Landforms

What are landforms?• are natural physical features of the earth’s

surface.

• 2 Types of forces act on the earth to create landforms:

• Erosional Elements

• Tectonics

ValleyA valley is a lowland area between higher lands such as mountains.

               

                                  

        Location: Napa Valley, Death Valley; Monument Valley

Agent of erosion: water; ice

PlateauA plateau is a large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land. Location examples: Colorado

Plateau, Cumberland Plateau

Agent of deposition: lava flow

Agent of erosion: water or wind erosion

Barrier islandA long narrow island running parallel to the mainland, protects the coast from erosion Location Example: Padre

Island: Coney Island

Agent of erosion and deposition: water(wave action) and wind

CanyonA canyon is a deep valley with very steep sides - often carved from the Earth by a river.

Location Example: Grand Canyon; Palo Duro Canyon

Agent of erosion: Flowing water

DeltaA delta is a low, watery land formed at the mouth of a river. A delta is often (but not always) shaped like a triangle.Location Examples: Mississippi

Delta, Nile River Delta

Agent of deposition: water flow: silt deposited at rivers end

Tectonic Landforms

Trench• a long, narrow, and

usually steep-sided depression in the ocean floor

• formed by plate subduction when plates converge

[Same occurrence on land creates a rift valley] Location Example:

Marianna Trench in the Pacific ocean

Fault Line• Fault lines are the

points where the earths plates meet or lay against each other.

• The movement of the earth along these lines produce earthquakes.

Example: San Andreas Fault

Continental Mountains-mountains formed at convergent boundaries (a place where two continental crust collide).

Location: Himalaya Mountains in Tibet

Fault-Block Mountainsare formed by the movement of large crustal blocks when forces in the Earth’s crust pull it apart. Some parts of the Earth are pushed upward and others collapse down.

Example: Grand Tetons

Volcanic MountainsCreated by sea –floor spreading and convergent plate boundaries (where oceanic plate collides with continenal plate).Example: Mauna Loa, Hawaii