Terrain facts for kids

Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface (aka "up and down" dimension.) When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used. Topography has recently become an additional synonym, though in many parts of the world it retains its original more general meaning of description of place.

Terrain is used as a general term in physical geography, referring to the lie of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation (height of the land,) slope (angle of the elevation,) and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution. Over a large area, it can affect weather and climate patterns

Images for kids

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  Present-day Earth altimetry and bathymetry. Data from the National Geophysical Data Center's TerrainBase Digital Terrain Model.

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  A shaded and colored image (i.e. terrain is enhanced) of varied terrain from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. This shows elevation model of New Zealand's Alpine Fault running about 500 km (300 mi) long. The escarpment is flanked by a vast chain of hills between the fault and the mountains of New Zealand's Southern Alps. Northeast is towards the top.

See also

In Spanish: Relieve terrestre para niños