World and history · hangman category
Geography Hangman Words
Landforms, water features and map terms as hangman words, from hill to archipelago. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key for geography class.
Read the word list
Where the countries list is about places, this one is about the words used to describe them: landforms, bodies of water, climate zones and the vocabulary of maps. It runs from plain terms every child knows, like hill, lake and coast, to the specialist words a middle school geography unit introduces, such as peninsula, tributary, latitude and archipelago.
That spread is deliberate. Short words keep younger players in the game, while longer ones such as isthmus, estuary and cartography take real guessing. Isthmus is a good example of a hard word that is short: it has only one vowel, and the th and sm clusters are awkward to spell. The phrases cover map features and famous landmarks, so they double as a quick check of general knowledge.
75 entries. Our solver needed 2.9 wrong guesses on average: 24 easy, 32 medium and 19 hard. The toughest is bay (12 misses), the quickest desert (0).
- hill Hard · 6
- lake Hard · 5
- bay Hard · 12
- gulf Hard · 10
- cape Hard · 7
- reef Hard · 7
- mesa Medium · 3
- butte Hard · 5
- basin Medium · 2
- ridge Medium · 4
- cliff Hard · 6
- coast Medium · 2
- delta Medium · 2
- plain Hard · 5
- marsh Medium · 2
- swamp Hard · 6
- river Medium · 3
- ocean Medium · 4
- sea Easy · 1
- island Medium · 2
- canyon Medium · 3
- valley Hard · 5
- desert Easy · 0
- tundra Medium · 3
- glacier Easy · 1
- volcano Medium · 3
- plateau Medium · 2
- prairie Easy · 0
- savanna Medium · 3
- steppe Medium · 2
- oasis Medium · 2
- geyser Hard · 5
- fjord Hard · 5
- atoll Medium · 2
- lagoon Easy · 1
- strait Easy · 1
- isthmus Medium · 2
- estuary Easy · 0
- cavern Medium · 2
- meadow Hard · 5
- terrain Easy · 0
- tropics Medium · 2
- equator Easy · 0
- compass Medium · 4
- atlas Medium · 3
- globe Medium · 3
- border Medium · 4
- summit Medium · 4
- mountain Easy · 1
- peninsula Easy · 0
- continent Easy · 1
- hemisphere Easy · 0
- latitude Easy · 0
- longitude Easy · 1
- meridian Easy · 1
- tributary Easy · 1
- waterfall Easy · 1
- shoreline Easy · 1
- archipelago Easy · 0
- rainforest Easy · 0
- cartography Medium · 2
- north pole Hard · 5
- south pole Hard · 6
- prime meridian Easy · 1
- time zone Hard · 8
- mountain range Easy · 0
- sea level Medium · 2
- continental divide Easy · 0
- coral reef Medium · 2
- great lakes Hard · 5
- tectonic plate Medium · 3
- ring of fire Hard · 7
- grand canyon Medium · 4
- mount everest Medium · 3
- red sea Medium · 3
Words worth a closer look
- isthmusA narrow strip of land joining two larger land areas, like Panama. The th is usually not pronounced, so players often spell it by sound and leave letters out.
- fjordA long, narrow sea inlet between steep cliffs, and the word comes from Norwegian. Only one vowel, so it is slow to solve for players who start with a, e and i.
- equatorThe imaginary line at zero degrees latitude, dividing the globe into northern and southern hemispheres. The word has four different vowels, which makes it solvable by vowel guessing.
- mesaSpanish for table, and a flat-topped landform name English borrowed from Spanish speakers in the American Southwest. A very short word, so it falls quickly.
- archipelagoA group or chain of islands. The word is long and mixes common and awkward letters, which makes it a good challenge for confident players.
- latitudeLines of latitude run east to west and measure distance north or south of the equator. A handy way to teach the difference from longitude, which is the other list word.
- prime meridianThe line of zero degrees longitude, which passes through Greenwich in London. It is the starting point for measuring east and west.
- cartographyThe making of maps. It has eleven letters and the y at the end is easy to forget, since the word sounds like it finishes on a vowel.
Using this list in class
Use this list as a vocabulary check at the end of a landforms unit. After each solved word, ask the player to describe or sketch the feature, or to point to an example on a wall map. A river delta, for instance, can be pointed out on the Nile or the Mississippi.
In fourth and fifth grade, the terms for lines on a globe, such as equator, latitude, longitude and meridian, make a tidy mini set for a group round. Older students can try to pair words that go together, such as peninsula with isthmus, or glacier with fjord. A printed sheet also works as a reference page for map skills homework.
Print a Geography Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- Countries Hangman WordsHangman words from current UN member countries, from short names like Peru to long ones like Kazakhstan. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
- US States Hangman WordsAll fifty US state names as hangman words, from Ohio to Massachusetts. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key for geography lessons.
- Weather Hangman WordsWeather hangman words from rain and fog to cumulus, barometer and precipitation. Play online with this list or print a sheet with an answer key.
- Ocean Hangman WordsOcean hangman words covering sea animals, coral reefs, tides and life under the waves. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key and notes.
- Space Hangman WordsSpace hangman words covering planets, stars, orbits and astronomy. Play online with this list or print a sheet with an answer key for class.
- History Hangman WordsHangman words about history: documents, inventions, explorers and eras from the Pilgrims to the printing press. Play online or print with an answer key.