
• Salt marsh - An area between the saltwater sea and a piece of land that is flooded by salt water
• Sea - The salty water that covers 70% of the Earth
• Sea cave - A cave at the edge of the sea that is formed by wave action
• Seamount - An underwater mountain
• Shoal - A sandbar
• Shore - Where the water meets the land
• Sound - A large ocean channel between two bodies of land
• Spit - A piece of land that extends into water
• Strait - A narrow waterway that connects two larger bodies of water
• Strandflat - The low land on the actic and antarctic coasts
• Submarine canyon - A steep valley in the sea floor
• Surge channel - A very narrow opening in the rocks of the shoreline
• Volcanic arc - A chain of volcanoes positioned in a slightly curved layout
• Wave cut platform - The flat area at the base of a cliff created by the waves