| Place Type | Place category | Description |
|---|
| 200 NM zone beyond the coastline | Administrative | Feature representing a 200 nautical mile geodesic buffer calculated from the coastline. |
| Abyssal Plain | Physical | An extensive, flat, gently sloping or nearly level region at abyssal depths. |
| Abyssal Provinces | Physical | The abyssal provinces are separated by mid-ocean ridges and other bathyal topography creating deep basins and/or are distinguished by varying levels of POC flux to the seafloor. |
| Anchorage | Physical | where a ship lies at anchor |
| Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Region | Physical | |
| Apron | Physical | A gently dipping surface, underlain primarily by sediment, at the base of any steeper slope. ACUF defines it as 'a gentle slope with a generally smooth surface of the sea floor, characteristically found around groups of islands or seamounts.' |
| Aquifer | Physical | An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. |
| Archipelagic waters | Physical | Waters falling within archipelagic baselines |
| Archipelago | Physical | Group of nearby lying islands that form a geographical entity. |
| Arctic Marine Area | Physical | There are many ways to divide the Arctic marine region—by ecosystem/ecological characteristics, by administrative criteria, or by some combination of the two. However, effective monitoring of biodiversity requires that an ecosystem-based approach be used for choosing areas.
http://geo.abds.is/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/dcd5c12f-3acb-4101-8e1a-bba0aec50582 |
| Area | Physical | |
| Arm | Physical | A part, usually narrow and elongate, of a feature projecting from the main body, e.g. arm of the sea |
| Arrondissement | Administrative | The administrative unit in Belgium that lies between 'Gemeente' and Province. |
| Atoll | Physical | |
| Autonomous Region | Administrative | Part of a country that has certain autonomy. |
| Bank | Physical | An elevation of the sea floor, over which the depth of water is relatively shallow, but sufficient for safe surface navigation. |
| Bar | Physical | Intertidal flats in an estuary that have no connection with the mainland.
A bar in a river is an elevated region of sediment (such as sand or gravel) that has been deposited by the flow. |
| Base | Physical | The bottom supporting part of a structure |
| Basin | Physical | A depression, in the sea floor, more or less equidimensional in plan and of variable extent. |
| Bay | Physical | Round indentation of the sea in the continent. |
| Beach | Physical | Flat strip of gravel or sand bordering the sea or an inland water. |
| Beacon | Physical | a fixed artificial navigation mark |
| Bight | Physical | Round indentation of the sea in the continent. |
| Bird Directive Area | Administrative | |
| Bluff | Physical | a steep hill or small cliff (often of limestone) next to a river |
| Boat lift | Physical | A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane.
It may be either vertically moving, like the ship lifts in Germany, Belgium, the lift at "Les Fontinettes" in France or the Anderton boat lift in England, or rotational, like the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. |
| Borderland | Physical | A region adjacent to a continent, normally occupied by or bordering a shelf and sometimes emerging as islands, that is irregular or blocky in plan or profile, with depths well in excess of those typical of a shelf. |
| Borough | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Breakwater | Physical | Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defense or to protect an anchorage from the effects of both weather and longshore drift. |
| Bridge | Administrative | |
| Building, ranch | Physical | |
| Buttress | Physical | structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall, or rather its geographical equivalent |
| Caldera | Physical | A collapsed or partially-collapsed seamount, commonly of annular shape. |
| Camping | Physical | |
| Canal | Physical | Man-made waterway. |
| Canton | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in France. |
| Canyon(s) | Physical | A relatively narrow, deep depression (or group of depressions) with steep sides, the bottom of which generally deepens continuously, developed characteristically on some continental slopes. |
| Cape | Physical | |
| Carysfort Reef | Physical | |
| Cave | Physical | |
| Channel | Physical | A narrow, natural connection between seas. |
| City | Administrative | |
| Cliffs | Physical | a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure |
| Coast | Physical | Part of the land that is adjacent to the sea. |
| Col | Physical | mountain pass or low point between two hills |
| Commune | Administrative | The lowest administrative unit in a lot of countries. |
| Contiguous zone | Administrative | A band of water extending from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 24 nautical miles (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) from the baseline |
| Continent | Administrative | The highest subdivision of the world. There are 7 continents distinguished: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America. |
| Continental Margin | Physical | The zone, generally consisting of shelf, slope and continental rise, separating the continent from the deep sea floor or abyssal plain. Occasionally a trench may be present in place of a continental rise. |
