Landforms

The features that make up the earth's surface

U-shapedU-shaped ValleyValley

V-shapedV-shaped ValleyValley

Cave

Atoll

What is an arichpelago?

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagos are usually found in the open sea; less commonly, a large land mass may neighbor them,

What is an ocean?

ocean* -- a great expanse of salt water.

What is an island?

• island -- a piece of land completely surrounded by water

What is an atoll?

• atoll - a ring (or partial ring) of coral that forms an island in an ocean or sea. Typically, the volcanic mountain that rose up out of the sea was covered by coral just off the shore of the island. As wind, rain, and other forms of weather eroded the volcanic mountain, the coral would still grow at the boundary between land and ocean. When erosion completely wiped out the island, all that remains is the ring of coral around what used to be an island.

What is a cape?

• cape -- A point or head of land projecting into a body of water

What is a bay?

• bay -- an area of sea partially enclosed by land, smaller than a gulf

What is a sea?

sea* -- a relatively large body of water, either part of an ocean that is partially surrounded by land (the Caribbean Sea), or a body of water that is completely landlocked (the Caspian Sea is seen in the image above)

What is a sound?

• sound* -- a long passage of water connecting two larger bodies

What is a river?

•A long body of water that flows across the land.•The Nile River is the longest river in the world•The Amazon River is in Brazil.•The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States.

What is a river source ?

• river source - beginning of a river

What is a delta?

• delta -- a place at the river's mouth, where the river splits into many different sections, forming a marshy triangle

What is a river mouth ?

• river mouth -- the place where a river empties into a larger body of water

What is a flood plain ?

• flood plain -- A plain bordering a river and subject to flooding.

What is a gulf?

• gulf* -- A large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land

What is a strait?

• strait -- A narrow channel of water joining two larger bodies of water (usually narrower than a sound).

What is a marsh?

• marsh -- An area of soft, wet, low-lying land, with grassy vegetation, often forming a transition zone between water and land.

What is a glacier?

• glacier -- A huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a land mass

What is a moraine?

• moraine* -- An accumulation of boulders, stones, or other debris carried and deposited by a glacier

What is a fjord?

• fjord - a long, narrow sea inlet that is bordered by steep cliffs

What is a steppe?

• steppe -- A vast grass-covered plain.

What is a alluvial fan ?

• An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain.

What is a hill?

• hill* -- a small elevation in the earth's surface

What is a butte?

A butte is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small flat top, smaller than mesas, plateaus, and tables.

What is a plateau?

plateau -- an elevated level expanse of land; a tableland.

What is a mountain?

• The highest kind of land. They are caused when two tectonic places collided.

• Types of mountains: Folded, Unwarped, & Fault-Block

Folded Mountains are made from rock layers that were squeezed from opposite sides causing the rock layers to fold

What are Folded Mountains ?

Unwarped Mountains are made when the crust was pushed upward by forces inside the Earth

What are Unwarped Mountains ?

Fault-Block Mountains are made of huge tilted blocks of rocks that are separated from surrounding rocks by faults. A fault is a huge crack in the rocks.

What are Fault-Block Mountains ?

What is a volcano?

volcano -- An opening in the earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected. Types of volcanoes: Shield, Strato, Dome,Cinder Cone, and Rhyolite Caldera Complex

Shield Volcano

• Shield Volcano - A gently-sloping volcano that emits mostly basaltic lava (very fluid lava) that flows in long-lasting, relatively gentle eruptions - explosions are minimal. Shield volcanoes can be very big

Composite or Strato Volcano

• Composite or Strato Volcano - A steep-coned volcano that explosively emits gases, ash, pumice, and a small amount of stiff, silica lava (called rhyolite). This type of volcano can have eruptions accompanied by lahars -- deadly mudflows. Most volcanoes on Earth are of this type. Stratovolcanoes kill more people than any other type of volcanoes - this is because of their abundance on Earth and their powerful mudflows

Lava Dome Volcano

• Lava Dome - A bulbous (rounded) volcano that forms when very viscous lava barely flows

Cinder Cone Volcano

• Cinder Cone - A cone-shaped volcano whose steep sides are formed by loose, fragmented cinders that fall to the Earth close to the vent. The lava flows through a single vent that is usually only up to about 1,000 feet tall. There is usually a bowl-shaped crater at the top. As the gas-filled lava erupts into the air, the lava fragments into pieces and forms cinders.

Rhyolite Caldera Complex Volcano

• Rhyolite Caldera Complex - these are the most explosive volcanoes. They do not look like common volcanoes -- after an eruption, the result is a caldera (crater) caused when the area around the vent collapses.