The major land forms of Somalia include:

• The coastal and sub-coastal plains along the Gulf of Aden in the north. This area is locally known as the “Guban”.
• The Golis Mountain Range (also known as the “Cal Madow”) running almost parallel to the “Guban”, from the western border with Ethiopia to the eastern cape of Ras Caseyr. The highest peak of Somalia – Mount Shimbiris at 7,926 ft (2,416 m) - is found in this area.
• The Daroor Valley, separated from the South by the Sool Plateau and the Nugaal Valley, is located South of the Golis Mountains.
• The Hawd Plateau, which lies South of the Golis Mountain and extends to Ethiopia.
• The Upper Shabelle River Valley, characterized by low undulating hills and steep slopes topped by a low escarpment.
• The Floodplains extending along the Juba and Shabelle rivers.
• The Indian Ocean coastal plain, made up mostly of gently undulating hills of stabilized sand dunes and mobile sand dunes along the coast of the Indian Ocean.
• A narrow coastal belt containing gullies, drifts, small cliffs and sandy beaches.
• The Upper Juba River Valley of the Gedo region, comprised of gently rolling to rough topography with some flat-topped mesas.
• The major river valleys of the Jubba and Shabelle, both of which flow out of the mountains to the West in Ethiopia, then south towards Kismaayo and finally drain into the Indian Ocean in the East (the lowest point of the country).  
• The widespread Inter-riverine Plain, which slopes gently southwards and includes the wide floodplain of the Juba valley. The floodplain also has large depressions (known as “Desheeg”) in the Lower Juba zone.