| Continental Shelf (Physical) | Physical | A zone adjacent to a continent (or around an island) and extending from the low water line to a depth at which there is usually a marked increase of slope towards oceanic depths. |
| Continental Slope | Physical | |
| Contourite Depositional System | Physical | Clustered drifts in a local area |
| Controlled flood zone | Physical | |
| Cordillera | Physical | An entire mountain system including the subordinate ranges, interior plateaus and basins. |
| Country | Administrative | A high-level administrative unit that only has been used for the four divisions of the United Kingdom. |
| County | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Cove | Physical | part of a coast which partly encloses an area of water |
| Crag | Physical | A Cliff or vertical rock exposure in mountainous areas |
| Creek | Physical | a inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove |
| Current | Physical | A moving watermass. |
| Dam | Physical | A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water. |
| Deelgemeente | Administrative | The subdivision of a 'Gemeente' in Belgium and the Netherlands. |
| Deep | Physical | A small depression in the seafloor. |
| Delta | Physical | Branching river mouth. |
| Department | Administrative | A high-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Dependency | Administrative | |
| Dependent State | Administrative | A state that is dependent on another nation. |
| Depression | Physical | A poorly defined sunken area, not indicated by contours |
| Dike | Physical | |
| Discordance | Physical | |
| Disputed Territory | Administrative | |
| District | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Diving spot | Physical | |
| Division | Physical | major administrative regions (o.a. Bangladesh & New Zealand) |
| Dock | Physical | |
| Drift | Physical | Contourites are sedimentary units which are deposited or substantially reworked by alongslope bottom currents. They refer to the lithological unit and the terminology reflects the grainsize of the sediment.
While drifts refer to the same sedimentary unit as a contourite, drifts are the morphological appearance of the sedimentary unit. |
| Dunes | Physical | |
| Ecological district | Administrative | A particular geographical region that has a characteristic landscape and range of biological communities. |
| EEZ | Administrative | In international maritime law, an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a seazone extending from a state's coast over which the state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. Generally a state's EEZ extends 200 nautical miles out from its coast, except where resulting points would be closer to another country. |
| EMODnet Biology Reporting Areas | Administrative | Sea regions used internally by EMODnet Biology for reporting purposes on the seven areas defined by EMODnet: Artic Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Other Seas. They are a modified version of the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) regions and subregions available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/ds_resolveuid/0a93718db6f541eaa565ba86d6f9ac85 |
| Entrance | Physical | |
| Escarpment | Physical | An elongated, characteristically linear, steep slope separating horizontal or gently sloping sectors of the sea floor in non-shelf areas. Also abbreviated to scarp. |
| Estuary | Physical | River mouth under tidal influence. |
| Extended Continental Shelf (Area of Common Interest) | Administrative | A designated maritime region where Portugal and Spain have overlapping claims to the continental shelf but no established bilateral maritime boundary. Portugal and Spain have agreed to present their submissions for this area separately yet in a coordinated manner. This collaboration involves shared efforts in data acquisition, data sharing, and the implementation of a unified legal and technical framework for extending their continental shelves. |
| Extended Continental Shelf (CLCS Recommendation) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as recommended by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) |
| Extended Continental Shelf (CLCS Submission) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) |
| Extended Continental Shelf (DOALOS Deposit) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as deposited to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) |
| Extended Continental Shelf (Joint CLCS Recommendation) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as recommended by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) for two or more countries |
| Extended Continental Shelf (Joint CLCS Submission) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) by two or more countries |
| Extended Continental Shelf (Joint DOALOS Deposit) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as deposited to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) by two or more countries |
| Extended Continental Shelf (Non-UNCLOS Claim) | Administrative | Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as claimed by (a) a Non-Party State to UNCLOS or (b) a Party State to UNCLOS through mechanisms other than a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) or a deposit to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) |
| FADA Faunistic Regions | Physical | http://data.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu/data/shapefiles/
AT : AfroTropical
ANT : ANTarctic
AU : AUstralasian
NA : NeArctic
NT : NeoTropical
OL : OrientaL(Indomalaya)
PAC : PACific(Oceania)
PA : PalaeArctic
