Geography: Landforms and Processes

Mountain Formation

• Types of Mountain Formation:
  • Volcanic: formed by volcanic activity, e.g., shield volcanoes
  • Fold: formed by folding of Earth's crust, e.g., Himalayas
  • Block: formed by faulting, e.g., Sierra Nevada
• Mountain Building Processes:
  • Plate convergence: collision of tectonic plates
  • Uplift: vertical movement of Earth's surface
  • Volcanic activity: eruption of magma and lava

Volcanic Landforms

• Types of Volcanic Landforms:
  • Shield volcanoes: gently sloping, broad volcanoes
  • Stratovolcanoes: tall, conical volcanoes
  • Calderas: large depressions formed by volcanic collapse
• Volcanic Features:
  • Craters: depressions at the volcano's summit
  • Lava flows: streams of molten rock
  • Volcanic ash: fine particles ejected during eruptions

Desert Landscapes

• Desert Features:
  • Dunes: ridges of sand formed by wind
  • Oases: isolated areas of vegetation in deserts
  • Playas: dry lake beds
• Desert Formation Processes:
  • Wind erosion: removal of rock and soil by wind
  • Deflation: removal of loose sediment by wind
  • Deposition: accumulation of sediment in a new location

Plate Tectonics

• Theory of Plate Tectonics:
  • Earth's lithosphere is divided into large plates
  • Plates move relative to each other, creating and destroying landforms
• Plate Boundaries:
  • