Download Instructor`s Copy - Landform definition sheet

KEY
Find the definition or description of all landforms and write them here. Draw or find a picture of
each landform. You must choose 7 of the 15 landforms for your project.
Plateau – a flat, raised area
usually formed when a plain
is uplifted at fault lines or
during mountain-building.
Mountain – rises high above the surrounding area
usually formed at converging plate boundaries.
Plain – a flat, level surface
usually smoothed by
wind and erosion.
Canyon – a long narrow valley with high cliffs on each side
often formed slowly by a river or wind eroding away
softer rock or by the movement of a glacier.
Cliff – steep face of rock and soil
which may be formed by
erosion or breaking and uplifting
at a fault line.
Stalagmites – rock shaped like upside-down icicle
that builds up on the floor of a cave because
of water dripping down from the ceiling. The
water contains minerals which, very slowly,
form layers of minerals as the water evaporates.
Stalactites – rock shaped like icicles that hang
from the roof of a cave. They are formed
when water drops seep through the ceiling
and evaporate, leaving minerals behind.
Cave – hollow place inside the earth, often an
opening in the side of a hill that forms when
wind and water erosion wash out softer rock.
Delta – triangle-shaped piece of land at the mouth of a river
formed when soil is deposited at the mouth of a river as
its velocity decreases.
Valley – low land lying between hills or mountains
that may be formed many ways. It may just be
a low area between hills or it may be caused by
erosion or pumping oil or water out of the ground.
Alluvial fan – fan-shaped deposit of earth material
from where a stream flows from a steep slope onto
flatter land.
Levee – an embankment along a stream that
protects land from flooding – can be natural
or man-made.
Peninsula – body of land that is surrounded
by water on three sides. This is caused
by plate shape or tectonic movement.
Saying this may be formed by continual
deposition such as a delta over time
would be a possible answer.
Moraine – large accumulations of
rock debris piled up by glaciers.
Volcano – mountainous vent in the Earth’s crust.
May spew out lava, ashes, and hot gases from
deep inside the Earth. Volcanoes form when
plates collide and the subducted plate melts
and the resulting lava comes to the surface
through cracks and fissures.