|
| Fan | Physical | A relatively smooth, fan-like, depositional feature normally sloping away from the outer termination of a canyon or canyon system. Also called cone. |
| FAO Divisions | Administrative | |
| FAO fishing area | Administrative | Sea areas that have been designated as fishing areas by FAO. |
| FAO Major Marine Fishing Areas | Administrative | |
| FAO Subareas | Administrative | |
| FAO Subdivisions | Administrative | |
| Federate state | Administrative | A federated state (which may be referred to as a state, a province, a canton, a Land, etc.) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union.[1] Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government.[2] Importantly, when states choose to federate, they lose their standing as persons of international law. Instead, the federal union as a single entity becomes the sovereign state, the person of international law.[3] A federated state holds administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional government. |
| Field | Physical | |
| Firth | Physical | |
| Fjord | Physical | Narrow, deep inlet in a mountainous coast that came into being during the ice age. |
| Flat | Physical | Nonspeciefic 'flat' marine area. |
| Floristic Region | Physical | A Floristic Region or Phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phtyochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both regions overlap. |
| Forest | Physical | |
| Former administrative division | Administrative | |
| Former Nation | Administrative | A nation that doesn't exist anymore. |
| Fort | Administrative | a defensive structure or earthworks |
| Fracture Zone | Physical | An extensive linear zone of irregular topography, mountainous or faulted, characterized by steepsided or asymmetrical ridges, clefts, troughs or escarpments. |
| Freshwater Ecoregion of the World (FEOW) | Administrative | The freshwater ecoregion map encompasses 426 units, whose boundaries generally - though not always - correspond with those of watersheds (also known as drainage basins or catchments). Within individual ecoregions there will be turnover of species, such as when moving up or down a river system, but taken as a whole an ecoregion will typically have a distinct evolutionary history and/or ecological processes. Ecoregions are delineated based on the best available information, but data describing freshwater species and ecological processes are characterized by marked gaps and variation in quality, and improved information in the future may warrant map revisions. |
| Front | Physical | The dividing line between different water masses. |
| Furrow | Physical | A closed, linear, narrow, shallow depression. |
| Gap | Physical | |
| Gas Field | Physical | Sea area where gas is drilled. |
| Gate | Physical | an opening in a wall or fence, in this case stone walls or an entry between vertical surrounding concretions |
| General Region | Physical | Area with a specific name that can't be classified otherwise. |
| General Sea Area | Physical | Sea area with a specific name that can't be classified otherwise. |
| Glacier | Physical | slowly collapsing field of ice |
| Governorate | Administrative | administrative division in several countries |
| Ground | Physical | |
| Gulf | Physical | A large bay. |
| Gully | Physical | a landform created by running water eroding sharply into a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in height and width |
| Guyot | Physical | A seamount having a comparatively smooth flat top. Also called tablemount. |
| HAB monitoring grid | Administrative | |
| Hamlet | Administrative | hamlet is a type of settlement. The definition of hamlet varies by country. It usually refers to a small settlement in a rural area, or a component of a larger settlement or municipality. |
| Harbour | Physical | |
| Head | Physical | |
| Headland | Physical | |
| Heights | Physical | series of points (usually on the terrain surface, such as a mountain top) vertically above a reference surface such as mean sea level |
| High Seas | Administrative | In International Law, all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic State. |
| Hill(s) | Physical | An isolated (or group of) elevation(s), smaller than a SEAMOUNT. |
| Historical fishing areas | Administrative | Map of the (historical) fishing areas of Belgian sea fisheries: http://www.vliz.be/cijfers_beleid/zeevisserij/map.php |
| Historical undersea feature | Physical | An undersea feature whose existence has been subsequently disproved. |
| Hole | Physical | A small local depression, often steep sided, in the sea floor. |
| Hydro-electric power station | Physical | |
| Hydrothermal vent | Physical | Hydrothermal Field |
| Ice Sheet | Physical | A mass of ice and snow of considerable thickness and large area. Ice sheets may be resting on rock or floating. Ice sheets of less than about 50,000 square km resting on rock are called ice caps |
| Ice Shelf | Physical | A floating ice sheet of considerable thickness attached to a coast. Ice shelves are usually of great horizontal extent and have a level or gently undulating surface. They are nourished by the accumulation of snow and often by seaward extension of land glaciers. Limited areas may be aground. The seaward edge is termed an ice front |
| Icefall | Physical | a portion of some glaciers characterized by rapid flow and a chaotic crevassed surface |
| ICES Areas | Administrative | The ICES Statistical Areas delineates the divisions and subdivisions of FAO Major Fishing area 27.
