OBSCURE GEOGRAPHY

You can probably point out a canyon (a deep gorge, often with a river running through it) or a peninsula (land surrounded by water on all sides but one). But who knew that every kind of waterway, bunch of trees, or open field had its own definition? Here are some esoteric geographical features that you can use to annoy family and friends. (You’re welcome.)

Backwater. A section of river where the water is seemingly still, or where there’s almost no current.

Butte. A medium-height hill with very steep sides and a flat top, that stands on its own, meaning it’s not part of another series of hills.

Stack. Found along ocean coasts, stacks are steep columns of vertical rock formed by waves knocking into them and eroding them over the centuries.

Arroyo. Also known as a dry gulch, it’s a stream-formed gully located in a desert area where water flows through for only part of the year.

Steppe. A large, sweeping grassland free of trees (except for ones by a river or lake).

Guyot. Also called a tablemount, a guyot is an isolated, underwater hill with a flat top that ascends to no more than 660 feet below the surface of the water.

Interfluve. A long, narrow, elevated piece of land (like a plateau) that develops between two parallel rivers or streams.

Palisades. Tall, strong, steep cliffs made of basalt.

Spur. The term for a flat ridge that juts out of the side of a mountain or hill.

Shoal. Also called a sandbar or sandbank, a shoal is a small hill of sand in that, at high tide, becomes submerged in a body of water, creating a shallows.

Syrt. A highland or plateau—flat land at a higher elevation than the surrounding area—split in two by water erosion, most commonly found in Russia and Central Asia.

Taiga. The thick forest of conifers (spruce, fir, and pine) with low levels of rainfall, found just south of Arctic regions.

Chaparral. A small forest, or a thicket of thorny shrubs or small trees that’s so dense you can’t walk through it.

Kettle. A sediment-filled pool of water left behind in a hollow as floodwaters drain, or a glacier melts or moves away.

Piedmont. The hilly area at the base of a mountain. Also known as foothills.

Seamount. A submerged volcano or mountain that rises from the ocean floor, but whose summit is below the water surface.

The fidget spinner was invented in 1993…but didn’t catch on until 2017.