The shape of the land
The Earth is covered with land and water. Some land is flat, some is bumpy, and some is very high. These natural shapes are called landforms.
Water comes in many shapes and sizes too, from a tiny pond to a giant ocean. Let’s explore!
Landforms
| Landform | What it is |
|---|---|
| Mountain | very high, steep land with a peak at the top |
| Hill | land that is higher than the land around it, but lower and rounder than a mountain |
| Valley | low land between hills or mountains, often with a river |
| Plain | wide, flat land, great for farming |
| Plateau | high, flat land |
| Island | land with water all around it |
| Peninsula | land with water on three sides |
| Canyon | a deep, narrow valley with steep sides, often carved by a river |
| Desert | very dry land with little rain |
| Volcano | a mountain that can erupt with hot melted rock (lava) |
| Coast | land next to the ocean |
Water features
| Water feature | What it is |
|---|---|
| Ocean | a huge body of salt water |
| Sea | a large body of salt water, smaller than an ocean |
| Lake | water with land all around it |
| River | a long stream of fresh water that flows downhill |
| Pond | a small, shallow lake |
| Waterfall | water falling over a cliff or steep rocks |
| Bay | ocean or lake water that curves into the land |
| Glacier | a huge, slow-moving river of ice |
Most of the Earth, about seven-tenths of it, is covered by oceans!
Opposites in nature
Some landforms and water features are like opposites:
- An island is land with water all around it. A lake is water with land all around it.
- A mountain is very high. A valley is very low.
Landforms and water in Canada and the United States
- Mountains: the Rocky Mountains stretch through western Canada and the United States.
- Plains: the Prairies in Canada and the Great Plains in the United States are wide and flat, with lots of farms.
- Lakes: the Great Lakes are five giant lakes between Canada and the United States.
- Rivers: the St. Lawrence River in Canada and the Mississippi River in the United States are long and important.
- Waterfall: Niagara Falls is on the border between Ontario and New York.
- Canyon: the Grand Canyon in Arizona is very deep.
- Islands: Prince Edward Island is a whole province on an island! Hawaii is a state made of islands.
- Oceans: Canada touches three oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic.
Why landforms matter
Landforms and water help decide how people live.
- People often build towns near rivers and lakes for water and travel.
- Farmers like flat plains.
- People ski in the mountains and swim at the lake.
- Animals live in different places: mountain goats on mountains, fish in rivers.
Showing landforms on maps
Maps use colours and symbols:
- blue for water
- green for low land
- brown for high land and mountains
- triangle shapes for mountains
Try it yourself
- Make a landform with play dough: a mountain, a valley, an island or a lake. Add blue paper for water.
- Draw a picture with a mountain, a river and an island.
- Find a lake, a river and a mountain on a map of your country.
- Which landforms or water features are near your home?
- Play "Island or lake?": a grown-up describes one, and you guess.
Quick recap
- Landforms are natural shapes of the land, like mountains, valleys and islands.
- Water features include oceans, lakes, rivers and waterfalls.
- An island is land surrounded by water; a lake is water surrounded by land.
- Canada and the United States have mountains, plains, lakes, rivers and coasts.
- Maps use colours and symbols to show land and water.