Illustrated Geology Glossary (at 35,000 feet) - R

Glossary!

These are common geologic (and manmade/geographic features), as seen from 35,000 feet.

You can open any of these examples in Google Earth by clicking the Google Earth icon:

If you don't know the name of the feature you're looking for, go here: "What Was That?" (This is a tool that sorts features based on what they look like: mountains, rivers, valleys, piles of sand etc.)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Ridge and Swale - See "Scrollbars"

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River, Braided - One of many types of rivers. A braided river consists of many small channels that repeatedly split apart and join back together. Large braided rivers are rare in the U.S., restricted to places like Alaska, Montana, and to some extent the Great Plains. Examples below: The Platte River of Nebraska and the Bitterroot River of Montana. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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River, Entrenched - A river that is constrained by a canyon, usually formed as the land is tectonically uplifted, for example, in the case of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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River, Single-Channel - Also known as a "Sinuous" or "Meandering" river, the Single Channel River is only one of many different types of rivers. A sinuous river bends and meanders but usually flows in just one channel. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.