How it works
This label landforms worksheet is one invented landscape that runs from mountains down to the sea. Print it blank to label by hand, or name each landform on screen.
Read the full guide
Landforms on land
A mountain rises high above the land around it, and a hill is lower and less steep. A valley is the low land between them. A plain is broad and flat; a plateau is flat too, but raised, with at least one steep side. A canyon is a deep, narrow valley.
Where land meets water
An island has water all around it. A peninsula has water on almost every side, and a cape is a point of land that sticks out. A bay is water partly surrounded by land. An isthmus is a narrow strip joining two larger pieces of land.
- Mixing up a bay and a peninsula? A bay is water reaching into land; a peninsula is land reaching into water.
Questions and answers
What are the four major landforms?
Mountains, hills, plateaus and plains. Valleys, canyons, buttes and basins are counted as minor landforms.
What is the difference between a mountain and a hill?
A hill is less steep and not as high. The US Geological Survey says there is no official line between the two.
What is the difference between a peninsula and an isthmus?
A peninsula is land almost surrounded by water but joined to the mainland on one side. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger pieces of land and has water on both sides.
What is a delta?
Low, nearly flat land at the mouth of a river, built from the sediment the river drops there. It is often shaped like a fan or a triangle.