LandformsLandforms

E.8.C.5 Students know how geologic processes account

for state and regional topography. E/S (DOK 2)

What are Landforms?

Cornell Notes in your Journal

Title/Questions Details/answers

Brown Blue

Mountain A mountain is a very tall high, natural place on

Earth - higher than a hill. The tallest mountain on Earth is Mt. Everest.

Ex: Mt Charleston, &Boundary Peak

Mountain Range Is a series of Mountains formed about the same

time and from similar rock. Ex: Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mts., & Spring Mts.

• Definition: An opening in the earth, through which lava, rock, and gases are forced out

• There are more than 500 active volcanoes in the world

• Mount St. Helens

Valley

A valley is a low place between mountains cut by water or ice.

U-Shaped by Glacier

V-Shaped by River

Glacier A glacier is a slowly moving river of ice. They

cut “U” shaped valleys.

Cliff A cliff is a steep

face of rock and sediment.

Desert

A desert is a dry area that receives little to no precipitation.

Ex: Sahara, Mohave

Canyon A canyon is a deep valley with very

steep sides - often carved by a river. Ex: Grand Canyon

Alluvial fan Fan shaped area of sediment

Mesa

A mesa is a land formation with a flat area on top and steep walls - usually occurring in dry areas

PlateauA plateau is a

large, flat area of land that is higher than the surrounding land

Ex: Colorado Plateau

Plains Plains are flat lands that have only

small changes in elevation. Ex: Great Plains

Prairie A prairie is a wide, relatively flat area

of land that has grasses and only a few trees.

Karst

Karst is a sinkhole formed by water erosion under the surface and then collapsing.

Sea Level Sea Level is the

average height, or elevation, of the sea surface.

Ocean Large body of

salt water. Pacific Ocean

Bay

A bay is a body of water that is partly enclosed by land (and is usually smaller than a gulf).

Ex: San Francisco Bay

Cape

A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.

Ex: Cape of Good Hope & Cavo De Haronos

Harbor A naturally or

artificially protected basin on an ocean, lake, or river where ships may be anchored or docked without danger.

Island

An island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water.

Ex: Guam

Marsh A marsh is a type of

freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland that is found along rivers, pond, lakes and coasts. Marsh plants grow up out of the water.

Ex: Florida Everglades

Swamp

A swamp is a type of freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water. Many trees and shrubs grow in swamps.

Floodplain

Levee

Floodplain is a flat region of a valley floor located on either side of a river channel.

Man made area of land to hold back a river.

Delta

A delta is a low, watery land formed at the mouth of a river. It is formed from the silt, sand and small rocks that flow downstream in the river and are deposited in the delta.

Ex: Mississippi Delta

Great Barrier Reef

Area formed by Coral in warm tropical ocean, it may extend above the Ocean .

Great Barrier Reef

Topographical Maps

A 2D map using lines to represent the elevation change of the land.

3D view

2D view

Contour linesContour lines are the curved lines on a topographical map that represent the change in elevation.

Topographic ProfileIs a cross-section of a topographical map.

Scale

1:24,000 scale 1:100,000 scale 1:125,000 scale

The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground.