Types of Landforms

Landforms are defined as the natural physical features found on the surface of the earth. They are created as a result of various forces of nature such as wind, water, and ice. Also, formation of landforms is attributed to the movement of the earth's tectonic plates. Due to such actions, the soil gets eroded and deposited somewhere far from the site of erosion, thus leading to the development of different landforms. Some landforms are created in a matter of few hours, while others take millions of years to appear. A group of landforms in a particular area is called its landscape.

Landforms: Major Types and their Features

There are many types of landforms on the earth's surface. Each of the landforms is characterized by its slope, elevation, soil and rock type, stratification, and orientation. Following is the list of some of the common types of landforms and their characteristics.

Canyons
	Canyons are similar to valleys, except that they are deep-seated, narrow and surrounded by steep sides. These landforms are created by erosion and also, by activities of rivers, winds, and glaciers. You might have already heard about the Grand canyon located in northern Arizona, which is carved out by the Colorado river. The Grand canyon and Bronson canyon are classic examples of this landform.
Deltas
Deltas are low-lying, triangle-shaped areas, located at the mouth of rivers. A clear example of this landform type is the Mississippi river delta. In the course of creating a delta, the sand, silt, and rock particles are accumulated in a nearly triangular shape. The name delta is coined with reference to similarity of this landform shape with that of the 4th letter of Greek alphabet.
Deserts
	Deserts are very dry lands with little or no rainfall, for example, the Sahara desert. Mostly deserts are formed in rain shadow areas, which are leeward of a mountain range with respect to the wind direction. Thus, the mountains block the passage of wind resulting in little or sometimes no rain. In desert landforms, the atmospheric air is very dry, and daytime temperature is high.
Dunes
Dunes are mounds or small hills, which are made up of sand, e.g. the Cerro Blanco dune in Sechura desert, Peru. They are created due to the action of wind (or aeolian processes) and water flow (under water dunes). It may be dome-shaped, crescent-shaped, star-shaped, linear-shaped, and many more. Also, the height of a dune hill can be as low as 1 meter, or as high as 10 meter and more.
Glacial Landforms
	Glaciers are huge, slow-moving bodies of ice, formed due to the compaction of snow layers. Mainly there are two types of glaciers - Alpine glaciers, which are formed in high mountains and Continental glaciers, which are formed in cold polar regions. Move with respect to gravity and pressure, the actions of glaciers (soil erosion, transportation, deposition) lead to creation of glacial landforms.
Hills
Hills are raised portions of lands, characterized by presence of slopes, e.g. the black hills. They are formed due to activities of glaciers and water currents. From the definition itself, it is understandable that hills and mountains are similar types of landforms. Nonetheless, remember that a hill is lesser in height than a mountain. Also, it has sloping sides, unlike the steepness of mountains.
Islands
	Islands are terrestrial areas, surrounded by water on all sides, e.g. the Hawaiian Islands. These raised areas are formed either as a result of volcanic eruption or due the presence of hot spots. Accordingly, the actual location of islands differ from one another. Thus, we have islands surrounded by a lake, river, sea, and ocean. And a series of islands is represented as an archipelago landform (e.g. Indonesia).
Mesas
Mesas are also known as table mountains, owing to their distinctive appearances. Yes, these are elevated lands like mountains, characterized by presence of a flat top and steep rocks on the sides. A solid example of a mesa landform is the Grand mesa in western Colorado. Erosion and weathering of the existing layered rocks lead to the formation of table mountains or mesas.
Lakes
	All of us are familiar with lakes, which are enclosed water bodies surrounded by land on all sides. They are formed by tectonic uplifts, glaciers, and landslides, and may differ in type of water (fresh water and saline), shape, and size. A large-sized saltwater lake is referred to as a sea. Examples of saltwater lakes are Great salt lake and dead sea, while the Great lakes in North America are freshwater lakes.
Loess
Loess is a deposition of silt, with a little amount of sand and clay. It appears yellowish or brownish in color. Many a times, wind action is responsible for formation of loess, e.g. Trade wind loess in Brazil and Venezuela. Nevertheless, glacial activities also contribute to formation of a loess, e.g. the periglacial loess situated on the sides of the Mississippi alluvial valley.
Mountains
	Mountains landforms are higher than the surrounding areas, and are characterized by a peak, e.g. the Himalayas. Surprisingly, they are more frequently present in the oceans than in land. Mountains are formed due tectonic movements such as an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. A few are resulted due to erosion of the surrounding areas by the action of wind, water, or ice.
Oceans
Oceans represent the biggest water bodies known to us. They are saline, such as the Pacific Ocean (largest ocean in the world). Oceans of the world cover around 71% of the earth's surface, and are responsible for controlling the weather and climate of the earth's surface. They are originated due to continental drift, i.e. the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Peninsulas
	Peninsulas are large land areas that extend into water bodies, e.g. the Baja California peninsula. The identifying feature of a peninsula landform is, it remains surrounded by water on three sides. It is nearly similar to an island, hence the name (pene meaning almost, and insula meaning an island in Latin). Peninsulas are formed by lithospheric movements and action of water currents.
Plateaus
Plateaus or tablelands are large, highland flat areas, which are separated from the surrounding areas by a steep slope, e.g. the Tibetan plateau. Plateaus are formed due to various actions such as collision of the earth's tectonic plates and uplift of the earth's crust by the action of magma. Also, some of the tablelands are resulted due to lava flow from the volcanic eruption.
Plains
	Plains are flat and broad land areas on the earth's surface, e.g. prairies, steppes, great plains of Central U.S. The elevation of these landforms are relatively low, when measured with reference to the mean sea level. Plains are formed due to sedimentation of the eroded soil from the hills and mountains, or due to the flowing lava deposited by the agents of wind, water, and ice.
Valleys
Valleys are low-lying areas of land, situated between the hills or mountains, e.g. the California Central Valley. In most instances, they are formed by the actions of rivers and glaciers. Depending upon the shape, valley forms are classified as U-shaped or V-shaped valley. V-shaped valleys are formed by flowing water or rivers, whereas U-shaped valleys are formed by glaciers.
Rivers
	Rivers are natural flowing stream of freshwater, e.g. the Nile. They mostly flow towards lakes or oceans but sometimes they dried up without reaching another water body. River water is collected from the surface water runoff, groundwater water recharge and sometimes from the water reservoirs such as glaciers. Landforms definitely play an important role in the formation of rivers.
Volcanic Landforms
The term volcano is used colloquially for both the vent and cone-shaped mountain, which are formed at the time of volcanic eruption. A volcanic mountain can be identified from its opening at the top. Depending upon the features, volcanic landforms are of different types. Examples of the same include volcanic domes, lava plains, cinder cones, and shield volcanoes.

These were some of the major types of landforms and how to identify them. There are many more in the list of landforms, like atoll, strait, bay, coast, cliff, cape, cave, estuary, lagoon, swamp, and wetland. For easy understanding, you can study landform types in accordance to the processes responsible for their formation. For example, dunes and loess are created due to aeolian activities, while canyon and mesa are erosion landforms. Likewise, you can analyze the factors crucial for forming each type of landforms.