Physical Geography of Land, SPR-TOK
Earth’s geographic history has been one marked by significant overall change, with ice ages, continental drift, and other major disruptions ultimately shaping Earth's land into the landscape of mountain ranges, deserts, islands, and volcanoes that we see today.
Physical Geography of Land Encyclopedia Articles By Title
spring, in hydrology, opening at or near the surface of the Earth for the discharge of water from underground sources.......
Spurn Head, low-lying sand and shingle spit on the North Sea coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authority,......
Sri Lanka, island country lying in the Indian Ocean and separated from peninsular India by the Palk Strait. It......
- Introduction
- Indian Ocean, Tropical Climate, Wildlife
- Wildlife, Flora, Fauna
- Population, Migration, Density
- Tea, Rubber, Tourism
- Culture, Religion, Cuisine
- Ancient, Colonial, Civil War
- Buddhism, Conversion, History
- Ancient Kingdoms, Polonnaruwa, Decline
- Agriculture, Irrigation, Yields
- Portuguese, Colonial, Trade
- Kandy, European Powers
- Dutch Rule, Colonialism, Trade
- British Rule, Colonialism, Independence
- Independence, Ethnic Conflict, Buddhism
- Island Nation, Culture, History
- Island, Culture, History
- Reconstruction, Economy, Tourism
St. Gotthard Pass, mountain pass in the Lepontine Alps of southern Switzerland, an important motor and railway......
St. Kilda, cluster of three small Atlantic islands in the Outer Hebrides group, Western Isles council area, Scotland,......
Staffa, uninhabited Atlantic island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, situated 6 miles (10 km) off the island of......
stalactite and stalagmite, elongated forms of various minerals deposited from solution by slowly dripping water.......
Starbuck Island, coral atoll in the Central and Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, southwestern Pacific Ocean.......
Staten Island, island and borough, New York City, southeastern New York state, U.S. The island lies in New York......
Stelvio Pass, Alpine pass (9,042 feet [2,756 m]) at the northwest base of the Ortles mountain range in northern......
steppe, vast grassland, devoid of trees and with little diversity in vegetation, receiving around 25 to 30 cm (10......
the Steppe, belt of grassland that extends some 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from Hungary in the west through Ukraine......
- Introduction
- Eurasian Grasslands, Climate, Fauna
- Pastoralism, Herding, Nomads
- Nomadic Warfare, Scythians, Huns
- Scythian, Nomads, Eurasia
- Iranian Borderland, Raiders, 100 BCE-550 CE
- Barbarian Invasions, Eurasian Grasslands, Nomadic Cultures
- Turkic, 550-1200, Eurasia
- Expansion, Islam, Nomads
- Mongol Empire, Central Asia, Nomadic
- Mongol Empire, Decline, Central Asia
steptoe, a hill or mountain that projects like an island above a surrounding lava field. This landform, a type......
Stewart Island/Rakiura, third largest island of New Zealand, in the southwest Pacific Ocean off the southern tip......
Stonington Island, island, eastern Marguerite Bay, west of Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica. The island, about 2,500......
streambed, any long, narrow, sloping depression on land that is shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in......
Stromboli Island, northeasternmost of the Eolie (Lipari) Islands, in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean),......
structural landform, any topographic feature formed by the differential wearing away of rocks and the deposition......
subglacial lake, any large body of liquid water that exists below an ice mass. Typically, subglacial lakes form......
submarine canyon, any of a class of narrow steep-sided valleys that cut into continental slopes and continental......
submarine slump, in a submarine canyon or on a continental slope, relatively rapid and sporadic downslope composed......
Sumatra, Indonesian island, the second largest (after Borneo) of the Greater Sunda Islands, in the Malay Archipelago.......
Sumba, island, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, southern Nusa Tenggara Timur provinsi (East Nusa Tenggara province),......
Sumbawa, island of the Lesser Sunda Islands, west-central Nusa Tenggara Barat provinsi (West Nusa Tenggara province),......
Sunda Shelf, stable continental shelf, or platform, a southward extension of mainland Southeast Asia. Most of the......
