4. BAY
DEFINITION: A broad inlet of the sea where the land
curves inward.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘As Trevor said this, they passed over the mountains,
showing a bay with a large city surrounding it.’
6. DELTA
DEFINITION: A delta is a land form that is formed at the
mouth of a river where the mainstream splits up into
several distributaries
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
Over long periods, this deposition builds the characteristic
geographic pattern of a river delta.
8. PENINSULA
DEFINITION: A piece of land almost surrounded by water
or projecting out into a body of water.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘The island's 3,700 acres of tropical rainforest are a
biological reserve that also includes five surrounding
peninsulas on the Panama mainland.’
10. WATERFALL
DEFINITION: A cascade of water falling from a height,
formed when a river or stream flows over a precipice or
steep incline.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘Fast-flowing rivers create spectacular waterfalls, gorges
and a myriad of caves.’
12. CANYON
DEFINITION: A deep gorge, typically one with a river
flowing through it.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘Oak woodland develops best in moist, protected canyons
and valleys with deep alluvial soils.’
14. ESTUARY
DEFINITION: The tidal mouth of a large river, where the
tide meets the stream.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘The turtles spend most of their lives in mangrove-lined
tidal estuaries, where rivers flow into the sea.’
16. PLAINS
DEFINITION: A plain is a flat region. Plains occur as
lowlands and at the bottoms of valleys but also on plateaus
or uplands at high elevations.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
Plains in many areas are important for agriculture because
where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be
deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanization
of crop production; or because they support grasslands
which provide good grazing for livestock.
18. CLIFFS
DEFINITION: A steep rock face, especially at the edge of
the sea.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘His daughter's empty camper van was found parked at the
edge of cliffs near her home in Cornwall.’
20. PEAK
DEFINITION: The pointed top of a mountain.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘How it ended up on the peak of a snowy mountain
(located over a crocodile lake and through a blue tunnel) is
a question we'll have to save for another day.’
22. REEF
DEFINITION: A ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just
above or below the surface of the sea.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT:
‘To illustrate the point, Knowlton offers the example of coral
reefs, which she describes as the most diverse ecosystems
in the world.’
