What does “RELIEF” mean in Geography?

The relief (also known as terrain ) of an area is the physical configuration or appearance of the land surface in terms of shape, orientation, size, elevation, and slope.

The earth’s surface is made up of various natural features such as water bodies, vegetation, landforms, rocks, etc. For any natural feature to be considered a relief feature, it must satisfy the five conditions, known by the mnemonic of ‘SOSES’.

SOSES stands for shape, orientation, size, elevation, and slope. 

• Shape: This is the general form or appearance of a relief feature
• Orientation: This is the general position or direction of a relief feature in relation to other physical features in a landscape.
• Size: This is the relative extent of a relief feature i.e. How big a relief feature is compared to other physical feature.
• Elevation: This is the height of a relief feature. This can be described either in absolute terms (i.e. above the mean sea level) or in relative terms (i.e. as compared to the other features in the area).
• Slope: This is the rising or falling of the sides of a relief feature. The slope can be steep or gentle.

All landforms are relief features.

Recommended: Methods of representing relief on topographic maps.