Geographic Features Teaching Resources

Teach about geographic features in social studies with printable worksheets, interactive activities, instructional slide decks and more teacher-created resources for your lesson plans!

This teaching resource collection includes editable options so you can easily make the edits you need to fit your lesson planning needs. You'll also find resources that have already been differentiated for your students.

Best of all? Each printable and digital resource has been reviewed by the teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure it's classroom-ready, so you can download and begin using it in the classroom right away.

New to teaching geographic features, or looking for some fresh ideas to explore mountains, lakes and more? The teachers of Teach Starter have put together this handy primer.

What Is a Geographic Feature? A Kid-Friendly Definition

Trying to explain geographic features to your students? Here's a simple definition for kids:

A geographic feature is a natural or human-made characteristic of the Earth's surface.

Examples of Geographic Features

OK, so that's what it is. But what, exactly are we talking about? Let's look at some examples of major geographic features to make the concept of features of geography more concrete for your students!

Natural Geographic Features

The physical and environmental characteristics of the Earth's surface that are created by natural processes — such as plate tectonics, erosion, weathering, and volcanic activity — are natural geographical features.

They're important because they shape our entire environment, determining everything from the distribution of plant and animal species to influencing climate patterns, and they provide natural resources for human societies. They also tend to become landmarks and tourist attractions.

Examples of major physical features of our Earth include:

• Mountains (e.g., the Rocky Mountains, the Andes, the Himalayas)
• Rivers (e.g., the Amazon River, the Nile, the Mississippi River)
• Lakes (e.g., Lake Superior, Lake Victoria, the Great Salt Lake)
• Oceans (e.g., the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean)
• Deserts (e.g., the Sahara, the Mojave Desert, the Gobi Desert)
• Islands (e.g., Hawaii, Madagascar, the Galapagos Islands)
• Plains (e.g., the Great Plains, the Siberian Plain, the Australian Outback)
• Valleys (e.g., the Grand Canyon, the Yosemite Valley, the Shenandoah Valley)
• Volcanoes (e.g., Mount Fuji, Mount Vesuvius, Mauna Loa)
• Caves (e.g., Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave, the Waitomo Caves)

Human-Made Geographic Features

The other major type of feature of geography is the human-made kind. These physical and environmental characteristics of the Earth's surface are created or modified by human activities. These features are usually built to serve a specific purpose, such as transportation, communication, or commerce.

They can also have cultural and historical significance, and they can also be tourist attractions.

Examples of this type of feature include:

• Cities (e.g., New York City, Tokyo, Mumbai)
• Roads (e.g., Route 66, the Trans-Amazonian Highway)
• Bridges (e.g., the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Tower Bridge)
• Canals (e.g., the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Erie Canal)
• Dams (e.g., the Hoover Dam, the Three Gorges Dam, the Aswan High Dam)
• Airports (e.g., JFK International Airport, Heathrow Airport, Changi Airport)
• Railroads (e.g., the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Orient Express, the Eurostar)
• Harbors (e.g., the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Shanghai, the Port of Singapore)
• Landfills (e.g., Fresh Kills Landfill, Puente Hills Landfill, the Bordo Poniente landfill)
• Parks (e.g., Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Banff National Park)