Surduc Pass, pass, southwestern Romania. The Jiu River flows through the pass between the Vâlcan (west) and the......
Surtsey, volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland, southwest of the Vestmanna Islands (Vestmannaeyjar).......
Suwarrow Atoll, one of the northern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in......
Swains Island, coral atoll, American Samoa, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 280 miles (450 km) north of Tutuila. The......
swamp, type of wetland ecosystem characterized by mineral soils with poor drainage and by plant life dominated......
Sword Beach, the easternmost beach of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion of World War II. It was assaulted......
Sylt, largest and northernmost of the North Frisian Islands, in the North Sea, Schleswig-Holstein Land (state),......
Syros, island near the centre of the Cyclades (Modern Greek: Kykládes) group, in the Aegean Sea, South Aegean (Nótio......
Sámos, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, the closest one to the mainland of Asia Minor, from which it is separated......
São Jorge Island, volcanic island of the central Azores of Portugal, east-central North Atlantic Ocean. São Jorge......
São Miguel Island, island, largest of the Azores archipelago of Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is situated......
São Nicolau Island, island of Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean, between the islands of Santa Luzia and Boa Vista,......
Cape São Roque, headland on the northeastern Atlantic coast of Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte state, 20 miles (32......
Cape São Tomé, headland on the Atlantic coast of eastern Brazil, Rio de Janeiro state, 25 miles (40 km) southeast......
São Vicente Island, island of Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean, between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia,......
sídh, in Irish folklore, a hill or mound under which fairies live. The phrase aos sídhe or the plural sídhe on......
Al-Sāḥil, coastal plain in the eastern Mediterranean littoral of Tunisia that includes a sandy coast with large......
Taboga Island, island in the Bay of Panama, central Panama. Taboga and its small neighbour, Taboguilla Island,......
Tabuaeran Atoll, coral formation of the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean.......
Tafilalt, largest Saharan oasis of Morocco, in the southeastern part of the country. The oasis comprises the fortified......
Tagula Island, volcanic island of the Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies......
Tahiti, largest island of the Îles du Vent (Windward Islands) of the Society Islands, French Polynesia, in the......
Taiwan, island in the western Pacific Ocean that lies roughly 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of southeastern......
- Introduction
- Tropical, Monsoons, Humid
- Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka
- Manufacturing, Trade, Technology
- Manufacturing, Electronics, Automation
- Labour, Taxation, Economy
- Politics, Economy, Society
- Local Gov, Municipalities, Counties
- Security, Geopolitics, Sovereignty
- Culture, Traditions, Festivals
- Sports, Recreation, Culture
- Japanese Empire, Geography, Culture
- Japanese Occupation, Nationalist Rule, Chinese Culture
- Successors, Politics, Economy
- Politics, Economy, Culture
- Ma Ying-jeou, Cross-Strait Relations, Economy
- Tsai Ing-wen, Politics, Economy
Takutea, raised coral atoll of the southern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand......
Tanna, island, southern Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is volcanic in origin. It is 25 miles (40......
Tara, (Irish: “Place of Assembly”), low hill (about 507 feet [154 m]) in County Meath, Ireland, occupying an important......
Tarakan Island, island in northern Kalimantan Utara provinsi (North Kalimantan province), northern Indonesia. It......
Tarawa, coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands and capital of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. It lies......
Tarim Basin, vast depression drained by the Tarim River in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, western China,......
tarn, a small mountain lake, especially one set in a glaciated steep-walled amphitheatre known as a cirque...
Tasman Peninsula, peninsula in southeastern Tasmania, Australia, connected to the Forestier Peninsula to the north......
Tasmania, island state of Australia. It lies about 150 miles (240 km) south of the state of Victoria, from which......
Tata, oasis, southwestern Morocco. Situated in an arid region at the extreme northwestern edge of the Sahara, Tata......
Taurus-Littrow Valley, region on the Moon where the Apollo 17 lunar mission landed. Located at 22° N 31° E, it......
Taveuni Island, third largest island of Fiji, South Pacific Ocean. The island has an area of 168 square miles (435......
Tawi Tawi, island, southwestern Sulu archipelago, Philippines, lying between the Celebes Sea (southeast) and the......
