In geography, a plain is an area of land with relatively low relief — meaning that it is flat. Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land including physical elements such as Landforms living elements of flora and fauna abstract elements such as lighting Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or vegetation may be absent in the case of sandy or stony plains in hot deserts. Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody Shrubland (synonymous with Scrubland) is a habitat type dominated by woody Shrubs A shrub is a perennial woody plant that branches at ground level to form several Ecologically a woodland is an area covered in trees differentiated from a Forest. A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Types of flatlands for which the term is not generally used include those covered entirely and permanently by swamps, marshes, playas, or ice sheets. For other uses see Flatland (disambiguation Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 Science fiction A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²)

Plains occur as lowlands and at the bottoms of valleys but also on plateaux at high elevations. In physical Geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. They may have been formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice or wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains. Lava is molten rock expelled by a Volcano during an eruption When first expelled from a volcanic vent it is a Liquid at Temperatures Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind

Plains in many areas are important for agriculture, because where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanisation of crop production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of Fertility is the natural capability of giving life As a measure "Fertility Rate" is the number of children born per couple person or population Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food

Contents 1 Types of terrestrial plains 2 Other types of plain 3 Notes and references 4 See also

Types of terrestrial plains

• Coastal plain, an area of low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast; the term is used especially where they contrast with hills, mountains or plateaux further inland. Lightning Ridge is a town in north-western New South Wales, Australia, in Walgett Shire, near the southern border of Queensland. A coastal plain is an area of flat low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features
• Fluvial plains are formed by rivers and streams, and may be one of these overlapping types:
  • Flood plain, adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland that experiences occasional or periodic flooding. ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a Stream or River that experiences occasional or periodic A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge
  • Alluvial plain, formed over a long period of time by a river depositing sediment on its floodplain or bed which becomes alluvial soil. An alluvial plain is a relatively flat Landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more Rivers coming from highland regions "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, "to wash against" is Soil or Sediments deposited by a river or other running The difference between a floodplain and an alluvial plain is that the floodplain represents the area experiencing flooding fairly regularly in the present or recently, whereas an alluvial plain includes areas where the floodplain is now and used to be, or areas which only experience flooding a few times a century.
  • Scroll plain, a plain through which a river meanders with a very low gradient. A scroll plain occurs where a river Meanders across an area with a very low gradient usually with a fairly continuous discharge A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse also known as an oxbow loop or simply an Oxbow.
• Lacustrine plain, a plain that originally formed in a lacustrine environment, that is, as the bed of a lake. A Lacustrine plain is a Plain that originally formed in a Lacustrine environment that is as the bed of a Lake, but from which the water has disappeared A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the
• Lava plain, formed by sheets of flowing lava. A lava plain, or lava field, is a large expanse of nearly flat-lying Lava flows Lava is molten rock expelled by a Volcano during an eruption When first expelled from a volcanic vent it is a Liquid at Temperatures
• Till plain, a plain of glacial till that forms when a sheet of ice becomes detached from the main body of a glacier and melts in place depositing the sediments it carried. A till plain is an extensive flat Plain of Glacial till that forms when a sheet of Ice becomes detached from the main body of a Glacier and melts Till is unsorted glacial sediment Glacial drift is a general term for the coarsely graded and extremely heterogeneous Sediments of glacial origin Ice is a Solid phase, usually crystalline, of a Non-metalic substance that is liquid or gas at Room temperature, such as Ammonia "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of

Other types of plain

The term may also be used for flat areas of the ocean floor or for flat areas on moons and planets. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere.

• Abyssal plain, a flat or very gently sloping area of the deep ocean basin floor. Abyssal plains are flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep Ocean basin floor

Notes and references

See also

• Field
• Flooded grasslands and savannas
• Flood-meadow
• Grassland
• Machair
• Meadow
• Pasture
• Plateau
• Prairie
• Rangeland
• Savanna
• Steppe
• Water-meadow
• Wet meadow
• Veld

In Agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of Land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as Cultivating crops Flooded grasslands and savannas are a Biome, generally located at subtropical and tropical latitudes where which are flooded seasonally or year-round A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of Grassland or Pasture beside a River, subject to seasonal Flooding. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody This article is about a geographic landform For the TV series see Machair (TV series The Gaelic word machair or machar refers to a fertile A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by Grass and other non- Woody plants. Pasture is land with Herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of Ungulate Livestock as part of a Farm or Ranch. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of Grassland subject to controlled Irrigation to increase Agricultural productivity A wet meadow is a semi- Wetland Meadow which is saturated with Water throughout much of the year The term Veld, or Veldt, refers primarily (but not exclusively to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain

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