This page lists 45 geological features that start with V, from “Valley” to “Vulsini volcanic complex”. The list covers landforms, rocks, and processes, along with famous places like “Vesuvius” and “Victoria Falls”. You can use it for school projects, travel planning, or simply to learn more about how our planet is shaped.
Geological features are the natural landforms, rocks, and structures that make up Earth’s surface and the ground beneath it. Some are famous around the world, such as “Vesuvius”, the volcano that buried the Roman town of Pompeii in 79 AD.
Below you’ll find the table with the feature, region, characteristics, and description of each entry.
Feature: the name of each geological feature, listed alphabetically so you can quickly find a specific landform, rock, or place.
Region: where in the world you can find the feature, from a single country or park to large areas across several continents.
Characteristics: a short summary of the key traits that set each feature apart, helping you compare similar entries at a glance.
Description: a plain-language explanation of how each feature forms, what it looks like, and why it matters or is well known.
Geological features
| Feature | Region | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Valley | Worldwide | Low-lying landform between hills or mountains |
| V-shaped valley | Mountain regions worldwide | Steep sides, narrow floor, river-cut |
| Volcano | Worldwide, especially the Ring of Fire | Vent that erupts lava, ash and gas |
| Volcanic arc | Pacific Rim, Caribbean, Mediterranean | Curved chain of volcanoes above a subduction zone |
| Volcanic island | Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans | Island built from erupted lava |
| Volcanic neck | Western United States, Scotland | Eroded plug of hardened magma |
| Volcanic plug | Worldwide | Hardened magma blocking a vent |
| Volcanic ash | Worldwide near active volcanoes | Fine rock and glass fragments from eruptions |
| Volcanic bomb | Worldwide near active volcanoes | Large lava fragment thrown during eruption |
| Volcanic cone | Worldwide | Conical hill built by erupted material |
| Volcanic crater | Worldwide | Bowl-shaped depression at a volcano’s summit |
| Volcanic dome | Mount St. Helens (USA), Mount Merapi (Indonesia) | Rounded mound of thick, slow lava |
| Volcanic field | Western United States, Mexico, Central Asia | Cluster of many small volcanoes |
| Volcanic glass | Worldwide | Rapidly cooled lava with no crystals |
| Volcanic rock | Worldwide | Formed from cooled lava |
| Volcanic winter | Global, after large eruptions | Cooling caused by ash and sulfur in the atmosphere |
| Volcanism | Worldwide | Process of magma reaching the surface |
| Volcanic plateau | Iceland, Ethiopia, Columbia River region (USA) | Flat highland built by lava flows |
| Volcanic vent | Worldwide | Opening where magma escapes |
| Volcanic tuff | Italy, Turkey, Western United States | Rock made of compacted ash |
| Volcanic pipe | South Africa, Siberia, Canada | Vertical conduit linking magma chamber to surface |
| Volcanic caldera | Yellowstone (USA), Santorini (Greece), Crater Lake (USA) | Large basin formed by collapse after an eruption |
| Vesicular basalt | Hawaii, Iceland, Deccan Plateau (India) | Dark volcanic rock full of tiny holes |
| Vein | Mining regions worldwide | Mineral deposit filling a crack in rock |
| Vug | Worldwide | Small cavity inside rock, often crystal-lined |
| Varve | Scandinavia, North America, Greenland | Paired layers of lake sediment laid down each year |
| Vernal pool | California, Northeastern United States, Mediterranean | Seasonal pool that dries out in summer |
| Vadose zone | Worldwide | Soil and rock above the water table |
| Vent field | Mid-ocean ridges, Pacific and Atlantic sea floor | Area of hot springs on the sea floor |
| Vale | United Kingdom, Ireland | Broad river valley |
| Valley glacier | Alps, Himalayas, Alaska, Andes | River of ice flowing down a mountain valley |
| Valles Caldera | New Mexico, USA | Large volcanic collapse crater |
| Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes | Alaska, USA | Ash-flow valley with steaming fumaroles |
| Valley of Geysers | Kamchatka, Russia | Geyser basin in a river canyon |
| Valley of the Moon | Atacama Desert, Chile | Eroded salt and clay landscape |
| Valley of Fire | Nevada, USA | Red sandstone formations |
| Valley of Flowers | Uttarakhand, India | High-altitude glacial valley |
| Vatnajökull | Iceland | Europe’s largest ice cap by volume |
| Vesuvius | Naples, Italy | Active stratovolcano |
| Virunga Mountains | Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Chain of volcanoes |
| Vulcano | Aeolian Islands, Italy | Active volcanic island |
| Vostok Subglacial Lake | Antarctica | Large freshwater lake under ice |
| Victoria Falls | Zambia and Zimbabwe | Wide waterfall on the Zambezi River |
| Vredefort Dome | Free State, South Africa | Largest verified impact structure |
| Vulsini volcanic complex | Lazio, Italy | Volcanic caldera cluster |
Descriptions
Valley
An elongated low area of land between higher ground, usually carved by a river or glacier. Valleys are among the most common landforms on Earth.
V-shaped valley
A valley with a V-shaped cross-section formed by a fast-flowing river cutting downward into rock. It is typical of the upper courses of rivers.
Volcano
An opening in Earth’s crust where molten rock, ash and gases escape to the surface. Eruptions build cones and mountains over time.
