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Terrain (from Latin: terra 'earth'), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution.
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief , but also natural ...
When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used. In cartography, many different techniques are used to describe relief, including contour lines and triangulated irregular networks. Elementary landforms (segments, facets, relief units) are the smallest homogeneous divisions of the land surface, at the given scale/resolution.
As in the case of landforms in general, there is a lack of any commonly agreed classification or typology of ridges. They can be defined and classified on the basis of a variety of factors including either genesis, morphology, composition, statistical analysis of remote sensing data, or some combinations of these factors.
Satellite image of the Tibetan Plateau between the Himalayan mountains to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the north. In geology and physical geography, a plateau (/ p l ə ˈ t oʊ, p l æ ˈ t oʊ, ˈ p l æ t oʊ /; French:; pl.: plateaus or plateaux), [1] [2] also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the ...
The model in its original form is intended to explain relief development in temperate landscapes in which erosion by running water is assumed to be of prime importance. [ 5 ] [ 7 ] Nevertheless, the cycle of erosion has been extended, with modifications, into arid , semi-arid , savanah , selva , glacial , coastal , karst and periglacial areas.
In geography and particularly in geographic information science, a geographic feature or simply feature (also called an object or entity) is a representation of phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Earth.
A drainage system is described as accordant if its pattern correlates to the structure and relief of the landscape over which it flows. [2]A discordant system or pattern does not correlate to the topography and geology of the area.