The ICES Statistical Areas are used as bounding areas for calculation of fish statistics, e.g. catch per unit effort (CPUE) and stock estimates. |
| ICES Ecoregion | Administrative | ICES EcoRegions are largescale management units that are used in ICES advisory reports and were first referenced in the ACFM/ACME report of 2004 (now ACOM) [http://www.ices.dk/datacentre/updates/DC_update.htm?WT.mc_id=DCeNews_March_2009]. |
| ICES Statistical Rectangles | Administrative | |
| IHO Sea Area | Physical | |
| Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) | Administrative | Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) are defined as discrete portions of habitat, important to marine mammal species, that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. IMMAs consist of areas that may merit place-based protection and/or monitoring. ‘Important’ in the context of the IMMA classification refers to any perceivable value, which extends to the marine mammals within the IMMA, to improve the conservation status of those species or populations. |
| Inhabited Place | Administrative | Place with permanent or temporary habitation. |
| Inlet | Physical | Small indentation of the sea in the continent. |
| Internal waters | Physical | Waters on the landward side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters, except in archipelagic states. It includes waterways such as rivers and canals, and sometimes the water within small bays. |
| IOS region | Physical | Pacific and Arctic Regions |
| ISA Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI) | Administrative | |
| ISA Environmental Management Area | Administrative | |
| Island | Physical | A land mass that is totally enclosed by water and that doesn't form a continent. |
| Island Group | Physical | Group of nearby lying islands that form a geographical entity. |
| Isthmus | Physical | a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses and bordered by water |
| Italian marine biogeographic sector | Physical | Subdivision of Italian seas in 9 biogeographic sectors as proposed in Bianchi, C.N. (2004). Proposta di suddivisione dei mari italiani in settori biogeografici. Notiziario S.i.B.M. 46: 57-59. |
| Joint regime (EEZ) | Administrative | A geographical area delimited by agreement between two or more countries where with specific arrangements in relation to the exploration and exploitation of natural marine resources. |
| Knoll(s) | Physical | An elevation somewhat smaller than a SEAMOUNT and of rounded profile, characteristically isolated or as a cluster on the sea floor. |
| Lagoon | Physical | A small lake that is separated from the sea by a long and narrow tongue of land. |
| Lake | Physical | A basin filled with water that is totally enclosed by water. |
| Land | Administrative | The three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden |
| Land basin | Physical | |
| Landkreis | Administrative | |
| Landscape Protection Area | Administrative | |
| Large Marine Ecosystem | Physical | |
| Ledge(s) | Physical | A relatively flat projection of rock usually extending from a shoreline. |
| Levee | Physical | A depositional natural embankment bordering a canyon, valley or seachannel on the ocean floor. |
| Light(house) | Physical | Tower with a light serving for navigation. |
| Lobe | Physical | A protuberance of bathymetric contours having a broad tonguelike or lobate plan. |
| Lock | Physical | |
| Longhurst Province | Physical | |
| Lower Bathyal Provinces | Physical | The lower bathyal includes both the slopes of continents as well as
ridges, island slopes, and several thousand seamounts, about half
of which extend upward into the bathyal zone (Clark et al., 2011). |
| Lowland | Physical | is any broad expanse of land with a general low level |
| Maar | Physical | |
| Mangrove | Physical | |
| Man-made structure | Administrative | |
| Marine Bioregion | Administrative | Canada’s marine protected areas network is being advanced in five priority marine bioregions: the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Scotian Shelf, the Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves, the Western Arctic, and the Northern Shelf. |
| Marine Ecoregion of the World (MEOW) | Administrative | Spalding, et al. 2007. Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. Bioscience 57(7):573-582. |
| Marine Park | Administrative | |
| Marine Protected Area (MPA) | Administrative | |
