EDUCATION

Plains are among the most fundamental and far-reaching landforms on the surface of the Earth — vast, open expanses of relatively flat or gently undulating terrain that cover more of the planet’s land surface than any other landform type. Stretching across continents in sweeping horizons that seem to extend forever, plains lack the dramatic visual … Read more

Cliffs are among the most visually arresting and geologically revealing features of the natural world — vertical or near-vertical faces of rock, soil, or ice that rise abruptly from the surrounding terrain, exposing the internal architecture of the Earth’s crust in cross-section and creating some of the most dramatic landscapes found anywhere on the planet. … Read more

Islands have captured the human imagination since the earliest seafarers first ventured beyond the sight of the mainland and discovered land rising from the open ocean. Defined simply as bodies of land completely surrounded by water, islands are among the most diverse and ecologically remarkable features on the surface of the Earth, ranging from tiny … Read more

Coastlines are among the most dynamic and constantly changing features of the Earth’s surface — the restless boundaries where the solid world of rock and soil meets the fluid, tireless energy of the ocean. Stretching for an estimated 620,000 kilometers around the world’s continents and islands, coastlines encompass an extraordinary range of environments, from towering … Read more

Waterfalls are among the most universally captivating features of the natural landscape — points where the steady, patient work of flowing water meets the dramatic vertical expression of geological difference, producing cascades of extraordinary beauty, power, and sound. Whether plunging in a single unbroken ribbon from a cliff hundreds of meters high, tumbling in a … Read more

Rivers are the arteries of the Earth — dynamic, ever-moving systems of flowing water that drain the land, carve the landscape, transport sediment, sustain ecosystems, and support human civilization on a scale that no other freshwater feature can match. From the mightiest continental rivers carrying billions of cubic meters of water to the sea each … Read more

Glaciers are among the most powerful and transformative forces operating on the surface of the Earth — slow-moving masses of compacted snow and ice that carve landscapes, store freshwater, regulate sea levels, and reflect solar energy back into space with a quiet, relentless persistence that has shaped our planet for hundreds of millions of years. … Read more

Caves are among the most mysterious and captivating features of the natural world — dark, silent spaces hidden beneath the surface of the Earth, carved and shaped by forces that operate largely beyond human sight and over timescales that dwarf recorded history. A cave is broadly defined as any natural underground void large enough for … Read more

When most people picture a desert, they imagine an endless sea of golden sand dunes baking beneath a scorching sun. In reality, deserts are among the most diverse and complex environments on Earth, encompassing frozen polar wastelands, rocky mountain plateaus, coastal fog zones, and vast gravel plains alongside the classic sandy expanses of popular imagination. … Read more

Valleys are among the most fundamental and widespread landforms on the surface of the Earth, found on every continent, beneath every ocean, and across every climate zone from the tropics to the polar regions. They are defined broadly as elongated depressions in the Earth’s surface, typically lower than the surrounding terrain and often — though … Read more