Mountains are a prominent feature on any physical map. You can refer to a map's colors, lines and shading to judge the elevation of a mountain and to see its location relative to neighboring lowlands. On some maps, a mountain's peak is marked by a triangle and a number indicating the height in feet or meters. Some of the mountains you are likely to see on a physical map of the world are the Alps in Switzerland, the Andes in South America and the Rockies in North America.
Rivers are striking features on any physical map. You can judge a river's relative size by the thickness of the line used on the map. Some of the rivers you are likely to see on a physical map of the world are the Danube in Europe, the Amazon in South America and the Mississippi in North America.
As with mountains, you can refer to a map's colors and shading to identify plains and to differentiate them from nearby elevations. Some of the plains you are likely to see on a physical map of the world are the North China Plain, the Nullarbor Plain in Australia and the Great Plains in North America.
You can recognize deserts on a physical map by the colors (usually brown) and shading. On a physical map of the world you are likely to see such deserts as the Sahara Desert in Africa, the Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia and the Great Sandy Desert in Australia.
On many physical maps you can identify a volcano by its name followed by the word volcano in parentheses. On a physical map you can spot such famous volcanoes as Mount Vesuvius in Italy, Mauna Loa in Hawaii and Mount St. Helens in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
You can easily identify a glacier on a physical map by its white color. On a physical map of the world you are likely to see such well-known glaciers as the Aletsch Glacier in the Alps, the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan and the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina.