| Marine Province | Physical | Spalding, et al. 2007. Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. Bioscience 57(7):573-582. |
| Marine Region | Administrative | |
| Marine Subregion | Administrative | Part of the Marine Regions (union EEZ/IHO) |
| Marsh(es) | Physical | a wetland dominated by grass-like vegetation |
| Mesa | Physical | An isolated, extensive, flat-topped elevation on the shelf, with relative steep sides. |
| Mesopelagic ecoregions | Physical | |
| Military Domain | Physical | |
| Mineral Rights Areas | Administrative | |
| Moat | Physical | An annular depression that may not be continuous, located at the base of many SEAMOUNTS, oceanic islands and other isolated elevations. |
| Mound | Physical | A low, isolated, rounded hill. |
| Mount | Physical | mountain |
| Mountain range | Physical | a series of mountains |
| Mountain(s) | Physical | Well-delineated subdivision(s) of a large and complex positive feature. |
| MSFD Marine regions | Physical | https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1 |
| MSFD Marine subregions | Physical | https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/msfd-regions-and-subregions-1 |
| Mud Flat | Physical | |
| Mud Volcano | Physical | |
| Municipality | Administrative | |
| Museum | Administrative | |
| NAFO Area | Administrative | http://www.nafo.int/about/frames/area.html |
| Nation | Administrative | The highest administrative unit. |
| National District | Administrative | |
| National Division | Administrative | A high-level administrative unit. |
| National Park | Administrative | |
| Natura 2000 Site of Community Importance (SCI, EU Habitats Directive) | Administrative | administrative |
| Natura 2000 Special Protection Area (SPA, EU Birds Directive) | Administrative | administrative |
| Natura 2000 Special Protection Area and Site of Community Importance (SPA and SCI, EU Birds and Habitats Directive) | Administrative | administrative |
| Natural Reserve | Administrative | |
| Northwest Atlantic Hydrographic Regions | Administrative | |
| Nunatak | Physical | a mountain top that is not covered by land ice (see glaciation and ice age), and protrudes out of a surrounding glacier |
| Nunataks | Physical | a series of Nunatasks |
| Oblast | Administrative | Type of country subdivision of Bulgaria, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the now-defunct Soviet Union, ... |
| Occupied Territory | Administrative | |
| Ocean | Physical | Very large sea between different continents. |
| Oil Field | Physical | Sea area where oil is drilled. |
| Oil field | Physical | A geographic region (land or sea) with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum (crude oil) from below ground. |
| OSPAR Boundary | Administrative | http://www.ospar.org/ |
| OSPAR Region | Administrative | |
| Overlapping claim | Administrative | An area where the EEZ claims of two or more coastal states overlaps |
| Overlapping claim (Extended Continental Shelf) | Administrative | An area where the Extended Continental Shelf claims of two or more countries overlap |
| Overseas Territory | Administrative | |
| Parish | Administrative | |
| Park | Physical | |
| Pass | Physical | a low place in a mountain range allowing easier passage |
| Passage | Physical | A narrow break in a RIDGE or a RISE. Also called GAP. |
| Peak | Physical | A prominent elevation either pointed or of a very limited extent across the summit. |
| Peninsula | Physical | |
| Pingo(s) | Physical | A more or less conical mound of fine unconsolidated material generally containing an ice core |
| Pinnacle | Physical | Any high tower or spire-shaped pillar of rock, or coral, alone or cresting a summit. |
| Pit | Physical | Small depression in a river bed. |
| Plain | Physical | An extensive, flat, gently sloping or nearly level undersea region. |
| Plate | Physical | Intertidal flats in an estuary that have no connection with the mainland. |
| Plateau | Physical | A flat or nearly flat elevation of considerable areal extent, dropping off abruptly on one or more sides. |
| Point | Physical | Geographical |
| Polder | Physical | |
| Pond | Physical | |
| Possession | Administrative | |
| Prefecture | Administrative | |
| Prodelta | Physical | Newest, most aquatic-facing portion of a delta, featuring the finest sediment. |
| Promontory | Physical | A major SPUR-like protrusion of the continental SLOPE extending to the deep seafloor. Characteristically, the crest deepens seaward. |
