PART 1: NATURAL FEATURES

Describing
landscape
Prepared by: Ester Rodríguez Estupiñán
 THE SERIES
PRESENTATION
This is a series of presentations where you'll
find a relation between vocabulary and visual
aids meant to explain their meaning

NATURAL FEATURES
In this volume, we'll learn words used to
describe natural phenomena in terms of
landscape features
 Landscape (n)
/ˈlænd·skeɪp/
1. A tract of land with its
distinguishing characteristics
and features, esp. considered
as a product of modifying or
shaping processes and agents
(usually natural).
//
2. A view or prospect of natural
inland scenery, such as can be
taken in at a glance from one
point of view; a piece of country
scenery
//
3. In generalized sense (from 1, 2):
Inland natural scenery, or its
representation in painting..
 Scenery (n)
/ˈsiː·nər·i/
1. The features of a place,
landscape, or view
considered in terms of
their appearance or
attractiveness, spec.
picturesque natural
landscapes. Frequently
with preceding modifying
word, as coastal scenery,
mountain scenery, etc.
Also figurative and in
extended use.
//
2. As a count noun: a
landscape or view; a
picturesque scene; (also) the
pictorial representation of a
landscape.
 Archipelago (n)
/ˌɑː.kɪˈpel.ə.ɡəʊ/
Any sea, or sheet of
water, in which there are
numerous islands; and
transferred a group of
islands.
 Atoll (n)
/ˈæt.ɒl/
A coral island consisting
of a ring-shaped reef
enclosing a lagoon.
 Basin (n)
/ˈbeɪ·sən/
1. The tract of country
drained by a river and its
tributaries, or which drains
into a particular lake or
sea
//
2. A circumscribed formation
in which the strata dip inward
from all sides to the centre;
the stratified deposit,
especially of coal, lying in
such a depression.
//
3. Depression in earth’s
surface with a lake or pond at
the bottom.
 Bay
/beɪ/
An indentation of the sea
into the land with a wide
opening.
 Bog /bɒɡ/
Marsh /mɑːʃ/
Quagmire
/ˈkwɒɡ.maɪər/
Swamp
/swɒmp/(n)
A piece of wet spongy
ground, consisting chiefly
of decayed or decaying
moss and other
vegetable matter, too
soft to bear the weight of
any heavy body upon its
surface; a morass or
moss.
 Brook (n)
/brʊk/
A small stream, rivulet;
originally a torrent, a
strong flowing stream.
 Canal (n)
/kəˈnæl/
An artificial or artificially
enhanced waterway
made for the passage of
boats or ships inland,
sometimes connecting
rivers, lakes, or seas, and
usually having locks by
means of which the water
level can be raised or
lowered
 Canyon (n)
/ˈkæn·jən/
A deep valley between
high steep banks, usually
containing a river
 Chasm (n)
/ˈkæz.əm/
A large and deep rent,
cleft, or fissure in the
surface of the earth or
other cosmical body. In
later times extended to a
fissure or gap, not
referred to the earth as a
whole, e.g. in a mountain,
rock, glacier, between
two precipices, etc.
 Cove (n)
/kəuv/
1. A sheltered recess in
a coast; a small bay,
creek, or inlet where
boats may shelter.
 Creek (n)
/kriːk/
A narrow area of water
that flows into the land
from the sea, a lake, etc.
(rather slow and calm as
opposed to a brook)
 Floe (n)
/fləʊ/
A large area of ice
floating in the sea
 Glacier (n)
/ˈɡlæs·iər/
A very large mass of ice
that moves very slowly
 Glade (n)
/ɡleɪd/
A small area of grass
without trees in a forest
 Headland
/ˈhed.lənd/
A piece of land that sticks
out from the coast into
the sea
 Heath
/hiːθ/
An area of land that is not
used for growing crops,
where grass and other
small plants grow, but
where there are few trees
or bushes
 Hedge
/hedʒ/
A row of bushes growing
close together
 Iceberg
/ˈaɪs·bɜːɡ/
A huge mass of ice
floating in the sea
 Isthmus
/ˈɪsθ.məs/
A narrow piece of land
with water on each side
that joins two larger
areas of land
 Orchard
/ˈɔː·tʃəd/
A piece of land where
there are fruit trees
 Peninsula
/pəˈnɪn.sjʊ.lə/
A long piece of land that
sticks out from a larger
area of land into the sea
or into a lake
 Prairie
/ˈpreə·ri/
In North America, an area
of flat, treeless, grass-
covered land.
 Precipice
/ˈpres.ɪ.pɪs/
A very steep side of a
cliff or a mountain
 Ravine
/rəˈviːn/
A deep narrow valley
with steep sides
generally formed by
running water
 Savannah
/səˈvæn.ə/
A large, flat area of land
covered with grass,
usually with few trees,
that is found in hot
countries, especially in
Africa
 Scrub
/skrʌb/
(An area of land covered
with) short trees and
bushes, growing on dry
ground of low quality
 Shingle
/ˈʃɪŋ.ɡəl/
Small, round stones that
cover a beach or the
ground by the edge of a
river:
 Surf
/sɜːf/
The tops of the waves on
the sea when they are
near to the coast or hit
against rocks
 Thicket
/ˈθɪk.ɪt/
An area of trees and
bushes growing closely
together
 Tundra
/ˈtʌn.drə/
(Part of) the very large
area of land in North Asia,
North America, and
northern Europe where,
because it is cold, trees
do not grow and ground
below the surface is
permanently frozen:
 Valley
/ˈvæl.i/
An area of low land
between hills or
mountains, often with a
river running through it
 Vineyard
/ˈvɪn.jɑːd/
A piece of land on which
vines are grown
 Vista
/ˈvɪs.tə/
A view, especially a
beautiful view from a
high position
 Wood
/wʊd/
An area of land covered
with a thick growth of
trees