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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