The 26 types of geographic relief and their characteristics

Mountains, beaches, marshes, capes, valleys... Earth, the world in which we were born and that shelters us, is a rich and varied planet in which we can observe a large number of environments, landscapes and places awesome.

Within this wealth we can observe a large number of forms and geographical accidents, caused by the movement of tectonic plates and that of the elements that make up both the crust, the mantle and the core of the planet, as well as the interaction between the earth and the waters. That is why throughout this article let's see the different types of geographic relief and its main characteristics.

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What do we call geographic relief?

Before considering the types of relief that exist, it should be considered first what the idea or concept of relief implies at a geographical level. Relief is understood as the set of forms and levels, elevations and depressions existing in a given object or element.

Taking into account the previous definition, we can consider that the concept of geographic relief refers to the set of elements that are part of the structure of the planet and that shape the surface of the planet. This relief, which is studied by the discipline known as orography, arises from the interaction of the terrain with different types of agents: among them is the friction of the tectonic plates, the erosion caused by wind, water or living beings or the emission of organic or inorganic material by, for example, elements such as volcanoes.

The different types of relief on the surface

There is a great variety of different types of landforms and landforms in the world, both on land and sea. In this sense, below we are going to see some of the best known at surface level, in the part of the orography that is not covered by water.

1. Depressions

Within the geographical reliefs, depressions are considered to be the set of geographical features in which the surface presents a sudden decrease in height or subsidence in relation to the situation of the rest of the environment, sometimes even below sea level.

2. Plains

The plain is called a type of geographic relief that is characterized by not having any type of elevation or undulation but is relatively homogeneous throughout. They are found at a height similar to or a little higher than sea level and they usually originate from the accumulation of sediments after the waters withdraw.

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3. Plateaus or plateaus

Extension of land that, similar to the plains, is characterized by being relatively flat, but in this case it is located at a great height. These are often regions of eroded territory that are located or are formed in mountain ranges or other elevations of similar terrain. While a plain is not more than a few hundred meters from sea level, a plateau can be thousands or in the middle of the mountain.

4. Valleys

Valleys are the type of geographical relief that appears between two mountain formations, and that supposes a descent or depression of the terrain between both mountains. They are generally produced as a result of erosion generated by river or glacial courses. They can have very different shapes depending on the type of erosion and the time it has been receiving it.

5. Dunes

Although when we talk about geographical relief we usually imagine rocky-type elements, the truth is that we do not we can ignore the existence of a type of relief mainly generated by erosion and configured by sand. This is the case of dunes, elevations of the land generated by accumulations of sand and that can eventually disappear or modify its shape or position thanks to the action of forces such as that of the wind.

6. Hills, hills or mounds

Any of the aforementioned names receives the type of geographical relief formed by a slight elevation of the terrain that does not usually exceed a hundred meters in height and whose slope is usually smoother than that of a mountain. Still, they may be steep.

7. Mountains or mountains

The name of mount or mountain is given to those elevations of the terrain that generally arise from the accumulation of rocky material that arises from the union of two tectonic plates (although they can also be formed by the accumulation of emissions from a volcano, for example). They are characterized by their high altitude and the fact of having a variable but high level of slope, being able to distinguish a foot or base and a top or peak.

Although at a popular level it can be thought that the mountain is a small mountain, the truth is that they actually refer to the same concept except for the fact that while mountain is used to speak of an isolated elevation, the mountain usually refers to one that is located between a group of they.

8. Cliff

It is considered as such that geographical accident in which the terrain is cut vertically, in such a way that it appears a sudden drop or decline in the form of a sharp depression in which two clearly differentiated levels can be observed. It can be seen for example at mountain level, but also on the coast.

9. Saws

A set or grouping of mountainous elevations that appear very close to each other and that generally have a very steep slope is called a sierra.

10. Mountain ranges

Cordillera is called the type of geographic relief in which a large number of mountains or associated mountainous elevations appear, usually of higher altitude than in the case of the sierra. They usually arise in the places where there has been the greatest collision and friction between the tectonic plates., rising the ground under the pressure of one against another.

Main types of coastal and marine relief. Below we indicate a series of the main types of relief that we can find at sea level or in direct contact with it.

11. Beach

The geographical relief characterized by being the point of union between land and maritime geography, which is at sea level, receives the name of beach. It is characterized by being a relatively flat or flattened area with a variable slope in which the terrain is sandy or rocky due to erosion caused by water and the rubbing of marine materials.

12. Island

We know as an island the type of geographical relief characterized by the presence of a fragment of emerged territory which is completely surrounded by water (not necessarily at the level of sea). In it, different geographical accidents may also appear, such as those already mentioned above.

13. Archipelago

The archipelago name is given to the geographical formation consisting of a grouping of islands close to each other and often linked, although separated by bodies of water.

14. Peninsula

The term peninsula refers to an area of ​​non-submerged land and part of the continental orography which is surrounded by water in all directions except for one part, which connects with the rest of the landmass.

15. Cape

The cape is called that land mass that juts out into the sea beyond the rest of the surrounding land, which can have a variable size.

16. Bay

It is understood as such the type of relief in which the waters of the sea penetrate and occupy an area of ​​the earth, this water being surrounded by earth except for the end through which the water penetrates. It would be the inverse case to the peninsula.

17. Gulf

We understand as such a geographical feature similar to the bay, but with the difference that it usually refers to concave areas in which the sea ​​gains place to land and they are generally surrounded by it except for a portion in which it is in contact with the sea or ocean. It is generally considered larger than the bay, although the concept is practically identical.

18. Cove or cove

This type of geographical relief is conceptualized in the same way as the bay, with the exception that usually has a circular shape and that the point where the water enters and penetrates the earth is a relatively narrow mouth.

19. Close

The straits are geographical elements configured by masses of water surrounded by land that act as a channel or bridge between two other water masses, allowing the passage of the liquid element from one to other.

20. Estuary

We define estuary as the geographic region located at the mouth of a river especially flowing and wide, forming a funnel-shaped area and that is formed due to the entry of water Marine slows the flow of fresh water from the river for later when there is low tide allow its departure normally.

21. Delta

Geographic area that usually appears at the end of a river's route, at its mouth, and is characterized by a smoothing of the orography due to the development of sediments from the river.

The different types of underwater relief

Next we are going to show some of the main examples of types of geographic relief that can be found below sea level, all of them being submerged.

1. Continental platform

We know as the continental platform that region of the earth's crust that corresponds to the terrain of the continent that serves as the basis for the emerged terrain above the water level. It is therefore the part of the continents that is submerged

2. Continental slope or bathyal zone

Geographical relief characterized by the presence of a very pronounced inclination of the seabed, being the part of the land that slopes down from the continental shelf to the plain abyssal. It is found between 200 and 4000 meters under water.

3. Abyssal plains

We call the abyssal plain the part of the earth's orography that corresponds to the earth's surface located between 4000 and 6000 meters deep, in which sunlight stops illuminating the land.

4. Abyssal pits

They receive the name of abyssal trenches those depressions that can be found in the abyssal plains, which form It is part of the so-called hadal zone of the ocean and in which the high levels of pressure make it difficult for life to exist.

5. Submarine numbers

We call submarine ridges the set of mountain ranges that, unlike what happens with terrestrial ones, it is located below sea level. Although we generally do not see them in our day to day life, they are higher than those of the surface.

Bibliographic references:

• Newell Strahler, A. (2008). Visualizing Physical Geography. New York: Wiley & Sons and The National Geographic Society.
• Bielza de Ory, V. (Editor) (1993). General Geography I. Madrid: Santillana.