LAND FORMS

ISLAND
Islands are bodies of land completely surrounded by water. Islands are formed in several ways.
Many islands are really places where volcanoes built up under the ocean to the point of peaking
above the water. The lava continues to pile up as the volcano explodes to the point that there is
enough solid ground to form an island

VOLCANO
A volcano is a mountain or hill formed around a crack in the earth's crust. This crack allows
molten rock and other hot materials to be thrown out from the earth

MOUNTAIN
Mountains are places that are much higher than the land around them. They also taper and have a
peak. They are different from plateaus because plateaus have flat tops, although they can be as
high as mountains.
 PLAINS

Plains are flat surfaces at low levels. Coastal plains are made up of bits of rock that are carried
along from rivers to the ocean or are worn away from rocks along the seashore. Sometimes
inland plains are formed when seas or lakes get filled in with sediment or soil and become flat

plains.

PLATEAUS

Plateaus are raised areas of land with a flatter top. It differs from a mountain in that a mountain
has a jagged peak at the top. Plateaus form both when mountains get worn down and their tops
are not as jagged or when a large portion of flat earth is pushed up from the earth.
 WATER FORMS

LAKE

Lakes are bodies of water surrounded by land. Lakes generally have fresh water, while oceans
and seas have salt water. While lakes are a small percentage of the earth's total water, they are
important for our economy and transportation.

A lake does not flow along a certain path as a river does. Lakes are larger than ponds.

OCEANS
Oceans are the largest bodies of water on the earth. There are four oceans. The largest ocean is
the Pacific Ocean. The next largest is the Atlantic, then the Indian and finally the Arctic Ocean.

RIVERS
Rivers are defined as narrow bodies of water that move along a certain path. They have a source,
which is where the river begins and a mouth which is the larger body of water where the river
flows into. Since water flows downward and along the easiest or deepest path, many rivers start
in a higher area such as mountains.

WATERFALL
A waterfall or falls is the steep descent or falling of the water of a river or stream.

BAY
A bay is a part of an ocean or lake extending into the land. It is similar to a gulf but usually
smaller.