Taymyr Peninsula, northernmost extension of the Eurasian landmass, in north-central Siberia in Krasnoyarsk kray......
tectonic basins and rift valleys, landforms characterized by relatively steep, mountainous sides and flat floors.......
tectonic landform, any of the relief features that are produced chiefly by uplift or subsidence of the Earth’s......
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, isthmus in southern Mexico, between the Gulf of Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico to the north,......
tell, (“hill” or “small elevation”), in Middle Eastern archaeology, a raised mound marking the site of an ancient......
Vale of Tempe, narrow valley between the southern Olympus (Modern Greek: Ólympos) and northern Ossa (Kíssavos or......
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, volcanic region, southern Alaska, U.S., 265 miles (425 km) southwest of Anchorage.......
Tenda Pass, pass (6,135 feet [1,870 m]) in the Maritime Alps, lying on the French-Italian border near the resort......
Tenerife, island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife provincia (province), Canary Islands comunidad autónoma (autonomous community),......
Teraina Island, coral atoll of the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean.......
Terceira Island, island, part of the Azores archipelago of Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean. It occupies an......
Ternate Island, one of the northernmost of a line of Indonesian islands stretching southward along the western......
Isle of Thanet, island in the northeastern corner of the administrative and historic county of Kent, England, bounded......
Thasos, large, wooded island of the northernmost Aegean Sea, northeastern Greece. It constitutes a dímos (municipality)......
Quite a few islands around the world are very large, and many of them are countries. Australia is technically an......
Thera, island, southernmost island of the Cyclades (Modern Greek: Kykládes) group, southeastern Greece, in the......
thermokarst, land surface configuration that results from the melting of ground ice in a region underlain by permafrost.......
Thermopylae, narrow pass on the east coast of central Greece between the Kallídhromon massif and the Gulf of Maliakós,......
Three Pagodas Pass, mountain pass in the Tenasserim Mountain Range on the Myanmar (Burma)-Thailand border, 100......
Thuringian Basin, fertile agricultural region of Germany, between the Harz mountains on the north and the Thuringian......
Thuringian Forest, range of forested hills and mountains in Germany, extending in an irregular line from the neighbourhood......
Thursday Island, island in the Torres Strait off northern Queensland, Australia. It is surrounded by Prince of......
Thwaites Glacier, segment of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) that drains parts of Ellsworth Land in Antarctica......
Tianlong Shan, site in central Shanxi province in China containing a series of Buddhist cave temples dating from......
Ticlio, mountain pass of the Cordillera Central of the Peruvian Andes, about 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Lima.......
tidal flat, level muddy surface bordering an estuary, alternately submerged and exposed to the air by changing......
Tidore Island, one of the Moluccas (Maluku) islands, east-central Indonesia. With an area of 45 square miles (116......
till, in geology, unsorted material deposited directly by glacial ice and showing no stratification. Till is sometimes......
Timan Ridge, ridge of high land situated in northeastern European Russia, oriented in a roughly north-south direction......
Timiș-Cerna Gap, mountain pass, southwestern Romania, located in the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians).......
Timms Hill, highest point (1,952 feet [595 metres]) in Wisconsin, U.S. It lies in the north-central part of the......
Timor, island of the Malay Archipelago, easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands between the Savu and Timor seas.......
Timpanogos Cave National Monument, limestone cave system in American Fork Canyon, north-central Utah, U.S. The......
Tindouf, town and oasis in the Sahara in westernmost Algeria. Rich deposits of iron ore are at Gara Djebilet, 93......
Tinian, one of the Mariana Islands and part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States,......
Tioga Pass, highest (9,945 feet [3,031 metres]) roadway across the Sierra Nevada, central California, U.S. Originally......
Tioman Island, island in the South China Sea, about 40 miles (65 km) off Kuala Rompin, Peninsular (West) Malaysia.......
Toka Gorge, gorge, Hordaland fylke (county), western Norway, near the village of Norheimsund about 25 miles (40......
Tokelau, island territory of New Zealand, consisting of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. Tokelau lies about......