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On the Land Landforms Mountains • • Huge towers of rock Formed by a. Collision of tectonic plates beneath the earth’s surface. b. Volcanoes – after years of lava build up Mountain Facts • Mountains exist on every continent and beneath our oceans • Home to 1/10 of the world’s people • Occur in about 75% of the world’s countries • Cover 1/5 of the earth’s land surface • More than ½ of the world’s fresh water comes from mountains. Types of Mountains • Dome – result of great amounts of melted rock pushing up through the earth’s surface without any faulting occurring • Fold – when two plates collide head on and their edges crumble • Fault block – when faults or cracks force some materials on the earth up and others to fall • Volcanic – when the magma erupts and hardens on the earth’s surface. • Plateau – really plateaus that have been worn down from erosion. Dome Mountain Fold Mountain Volcanic Mountain Mountain Use • Farmers use the mountains for their animals to graze • Tourist attraction – beautiful scenery • Water Authorities use the mountains to base pumps at the bottom. • Forestry grow trees on the mountains and then use them for wood. Mountain Trivia • Highest Mountain Peak on land – Mt. Everest • Longest Mountain Range – Andes Mountains in South America (7 countries) • Highest Mountain Range – Himalayans (Asia) • Other Famous Mountain Ranges – Alps (Europe), Rockies (Western U.S.) North American Mountain Ranges – Sierra Nevada, Rockies, Appalachian, Mt. Everest • Tallest Mountain in the world • 29,035 feet in the air, or 5.5 miles high. Plains • Low – lying stretches of flat or gently rolling land • Many plains reach from the middle of the continent to the coast • North European Plains in the northern part of Europe Plateau • Flat • Higher elevation than plains • With some, a steep cliff forms on one side where the plateau rises above the nearby lowlands. Plateau of Mexico Plateau Facts • Occur on land or in the oceans • Some form from lava flow • Low Plateaus are usually agricultural regions • High plateaus are usually deserts • Colorado Plateau – Western Region of the United States Valley • Long stretch of land lower than the land on either side of it. • Rivers are often found at the bottom of valleys Canyons • Steep sided lowlands that rivers have cut through a plateau. • One of the most famous canyons is right here in the United States. Grand Canyon • Arizona • Carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. Landforms • Isthmus - Narrow piece of land that connects two larger pieces of land. • Peninsula - Piece of land with water on three sides. • Island - Body of land smaller than a continent and completely surrounded by water. Isthmus Peninsula Island Under the Oceans Landforms Continental Shelf • Plateau that lies off the coast of a continent. • Stretches for several miles underwater. • At the edge of the shelf, a steep cliff drops down to the bottom of the ocean. Trenches • Valleys on the ocean floor • They are the lowest spots in the earth’s crust. • Mariana Trench – Pacific Ocean, deepest trench – 35,840 feet below sea level. Bodies of Water Landforms Bodies of Water • Strait - Narrow body of water between two pieces of land • The Strait of Magellan flows between the southern tip of South America, and the island called Tierra del Fuego. • This strait connects the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Channel • Wider than a strait • A Body of water that separates two pieces of land • English Channel is the most used example of a channel. Delta • • • • Source – where a river originates Mouth – Where a river empties Rivers carry soil and sand during erosion Eventually this soil and sand builds. The soil and sand eventually will be dumped at the mouth where over time it will become a delta.