| Protected Area | Administrative | |
| Province (administrative) | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Province (physical) | Physical | A region identifiable by a group of similar physiographic features whose characteristics are markedly in contrast with surrounding areas. |
| Realm | Physical | Spalding, et al. 2007. Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. Bioscience 57(7):573-582. |
| Reef | Physical | A mass of rock or other indurated material lying at or near the sea surface that may constitute a hazard to surface navigation. |
| Region | Administrative | A high-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Republic | Administrative | Politic division in the Russian federation, Bosnia Herzegovina (Republika), Serbia and Montenegro |
| Research Station | Physical | |
| Reservoir | Physical | |
| Resort | Physical | |
| Ridge | Physical | (a) An elongated narrow elevation of varying complexity having steep sides. (b) An elongated narrow elevation, often separating ocean BASINS. (c) The linked major mid-oceanic mountain systems of global extent. Also called MIDOCEANIC RIDGE. |
| Rift | Physical | |
| Rim | Physical | A rocky outer edge of a volcanic crater |
| Rise | Physical | (a) A broad elevation that rises gently and generally smoothly from the sea floor. (b) The linked major mid-oceanic mountain systems of global extent. Also called midoceanic ridge. |
| River | Physical | A natural water current that always flows out in another river or stream but never in a sea. |
| River Outlet | Physical | |
| Roadstead | Physical | an open anchorage affording less protection than a harbor |
| Rock | Physical | |
| Rocks | Physical | a naturally occurring aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids |
| Saddle | Physical | A broad pass or col, resembling in shape a riding saddle, in a RIDGE or between contiguous elevations. |
| Salt Marsh | Physical | |
| Sampling Station | Physical | Standard sampling sation |
| Sandbank | Physical | Shallow accumulation of sand that rises never above sealevel but alltough forms a substantial hazard for navigation. |
| Sandbank System | Physical | The aggregate of adjoining sandbanks and swales. |
| Sea | Physical | A large surface salt water that covers a large part of the world |
| Sea floor | Physical | bottom of the ocean |
| Seachannel | Physical | A continuously sloping elongated discrete depression found in fans or abyssal plains and customarily bordered by levees on one or both sides. |
| Seamount Chain | Physical | A linear or arcuate alignment of discrete seamounts, with their bases clearly separated. |
| Seamount Province | Physical | |
| Seamount(s) | Physical | A discrete (or group of) large isolated elevation(s), greater than 1,000m in relief above the sea floor, characteristically of conical form. |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - level 1 | Administrative | |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - level 2 | Administrative | |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - level 3 | Administrative | |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - level 4 | Administrative | |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - region | Administrative | |
| SeaVoX SeaArea - sub-region | Administrative | |
| Shelf | Physical | The flat or gently sloping region adjacent to a continent or around an island that extends from the low water line to a depth, generally about 200m, where there is a marked increase in downward slope. |
| Shelf Edge | Physical | The line along which there is marked increase of slope at the seaward margin of a CONTINENTAL (or island) SHELF. Also called SHELF BREAK. |
| Shoal | Physical | An offshore hazard to surface navigation with substantially less clearance than the surrounding area and composed of unconsolidated material. |
| Sill | Physical | A sea floor barrier of relatively shallow depth restricting water movement between BASINS. |
| Slope | Physical | The deepening sea floor out from the shelfedge to the upper limit of the continental rise, or the point where there is a general decrease in steepness. |
| Sluice | Physical | |
| Snowfield | Physical | an extensive terrain covered by a smooth surface of snow. Normally the term is applied to mountainous and glacial terrain |
| Sound | Physical | A narrow, natural connection between seas. |
| Spit | Physical | A spit is a deposition landform found off coasts. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs. Spits are formed by the movement of sediment along a shore by a process known as longshore drift (wikipedia). |
| Spring | Physical | |
| Spur | Physical | A subordinate elevation or ridge protruding from a larger feature, such as a plateau or island foundation. |
| Stack(s) | Physical | High and precipitous detached pillar of rock near shore |
| State | Administrative | A high-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Station | Physical | A place where there is permanent human habitation and infrastructure serving as a base for scientific research |
| Storm surge barrier | Physical | A specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. |
| Strait | Physical | A narrow, natural connection between seas. |
| Stream | Physical | A river that flows out in the sea. |
| Subglacial basin | Physical | Subglacial: a term meaning 'beneath the ice'. Basin: a very large depression occupied by sea water, ie. an ocean basin |
| Submarine lava tube | Physical | |
| Submarine valley(s) | Physical | A sea valley is a linear depression on the seafloor with a broader cross-section and gentler slopes than a submarine canyon. It crosses the continental shelf as an extension of an estuary or as the seaward portion of a drowned valley, and may be kept open by submarine currents or a tidal scour.
An elongated depression that generally widens and deepens down-slope. Also called SEA VALLEY. |
| Sub-Province | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in the Netherlands. |
| Sunker | Physical | A submerged rock over which the sea breaks. |
| Swale | Physical | Depression between two sandbanks. |
| Swamp | Physical | a wetland dominated by tree vegetation |
| Tablemount | Physical | |
| TDWG | Administrative | |
| TDWG - level 1 | Administrative | |
| TDWG - level 2 | Administrative | |
| TDWG - level 3 | Administrative | |
| TDWG - level 4 | Administrative | |
| Terrace | Physical | A relatively flat horizontal or gently inclined surface, sometimes long and narrow, which is bounded by a steeper ascending slope on one side and by a steeper descending slope on the opposite side. |
| Territorial Sea | Administrative | A belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below. |
| Territory | Administrative | |
| Tongue | Physical | A projection of the ice edge up to several km in length caused by wind and current |
| Tower | Physical | |
| Town | Administrative | The lowest administrative unit in Belgium and the Netherlands. |
| Trench | Physical | A long narrow, characteristically very deep and asymmetrical depression of the sea floor, with relatively steep sides. |
| Tributary | Physical | A tributary is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. |
| Trough | Physical | A long depression of the sea floor characteristically flat bottomed and steep sided and normally shallower than a trench. |
| Undersea arch | Physical | A low bulge around the southeastern end of the island of Hawaii |
| Undersea arrugado | Physical | An area of subdued corrugations off Baja California |
| UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve | Administrative | |
| Union Territory | Administrative | |
| Unitary Authority | Administrative | A medium-level administrative unit that is used in a lot of countries. |
| Valley | Physical | A relatively shallow, wide depression, the bottom of which usually has a continuous gradient. This term is generally not used for features that have canyon-like characteristics for a significant portion of their extent. Also called SUBMARINE VALLEY or SEA VALLEY. |
| Village | Administrative | |
| Volcano | Physical | |
| Ward | Administrative | The lowest administrative unit in the United Kingdom. |
| Water mass | Physical | A large amount of water. |
| Waterfall | Physical | |
| Watermill | Physical | |
| Watsonian vice-county | Administrative | Watsonian vice-counties are subdivisions of Great Britain and Ireland used largely for the purposes of biological recording and other scientific data-gathering. |
| Wetland | Physical | Mixture of swamps and marshes |
| Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) | Administrative | |
| Wharf | Physical | |
| World | Physical | The world |
| World Marine Heritage Site | Administrative | http://whc.unesco.org/en/marine-programme/ |
| Wreck | Physical | |
| Zone | Physical | |