Landforms Flashcards
What is a landform?
A landform is a natural feature that of which defines landscapes. They include mountains, rivers, hills, cliffs, plains, volcanoes, lakes, canyons, valleys, etc.
What are geomorphic processes?
Geomorphic processes are natural processes including weathering, erosion, deposition, mass movement and tectonic activity that transform the lithosphere.
What are the main geomorphic processes which transform Earth?
Weathering, erosion and deposition are the main geomorphic processes transforming the Earth’s surface into distinct landscapes and unique landforms.
What is weathering?
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks or the loosening of surface minerals when exposed to processes caused by climate, chemical reactions, plants and animals. Weathering occurs in place and occurs before erosion. Weathered rock is more easily eroded. Physical or chemical processes cause weathering. Weathering may be either physical or chemical.
What is Physical Weathering?
Physical weathering includes the freezing and thawing of water in crevices and joints; the growth of salt crystals; the heating and cooling of the surface rock; the action of plant roots and animals.
What is chemical weathering?
Chemical weathering occurs when rock minerals react to compounds in the air and water. Some chemical weathering processes include carbonation (a weak acid forms when Carbon dioxide mixes with rainwater) and oxidation (Oxygen reacts to iron in rock).
What is deposition?
Deposition is the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice. Sediment can be transported as pebbles, sand and mud, or as salts dissolved in water. Salts may later be deposited by organic activity (e.g. as sea shells) or by evaporation.
What is erosion?
Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water. A similar process, weathering, breaks down or dissolves rock, but does not involve movement.
How are mountains formed?
Mountains are formed when two convergent tectonic plates collide and one is sub-ducted beneath the other; of a crustal plate ) to collide with (a denser plate), drawing it down and overriding it, along the juncture of the two plates, creating a large mass of land on top, creating mountains.
