CIA - The World Factbook

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, on average, is about 3 meters thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; 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


Bangladesh	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast


Barbados	relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region


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 two 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 including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes


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


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


European Union	fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas


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

metropolitan 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
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
Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast


French Polynesia	mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Ile Amsterdam (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): a volcanic island with steep coastal cliffs; the center floor of the volcano is a large plateau
Ile Saint-Paul (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): triangular in shape, the island is the top of a volcano, rocky with steep cliffs on the eastern side; has active thermal springs
Iles Crozet: a large archipelago formed from the Crozet Plateau is divided into two groups of islands
Iles Kerguelen: the interior of the large island of Ile Kerguelen is composed of rugged terrain of high mountains, hills, valleys, and plains with a number of peninsulas stretching off its coasts
Bassas da India (Iles Eparses): atoll, awash at high tide; shallow (15 m) lagoon
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: low, flat, and sandy
Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): low, flat, sandy; likely volcanic seamount


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


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


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


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)	urban; low hill


Honduras	mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains


Hong Kong	hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north


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


Isle of Man	hills in north and south bisected by central valley


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


Jersey	gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast


Jordan	mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River


Kazakhstan	vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the south


Kenya	low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west


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


Kosovo	flat fluvial basin with an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m


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	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


Marshall Islands	low coral limestone and sand islands


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 Chuuk


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


Montenegro	highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus


Montserrat	volcanic island, 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	Tarai 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


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


Romania	central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Moldavian Plateau on the east by the Eastern 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 Barthelemy	hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east
Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs


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	two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; 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


Serbia	extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills


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 mountains 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 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 m 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 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km 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 far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north


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


Timor-Leste	mountainous


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


Tunisia	mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara


Turkey	high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges


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	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


United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges	low and nearly level sandy coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the ocean floor


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 mountainous islands 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 low coral islands, Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, 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


Zambia	mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains


Zimbabwe	mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

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