Volcanic arc
A line of volcanoes that forms where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another. Japan and the Aleutian Islands sit on volcanic arcs.
Volcanic island
An island created by underwater volcanic eruptions that pile up enough material to break the ocean surface. Hawaii and Iceland are well-known examples.
Volcanic neck
The solidified lava filling a volcano’s vent, left standing after the softer cone around it has eroded away. Shiprock in New Mexico is a famous example.
Volcanic plug
A mass of solidified lava that seals a volcano’s vent. It can trap pressure beneath it and sometimes causes explosive eruptions when it breaks.
Volcanic ash
Tiny particles of pulverized rock and volcanic glass blasted into the air during an eruption. It can travel thousands of miles and disrupt air travel.
Volcanic bomb
A blob of molten rock more than 2.5 inches across, ejected from a volcano and shaped as it flies through the air before cooling.
Volcanic cone
A steep-sided hill formed by lava, ash and cinders building up around a vent. Cinder cones and stratovolcanoes are common types.
Volcanic crater
A circular hollow at the top of a volcano where eruptions have occurred. Some craters fill with water to form crater lakes.
Volcanic dome
A bulging mass of viscous lava that piles up over a vent instead of flowing away. Domes can collapse and trigger dangerous flows of hot gas and rock.
Volcanic field
An area containing dozens or hundreds of small volcanic vents and cones, often spread across a wide region and active over long periods.
Volcanic glass
Natural glass formed when molten rock cools too quickly to form crystals. Obsidian is the best-known type and was used by early peoples to make blades.
Volcanic rock
Rock created when lava or magma cools at or near the surface. Basalt, andesite and rhyolite are common types.
Volcanic winter
A period of lower global temperatures after a huge eruption sends ash and sulfur gases high into the sky, blocking some sunlight. The 1815 Tambora eruption caused one.
Volcanism
The set of processes by which molten rock, gas and ash move from Earth’s interior to the surface, building landforms and releasing heat.
Volcanic plateau
A broad, elevated area made of layers of lava that spread across the land over time. Flood basalts often form these plateaus.
Volcanic vent
An opening in Earth’s crust through which lava, ash and gases are released. Vents can be at a volcano’s summit, on its flanks or on the sea floor.
Volcanic tuff
A soft rock formed when volcanic ash settles and hardens. The homes and churches of Cappadocia in Turkey are carved into it.
Volcanic pipe
A narrow, roughly cylindrical channel through which magma rises. Diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes are a famous example.
Volcanic caldera
A huge, bowl-shaped depression left when a volcano empties its magma chamber and the ground above collapses.
Vesicular basalt
Basalt pitted with bubble-shaped cavities left by gas escaping from cooling lava. It is lighter than solid basalt.
Vein
A thin sheet of minerals, such as quartz, gold or copper, that crystallized from hot fluids flowing through cracks in rock.
Vug
A hollow pocket in rock, frequently lined with crystals. Geodes are a well-known type of vug.
Varve
A yearly layer of sediment in glacial lakes, with a light summer layer and a dark winter layer. Scientists count them like tree rings to date past climate.
Vernal pool
A shallow depression that fills with water in winter and spring and dries up later in the year, often sitting on a hard layer of clay or rock.
Vadose zone
The layer of ground between the surface and the water table, where pores contain both air and water.
Vent field
A cluster of hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor where heated, mineral-rich water pours out, supporting unusual deep-sea life.
Vale
An old-fashioned or regional word for a valley, usually wide and gentle, such as the Vale of Evesham or the Vale of York.
Valley glacier
A glacier confined by the walls of a mountain valley. It carves the valley into a U-shape as it moves.
Valles Caldera
A broad caldera in the Jemez Mountains formed by a huge eruption about 1.25 million years ago. It contains grassy meadows and lava domes.
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
A valley buried by ash during the 1912 Novarupta eruption. Thousands of steam vents once rose from it, giving the area its name.
Valley of Geysers
One of the largest geyser fields in the world, with about 90 geysers and hot springs along the Geysernaya River.
Valley of the Moon
A dry, lunar-looking area of sand dunes, salt ridges and rock formations near San Pedro de Atacama.
Valley of Fire
A state park with bright red Aztec sandstone shaped by wind and water into domes, arches and fins, dating back around 150 million years.
Valley of Flowers
A glacial valley in the Himalayas known for its alpine meadows and rich plant life, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Vatnajökull
A huge ice cap covering about 8 percent of Iceland. Several active volcanoes lie beneath it, and it feeds many outlet glaciers.
Vesuvius
The volcano that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 AD. It is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the large population nearby.
Virunga Mountains
A volcanic range in East Africa, home to eight major volcanoes and the endangered mountain gorilla.
Vulcano
A small volcanic island north of Sicily that gave its name to all volcanoes. It has fumaroles, sulfur deposits and mud baths.
Vostok Subglacial Lake
One of the biggest subglacial lakes on Earth, sealed beneath about 2.5 miles of Antarctic ice for millions of years.
Victoria Falls
One of the largest waterfalls in the world, about 5,604 feet wide, where the Zambezi drops into a narrow basalt gorge.
Vredefort Dome
The eroded remnant of the biggest confirmed meteorite impact crater on Earth, about 2 billion years old and originally around 185 miles wide.
Vulsini volcanic complex
A group of overlapping calderas in central Italy, including the one that holds Lake Bolsena, Europe’s largest volcanic lake.