Geography: Landforms and Plate Tectonics

Mountain Formation

• Orogenesis: the process of mountain building, resulting from the movement of tectonic plates
• Types of mountain formation:
  • Folding: when two plates collide, causing the Earth's crust to bend and fold
  • Volcanic: formed from volcanic activity, such as shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes
  • Block: formed when a section of the Earth's crust is pushed up or pulled down by tectonic forces

Plate Tectonics

• Theory of Plate Tectonics: the Earth's lithosphere is broken into large plates that move relative to each other
• Types of plate boundaries:
  • Divergent: where two plates move apart, resulting in the creation of new crust
  • Convergent: where two plates collide, resulting in subduction or collision
  • Transform: where two plates slide past each other horizontally
• Plate movement: driven by convection currents in the Earth's mantle

Volcanic Landforms

• Types of volcanoes:
  • Shield: gently sloping, formed from gentle eruptions
  • Stratovolcano: tall, conical, formed from explosive eruptions
  • Caldera: formed from a large volcanic eruption that collapses the volcano
• Volcanic features:
  • Lava flows: solidified lava that forms a hard, rocky surface
  • Volcanic ash: small particles of rock and mineral that are ejected during an eruption
  • Volcanic cones: formed from accumulated ash and lava

Coastal Features

• Types of coastlines:
  • Emergent: where the land has risen relative to the sea
  • Submergent: where the land has sunk relative to the sea
  • Passive: where the coastline has not changed significantly
• Coastal landforms:
  • Beaches: formed from the accumulation of sediment
  • Cliffs: formed from the erosion of the coastline
  • Deltas: formed from the deposition of sediment at the mouth of a river
• Wave action: the process of waves eroding and depositing sediment along the coastline

Desert Landforms

• Types of deserts:
  • Hot: high temperatures and low humidity
  • Cold: low temperatures and low humidity
  • Coastal: formed from the cooling of air as it reaches the coast
• Desert landforms:
  • Dunes: formed from the accumulation of sand
  • Oases: formed from the presence of water in a desert
  • Canyons: formed from the erosion of the desert landscape
• Deflation: the process of wind removing sediment and creating depressions in the desert landscape

Test your knowledge of geographical landforms, including mountains, volcanoes, coastlines, and deserts, as well as the processes that shape them, such as plate tectonics and erosion.