Coastal and Oceanic Landforms

• Abyssal fan – An underwater deposit of sediment formed by water currents
• Abyssal plain – A flat, smooth underwater surface that covers over 50% of the Earth’s surface. It forms the bottom of the continental rise and the top of the oceanic trench
• Archipelago – A group of islands
• Atoll – A ring-shaped coral reef
• Arch – A rock formation with an opening
• Ayre – A narrow beach across the ends of a shallow bay
• Barrier bar and barrier island – A flat formation of sand that is parallel to the coast
• Bay and gulf – A body of water connected to an ocean but surrounded on most sides by land
• Beach and raised beach – The land along the edge of a body of water, consisting of loose rocks or sand.
• Beach cusps – Sediment in an arc shape on the shore, caused by the wave action
• Beach ridge – A ridge running parallel to the water’s edge, caused by wave action
• Bight – A recessed area in a coastline
• Blowhole – A hole in the end of a sea cave
• Channel – A narrow body of water
• Cape – A portion of land that extends into the sea or ocean
• Calanque – A steep cove
• Cliff – A vertical wall of rock
• Coast – Where the water meets the land
• Continental shelf – The extended edge of each continent which is underwater
• Coral reef – Underwater formations of calcium carbonate
• Cove – A small bay
• Cuspate foreland – An accumulation of sand and gravel forming a land body that extends like a “finger” into the body of water
• Dune system – Groups of sand dunes
• Estuary – A semi-enclosed body of water with a connection to the sea and with at least one inbound source of water
• Firth – A large bay
• Fjard – A short, shallow and broad fjord
• Fjord – a long narrow inlet with steep cliffs
• Headland – A point of land that extends into a body of water and has a steep drop
• Inlet – A connection between a bay and the ocean
• Island, islet – A portion of land that is surrounded on all sides by water
• Islet – A rock that is surrounded on all sides by water
• Isthmus – A narrow strip of land with water on each side
• Lagoon – A shallow body of water
• Machair – The grassy fields that are inland from a dune ridge
• Marine terrace – A flat, often slightly inclined, surface with a slight slope on the water side and a steeper slope on the land side
• Mid-ocean ridge – An underwater mountain system
• Ocean – A body of salt water
• Oceanic basin – A basin that is below sea level
• Oceanic plateau – A flat rock formation that is above the continental slope
• Oceanic trench – A long, narrow opening on the ocean floor
• Peninsula – A piece of land that has water on three sides
• Ria – A river valley that is open to the sea
• River delta – A deposit of sediment at the mouth of a river where it flows into a larger body of water
• Salt marsh – An area between the saltwater sea and a piece of land that is flooded by salt water
• Sea – The salty water that covers 70% of the Earth
• Sea cave – A cave at the edge of the sea that is formed by wave action
• Seamount – An underwater mountain
• Shoal – A sandbar
• Shore – Where the water meets the land
• Sound – A large ocean channel between two bodies of land
• Spit – A piece of land that extends into water
• Strait – A narrow waterway that connects two larger bodies of water
• Strandflat – The low land on the actic and antarctic coasts
• Submarine canyon – A steep valley in the sea floor
• Surge channel – A very narrow opening in the rocks of the shoreline
• Volcanic arc – A chain of volcanoes positioned in a slightly curved layout
• Wave cut platform – The flat area at the base of a cliff created by the waves