20 words are hidden in the letters, or ten short ones for a first try. Tap the first letter of a word, then its last letter.
The 20 words
mountain hill river lake valley island desert canyon plain plateau volcano cave cliff beach bay peninsula glacier dune swamp waterfall
Shapes of the land, from mountain, hill and canyon to island, peninsula and glacier, with watery ones like bay and waterfall. There are 20 words and 115 letters to find. The longest words are "peninsula" and "waterfall", at 9 letters. No word on the list uses J, Q, X and Z.
The words by length
| Length | How many | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | 1 | bay |
| 4 letters | 4 | hill lake cave dune |
| 5 letters | 5 | river plain cliff beach swamp |
| 6 letters | 4 | valley island desert canyon |
| 7 letters | 3 | plateau volcano glacier |
| 8 letters | 1 | mountain |
| 9 letters | 2 | peninsula waterfall |
A shorter puzzle of ten
Choose "10 short words" beside the heading for a smaller grid with these ten: hill, river, lake, plain, cave, cliff, beach, bay, dune and swamp. None has more than 5 letters. On a phone the full puzzle takes twelve of the 20, so the letters stay big enough to tap.
Hints for this puzzle
- Start with the longest words. Peninsula, waterfall and mountain take up the most room, so they are the easiest to spot.
- 3 words start with C. When you find a C, check it for canyon, cave and cliff.
- 3 words start with P. When you find a P, check it for plain, plateau and peninsula.
- Look for doubled letters. Two of the same letter side by side stand out in a grid: hill, valley, cliff and waterfall.
Play it or print it
On the screen, tap the first letter of a word and then its last letter, and the word is crossed off the list. Easy hides words across and down, Medium adds corner to corner, and Hard adds backwards. Press Print for two pages, the puzzle and its answer key, and "New puzzle" for the same words in new places. The word search maker page explains how each grid is made and kept clean.
It goes with a nature walk, a drive through new scenery, or a class week about the land. Pick three landforms from the list and draw them in one picture, then put a star by any you have visited.
The same words on bingo cards and flash cards
The bingo card generator deals these words onto cards, each one a different mix, and the flash cards page prints them eight to a sheet.
More word searches
Continents and oceans · Maps · Countries · Water cycle · Recycling · Rocks · Volcanoes · Light · Sound · Electricity · Magnets · Life cycles · Habitats · All word searches · Word search maker
Questions
What words are in the landforms word search?
Mountain, hill, river, lake, valley, island, desert, canyon, plain, plateau, volcano, cave, cliff, beach, bay, peninsula, glacier, dune, swamp and waterfall.
Is there an easier landforms word search?
Yes. Choose "10 short words" for a smaller puzzle with hill, river, lake, plain, cave, cliff, beach, bay, dune and swamp. On Easy, words only run across and down.
Can I print it with an answer key?
Yes. Press Print for two pages: the puzzle and its answer key. Each press of "New puzzle" makes a different sheet.
Is the landforms word search free?
Yes. There are no ads and nothing to sign up for.