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Terrain
This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Source: CIA-World Factbook
 
Country Terrain 
Afghanistan mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest  
 
Egypt vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta  
 
Albania mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast  
 
Algeria mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain  
 
American Virgin Islands mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land  
 
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  
 
Antigua and Barbuda mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas  
 
Equatorial Guinea coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic  
 
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  
 
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  
 
Ashmore and Cartier Islands low with sand and coral  
 
Ethiopia high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley  
 
Australia mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast  
 
Bahamas, The long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills  
 
Bahrain mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment  
 
Baker Island low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef  
 
Bangladesh mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast  
 
Barbados relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region  
 
Bassas da India volcanic rock  
 
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; maximum elevation about 800 m; coast is mostly inaccessible  
 
Brazil mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt  
 
British Virgin Islands coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly  
 
British Indian Ocean Territory flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)  
 
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  
 
Burundi hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains  
 
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  
 
Clipperton Island coral atoll  
 
Cook Islands low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south  
 
Costa Rica coastal plains separated by rugged mountains  
 
Cote d'Ivoire mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest  
 
Denmark low and flat to gently rolling plains  
 
Germany lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south  
 
Dominica rugged mountains of volcanic origin  
 
Dominican Republic rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed  
 
Djibouti coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains  
 
Ecuador coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)  
 
El Salvador mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau  
 
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  
 
Europa Island low and flat  
 
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 mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east  
 
French Southern and Antarctic Lands volcanic  
 
French Guiana low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains  
 
French Polynesia mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs  
 
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  
 
Ghana mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area  
 
Gibraltar a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar  
 
Glorioso Islands low and flat  
 
Grenada volcanic in origin with central mountains  
 
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  
 
United Kingdom mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast  
 
Guatemala mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)  
 
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  
 
Honduras mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains  
 
Hong Kong hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north  
 
Howland Island low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area  
 
India upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north Indian Ocean  
 
Indonesia mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains  
 
Isle of Man hills in north and south bisected by central valley  
 
Iraq mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey  
 
Iran rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts  
 
Ireland mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast  
 
Iceland mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords  
 
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  
 
Jarvis Island sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef  
 
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  
 
Jersey gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast  
 
Johnston Atoll mostly flat  
 
Jordan mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River  
 
Juan de Nova Island low and flat  
 
Cayman Islands low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs  
 
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  
 
Kazakhstan extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia  
 
Qatar mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel  
 
Kenya low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west  
 
Kingman Reef low and nearly level  
 
Kyrgyzstan peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation  
 
Kiribati mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs  
 
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, Republic of the coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin  
 
Congo, Democratic Republic of the vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east  
 
Coral Sea Islands sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)  
 
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  
 
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  
 
Kuwait flat to slightly undulating desert plain  
 
Laos mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus  
 
Lesotho mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains  
 
Latvia low plain  
 
Lebanon narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon 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  
 
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  
 
Morocco northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains  
 
Marshall Islands low coral limestone and sand islands  
 
Martinique mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano  
 
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  
 
Macedonia mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River  
 
Mexico high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert  
 
Midway Islands low, nearly level  
 
Micronesia, Federated States of islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk  
 
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  
 
Montserrat volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland  
 
Mozambique mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in  
 
Burma central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands  
 
Namibia mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in  
 
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 Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north  
 
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  
 
Netherlands mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast  
 
Netherlands Antilles generally hilly, volcanic interiors  
 
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  
 
Northern Mariana Islands southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic  
 
Norfolk Island volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains  
 
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  
 
Austria in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping  
 
Palau varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs  
 
Palmyra Atoll very low  
 
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  
 
Reunion mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast  
 
Rwanda mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east  
 
Romania central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the 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  
 
Solomon Islands mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls  
 
Zambia mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains  
 
Samoa 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  
 
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  
 
Senegal generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast  
 
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  
 
Zimbabwe mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); 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 mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east  
 
Somalia mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north  
 
Spain large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north  
 
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  
 
Spratly Islands flat  
 
Sri Lanka mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior  
 
Saint Barthelemy tropical, with practically no variation in temperature; has two seasons (dry and humid)  
 
Saint Helena Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains note the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin  
 
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  
 
South Africa vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain  
 
Sudan generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west  
 
South Georgia and the 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  
 
Suriname mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps  
 
Swaziland mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains  
 
Syria primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west  
 
Tajikistan Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest  
 
Taiwan eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west  
 
Tanzania plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south  
 
Thailand central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere  
 
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  
 
Tromelin Island low, flat, and sandy  
 
Chad broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south  
 
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  
 
Tunisia mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara  
 
Turkey mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)  
 
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 very 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  
 
Hungary mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border  
 
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, Sirdaryo (Syr Darya), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous  
 
Vanuatu mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains  
 
Holy See (Vatican City) low hill  
 
Venezuela Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast  
 
United Arab Emirates flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east  
 
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  
 
Vietnam low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest  
 
Wake Island atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim  
 
Wallis and Futuna volcanic origin; low hills  
 
Christmas Island steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau  
 
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  
 
Central African Republic vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest  
 
Cyprus central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast  
 
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