grammar - The definite article with geographical terms

I know in English you can use the definite article with geographical expressiones such as the sea, the country, the land, the city, the beach, the seaside, but what about other geographical terms? Can I use them as generic terms to mean "the idea of ..."? I don't mean any particular place.

The jellyfish lives in the water.

(= I don't mean any particular water. I mean the idea or concept of water: an area of
water, especially a lake, river, sea or ocean)

The grasshopper lives in the meadow.

( = I don't mean any meadow. I mean the idea or concept of meadow: a field
covered in grass, used especially for hay)

The lion is the king of the jungle.

Is there a cat that lives in the desert?

There is only one type of cat that lives in the desert. The sand
cat (Felis margarita) is the only member of the cat family tied
directly to sand regions. Found in North Africa, the Arabian peninsula

and the deserts of Turkmenistan in Uzbekistan, the sand cat has
adapted to extremely arid desert areas.

Plants live in many different environments. Some live in the
ocean, some live in the desert. Plants are very important to
everyone on the planet.

Hope shows up in several places in this very dark world—such as in the
incorruptible goodness of Katniss' sister, Primrose. It shows in
Katniss' rare sacrifice for her sister, when she volunteers to take

Prim's place in the Games. It lives in the meadow and the woods, where
the natural world exists mostly unmolested by the powerful central
government.

In Africa, the rhino lives in the Savannah among zebras, lions,
giraffes, elephants, hippos, and other animals

This is what books say, but obviously they can't cover all cases: