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Landforms
Field Guide
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Landform:
Definition: A canyon is a deep
valley between cliffs often carved
from the landscape by a river.
Canyons are formed by erosion
caused by rivers. Cliffs on either
side of a canyon are made of
harder rock, but the area that has
been worn away tends to be of a
softer rock which is easily worn
down by water, ice and also by
wind.
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Landform:
Definition: Mountains are
formed by slow but gigantic
movements of the earth's crust
(the outer layer of the Earth). The
Earth's crust is made up of 6 huge
slabs called plates, which fit
together like a jigsaw puzzle. When
two slabs of the earth's crust
smash into each other the land can
be pushed upwards, forming
mountains. Mountains are usually
much taller than the land around it.
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Landform:
Definition: A valley is a hollow
depression of the earth bounded by
hills or mountains, formed by
water and/or ice erosion. Rivers
and streams flowing through
valleys drain interior land regions
to the ocean. At the bottom of many
valleys is fertile soil, which makes
excellent farmland. Most valleys on
dry land are formed by running
water of streams and rivers .The
bottom of a valley is called its floor.
Most floors slope downstream.
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Landform:
Definition: This is a picture of a
plateau. In geology a plateau is
also called a tableland. It is an area
of highland, usually consisting of
mostly flat land.
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Landform:
Definition: This is a plain. A plain
is an area of land that is usually
flat. Prairies are a type of plain.
We usually think of a plain as a
grassland, but plains may also be
dry like this sandy or stony plains
in hot deserts. In a valley, a plain is
enclosed on two sides by hills or
mountains. Plains may have been
formed from flowing lava,
deposited by water, ice, or wind, or
formed by erosion from soil carried
down from the surrounding hills or
mountains.
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Landform:
Definition: A dune is a hill of
sand build up by the movement of
wind. Dunes can be different sizes
based on their interaction with
wind. Most kinds of dunes are
longer on the side facing the wind
(windward) where the sand is
pushed up the dune, and shorter on
the “slip face” on the side facing
away from the wind. Sometimes a
valley or trough is found between
dunes. It is called a slack.
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Landform:
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Definition: Beaches are usually
found along the shoreline of a body
of water. It is usually composed of
loose particles which are often
made of rock, such as sand, gravel,
or pebbles. The particles of which
the beach is composed can
sometimes instead have shell
fragments or coral. Beaches can be
located along coastal areas, where
wave or current action leaves
deposits or deposition and
sediment. Beaches are not only
found in coastal areas, but can also
be found along lakes and rivers
where sediment has been
deposited.
Rivers:
Rivers have special characteristics.
One of these characteristics is a
process called meander. On the
inside of a meander bend the water
flows slower and soil called
deposition is left on the side of the
riverbank. On the outside of a
meander bend the water flows
faster and cuts into the side of the
riverbank causing erosion which
carries soil into the water.
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Landform:
Definition: This is a river that
has the process of meander. Find
the inside of the bend where the
deposition is left behind by the
slower moving water. Find the
outside of the bend where the
water is moving faster and causing
erosion.
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Landform:
Definition: Another special
characteristic of a river is a flood
plain. A flood plain, is flat or nearly
flat land adjacent to a stream or
river that experiences occasional
or periodic flooding. The flood
plain is formed by the deposition of
sediment from the periodic
flooding of a river.
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Landform:
Definition: A delta is another
special characteristic that rivers
can have. A delta is a low
triangular area of soil deposits
where a river divides before
entering a larger body of water like
lake or an ocean. Deltas are formed
from the deposition of the
sediment carried by the river as
the flow leaves the mouth of the
river. Over long periods of time the
deposition builds a triangular
shaped pattern of a river delta.
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Erosion:
Definition: Erosion is the
removal of solids (sediment, soil,
rock and other particles) from the
earth's surface and the earth’s
surface is ground down or worn
away. Erosion can be caused by
many factors.
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Examples of Erosion:
Here are 2 examples of erosion caused by rain and wind. Mark the landforms present in
each picture.
Sediment Deposits
Definition: This picture shows
sediment deposits. Deposition is a
process by which material is added
to a landform. As water, like a
river, ocean or lake slows down, it
does not move fast enough to carry
the weight of the sediment (soil
particles). The sediment was
moved from another landform by
erosion and is carried by the water
or wind to build up and collect on
another landform. A sediment
deposit is the build up of these
materials.
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