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Field Listing - Terrain
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Country Terrain Afghanistan mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest Albania mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast Algeria mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain American Samoa five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) Andorra rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys Angola narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau Anguilla flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone Antarctica about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent Antigua and Barbuda mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas Arctic Ocean central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) Argentina rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border Armenia Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley Aruba flat with a few hills; scant vegetation Ashmore and Cartier Islands low with sand and coral Atlantic Ocean surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin Australia mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast Austria in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping Azerbaijan large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea Bahamas, The long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills Bahrain mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment Baker Island low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef Bangladesh mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast Barbados relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region Bassas da India volcanic rock Belarus generally flat and contains much marshland Belgium flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast Belize flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south Benin mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains Bermuda low hills separated by fertile depressions Bhutan mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna Bolivia rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin Bosnia and Herzegovina mountains and valleys Botswana predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest Bouvet Island volcanic; coast is mostly inaccessible Brazil mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt British Indian Ocean Territory flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) British Virgin Islands coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly Brunei flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west Bulgaria mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast Burkina Faso mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast Burma central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands Burundi hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains Cambodia mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north Cameroon diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north Canada mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast Cape Verde steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic Cayman Islands low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs Central African Republic vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest Chad broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south Chile low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east China mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east Christmas Island steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau Clipperton Island coral atoll Cocos (Keeling) Islands flat, low-lying coral atolls Colombia flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains Comoros volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills Congo, Democratic Republic of the vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east Congo, Republic of the coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin Cook Islands low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south Coral Sea Islands sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays) Costa Rica coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes Cote d'Ivoire mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest Croatia geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands Cuba mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast Cyprus central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast Czech Republic Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country Denmark low and flat to gently rolling plains Djibouti coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains Dominica rugged mountains of volcanic origin Dominican Republic rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed East Timor mountainous Ecuador coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) Egypt vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta El Salvador mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau Equatorial Guinea coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic Eritrea dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains Estonia marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south Ethiopia high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley Europa Island low and flat Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains Faroe Islands rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast Fiji mostly mountains of volcanic origin Finland mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills France mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east French Guiana low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains French Polynesia mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs French Southern and Antarctic Lands volcanic Gabon narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south Gambia, The flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills Gaza Strip flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain Georgia largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland Germany lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south Ghana mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area Gibraltar a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar Glorioso Islands low and flat Greece mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands Greenland flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast Grenada volcanic in origin with central mountains Guadeloupe Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin Guam volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south Guatemala mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten) Guernsey mostly level with low hills in southwest Guinea generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior Guinea-Bissau mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east Guyana mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south Haiti mostly rough and mountainous Heard Island and McDonald Islands Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky Holy See (Vatican City) low hill Honduras mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains Hong Kong hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north Howland Island low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area Hungary mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border Iceland mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords India upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north Indian Ocean surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge Indonesia mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains Iran rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts Iraq mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey Ireland mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast Israel Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley Italy mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands Jamaica mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain Jan Mayen volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers Japan mostly rugged and mountainous Jarvis Island sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef Jersey gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast Johnston Atoll mostly flat Jordan mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River Juan de Nova Island low and flat Kazakhstan extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia Kenya low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west Kingman Reef low and nearly level Kiribati mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs Korea, North mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east Korea, South mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south Kuwait flat to slightly undulating desert plain Kyrgyzstan peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation Laos mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus Latvia low plain Lebanon narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains Lesotho mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains Liberia mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast Libya mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions Liechtenstein mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third Lithuania lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil Luxembourg mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast Macau generally flat Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River Madagascar narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center Malawi narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains Malaysia coastal plains rising to hills and mountains Maldives flat, with white sandy beaches Mali mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast Malta mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs Man, Isle of hills in north and south bisected by central valley Marshall Islands low coral limestone and sand islands Martinique mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano Mauritania mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills Mauritius small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau Mayotte generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks Mexico high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert Micronesia, Federated States of islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk Midway Islands low, nearly level Moldova rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea Monaco hilly, rugged, rocky Mongolia vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central Montserrat volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland Morocco northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains Mozambique mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west Namibia mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east Nauru sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center Navassa Island raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high) Nepal Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north Netherlands mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast Netherlands Antilles generally hilly, volcanic interiors New Caledonia coastal plains with interior mountains New Zealand predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains Nicaragua extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes Niger predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north Nigeria southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north Niue steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau Norfolk Island volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains Northern Mariana Islands southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic Norway glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north Oman central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south Pacific Ocean surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest Pakistan flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west Palau varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs Palmyra Atoll very low Panama interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills Papua New Guinea mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills Paracel Islands mostly low and flat Paraguay grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere Peru western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva) Philippines mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands Pitcairn Islands rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs Poland mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border Portugal mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south Puerto Rico mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas Qatar mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel Reunion mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast Romania central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps Russia broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions Rwanda mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east Saint Helena Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin Saint Kitts and Nevis volcanic with mountainous interiors Saint Lucia volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys Saint Pierre and Miquelon mostly barren rock Saint Vincent and the Grenadines volcanic, mountainous Samoa narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior San Marino rugged mountains Sao Tome and Principe volcanic, mountainous Saudi Arabia mostly uninhabited, sandy desert Senegal generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast Serbia and Montenegro extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast Seychelles Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs Sierra Leone coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east Singapore lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve Slovakia rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south Slovenia a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east Solomon Islands mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls Somalia mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north South Africa vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes Southern Ocean the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers Spain large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north Spratly Islands flat Sri Lanka mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior Sudan generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north Suriname mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps Svalbard wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts Swaziland mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains Sweden mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west Switzerland mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes Syria primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west Taiwan eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west Tajikistan Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest Tanzania plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south Thailand central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere Togo gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes Tokelau low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons Tonga most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base Trinidad and Tobago mostly plains with some hills and low mountains Tromelin Island low, flat, and sandy; likely volcanic Tunisia mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara Turkey high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges Turkmenistan flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west Turks and Caicos Islands low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps Tuvalu very low-lying and narrow coral atolls Uganda mostly plateau with rim of mountains Ukraine most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south United Arab Emirates flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east United Kingdom mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast United States vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii Uruguay mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland Uzbekistan mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west Vanuatu mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains Venezuela Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast Vietnam low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest Virgin Islands mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land Wake Island atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim Wallis and Futuna volcanic origin; low hills West Bank mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east Western Sahara mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast World the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean Yemen narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula Zambia mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains Zimbabwe mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003