Earth’s landmasses nn

Earth’s Earth’s LandmassesLandmasses

• Islands – small landmasses completely surrounded by water

• Four – number of major landmasses on Earth; Eurasia and Africa, North and South America, Antarctica (2x the size of the US; first known exploration occurred in 1901) , Australia (only continent that is single country; sometimes referred to as the island continent)

• Continent – landmass that measures millions of square km and rises a considerable distance above sea level; each has at least one large area of very old rock exposed at its surface (this area is called a shield)

• Seven continents on the Earth – Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, N and S America, and Antarctica

TopographyTopography

• Scientists refer to the shape of the Earth’s surface as its topography

• The Earth’s topography is made up of different kinds of landscapes

• A landscape is the physical features of the Earth’s Surface found in an area

• Each type of landscape has different characteristics

• Elevation – height above sea level (high or low)

• Relief – difference in region’s elevation

Three Main Types of Landscape Three Main Types of Landscape RegionsRegions

• Mountains – natural landforms that reach high elevations

• Have narrow summits or tops, and steep slopes, or sides

• These landscapes have very high relief

• All mountains did not form at the same time

Mountain FormationMountain Formation

• Fault-block Mountain – result from the folding and breaking of the Earth’s surface

• Volcanic Mountain – created when hot magma from the Earth’s interior breaks through the Earth’s surface

• Mountain Range – roughly parallel series of mountains that have the same general shape and structure

• Mountain System – a group of mountain ranges in one area

• Mountain Belt – a larger group of mountains composed of mountain ranges and systems

Folded Mountains

• Formed when rock layers are squeezed from opposite sides and rock layers buckle and fold

• Example: The Appalachian Mountains

Unwarped Mountains

• Formed when rocks are pushed up by forces inside earth

Fault-Block Mountains

• Made of huge tilted blocks of rocks that are separated from surrounding rock by faults.

• Example: Sierra Nevada Mountains in California

Volcanic Mountains

• Begin when molten material reaches the surface through a weak area of the crust. The materials pile up, one layer on top of another, until one cone-shaped structure forms.

• Example: The Hawaiian Islands

Some of the Some of the World’s Famous World’s Famous

MountainsMountains

• Aconcagua, Andes Argentina• 6569 m, Highest Mountain in Western

Hemisphere

• Cotopaxi, Andes in Ecuador• 5897 m, Highest active volcano in the world

• Elbert, Colorado• 4399 m, Highest mountain in Rockies

• Everest, Himalayas (Nepal-Tibet border)• 8848 m, Highest mountain in the world

• K2, Kashmir• 8611 m, 2nd highest mountain in the world

• Kanchenjunga, Himalayas (Nepal-India border)• 8598 m, 3rd highest mountain in the world

• Logan, Yukon• 5950 m, Highest mountain in Canada

• Mauna Kea, Volcanic Island in Hawaii• 4205 m, Highest Island Mountain in the world

• Mauna Loa, Volcanic Island in Hawaii

• 4169 m

• McKinley, Alaska• 6194 m, Highest mountain in North America

• Mitchell, North Carolina• 2037 m, Highest mountain in the Appalachians

• Mont Blanc, France

• 4807 m, Highest mountain in the Alps

• Mt. St. Helens, Cascades in Washington

• 2549 m, Recent active volcano in the US

• Pikes Peak, Colorado• 4301 m, most famous in the Rocky Mountains

• Rainier, Cascades in Washington

• 4392 m, Highest mountain in Washington

• Vesuvius, Italy• 1277 m, only active volcano on the mainland of

Europe

• Whitney, Sierra Nevada in California

• 4418 m, Highest mountain in California

PlainsPlains

• Flat land areas that do not rise far above sea level

• They are areas of low relief

• Characterized by broad rivers and streams

• Coastal Plains – Low flat areas along the coasts

• Coast – a place where the land meets the ocean

• Interior Plains – low, flat areas found inland on a continent

PlateausPlateaus• Broad, flat areas of land that rise more

than 600 m above sea level

• They are not considered mountains because their surfaces are fairly flat

• Many plateaus of the world are dry, nearly desert areas

• Often used for grazing