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French landscape vocabulary: 12 landforms in pictures

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Learn twelve French landforms with articles and clear picture cards. Match mountains, valleys, cliffs and other landscape features to short descriptions.

In short

A mountain is une montagne, a valley is une vallée and a cliff is une falaise. These twelve words name shapes you can point to in a landscape; learn each with its article.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A wooded valley between steep rocky mountain slopes in the Écrins National Park, France.
The low ground between the mountains is une vallée. Photo: Sies Kranen, Unsplash License via Unsplash

How do you describe a landscape in French?

Inland shapes

la montagnemountainLa montagne est haute.
la collinehillLa colline est verte.
la valléevalleyLe village est dans la vallée.
la plaineplainLa plaine est plate.
le plateauplateauLe plateau est au-dessus de la vallée.
le sommetsummitIl y a de la neige au sommet.

Rock, sand and coastline

la falaisecliffLa falaise est au bord de la mer.
la dunesand duneLa dune est couverte de sable.
la grottecaveLa grotte est sombre.
le volcanvolcanoLe volcan a un grand cratère.
le canyoncanyonLa rivière passe au fond du canyon.
la péninsulepeninsulaLa péninsule avance dans la mer.
Three shapes that can look similar
FrenchMeaningLook for
la collinehillA low, rounded rise.
le plateauplateauHigh ground with a broad, flat top.
la plaineplainA large area of flat land.

Find the shape in the landscape

On voit une vallée entre les montagnes.

You can see a valley between the mountains.

Use dans for the space inside a valley or cave: dans la vallée, dans la grotte. For the top, say au sommet. The summit is one part of a mountain; la montagne names the whole landform.

Deux photos de vacances
  1. Maya

    Regarde cette photo. Le village est dans la vallée.

    Look at this photo. The village is in the valley.

  2. Alex

    Et là, au bord de la mer ?

    And there, by the sea?

  3. Maya

    C’est une falaise. Elle est très haute.

    That’s a cliff. It’s very high.

  4. Alex

    Sur cette autre photo, on voit une dune.

    In this other photo, you can see a sand dune.

Question 1No account needed
Which label matches the landscape?C’est une petite hauteur verte et arrondie.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

la colline. La colline is a rounded rise; the other two have steep rock faces.

Question 2No account needed
Which label belongs on this picture?C’est un passage profond entre des parois rocheuses. Une rivière coule au fond.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le canyon. Le canyon is the deep cut through rock with the river at the bottom.

Question 3No account needed
Choose the label for the land in the picture.La mer entoure presque toute cette terre. Elle reste reliée au continent.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

la péninsule. La péninsule projects into the sea and remains attached to the mainland.

Question 4No account needed
Which part of the mountain is described?C’est tout en haut de la montagne.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le sommet. Le sommet names the top, rather than the entire mountain.

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