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The World Factbook 2002
  Field Listing - Terrain


This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
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
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 Truk
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 islands, 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
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 mountain 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 east and west
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
Tunisia mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara
Turkey mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
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
Yugoslavia 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
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 1 January 2002
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