Compare Terrain (2008) - Terrain (2001)

Compare Terrain (2008) with Terrain (2001)

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	Terrain (2008)	Terrain (2001)
Antarctica	about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent	about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 5,140 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
Arctic Ocean	central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that, on average, is about 3 meters thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)	central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)
Atlantic Ocean	surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin	surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin
Bassas da India	-	volcanic rock
Bouvet Island	volcanic; coast is mostly inaccessible	volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 m; coast is mostly inaccessible
British Indian Ocean Territory	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Costa Rica	coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes	coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Estonia	marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south	marshy, lowlands
Europa Island	-	low and flat
European Union	fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas	-
France	metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast	mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
French Guiana	-	low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	Ile Amsterdam (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): a volcanic island with steep coastal cliffs; the center floor of the volcano is a large plateau Ile Saint-Paul (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): triangular in shape, the island is the top of a volcano, rocky with steep cliffs on the eastern side; has active thermal springs Iles Crozet: a large archipelago formed from the Crozet Plateau is divided into two groups of islands Iles Kerguelen: the interior of the large island of Ile Kerguelen is composed of rugged terrain of high mountains, hills, valleys, and plains with a number of peninsulas stretching off its coasts Bassas da India (Iles Eparses): atoll, awash at high tide; shallow (15 m) lagoon Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: low, flat, and sandy Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): low, flat, sandy; likely volcanic seamount	volcanic
Gambia, The	flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills	flood plain of the Gambia river flanked by some low hills
Glorioso Islands	-	low and flat
Guadeloupe	-	Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
Guam	volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south	volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south
Guatemala	mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau	mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky	Heard Island - bleak and mountainous, with a quiescent volcano; McDonald Islands - small and rocky
Holy See (Vatican City)	urban; low hill	low hill
Juan de Nova Island	-	low and flat
Kosovo	flat fluvial basin with an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m	-
Lebanon	narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains	narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Macedonia	mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River	-
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of	-	mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River
Martinique	-	mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Micronesia, Federated States of	islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk	islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk
Montenegro	highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus	-
Montserrat	volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland	volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland
Nepal	Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north	Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
Puerto Rico	mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas	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
Saint Barthelemy	hilly, almost completely surrounded by shallow-water reefs, with 20 beaches	-
Saint Helena	the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs	Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin
Samoa	two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior	narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior
Serbia	extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills	-
Slovenia	a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east	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
Southern Ocean	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep - its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Sudan	generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north	generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Tajikistan	Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest	Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
Timor-Leste	mountainous	-
Tromelin Island	-	low, flat, and sandy
Turkey	high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges	mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges	low and nearly level sandy coral islands with narrow fringing reefs that have developed at the top of submerged volcanic mountains, which in most cases rise steeply from the ocean floor	-
Uzbekistan	mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west	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 Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
Vanuatu	mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains	mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains
Wake Island	atoll of three low coral islands, Peale, Wake, and Wilkes, built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim	atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim
Yugoslavia	-	extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast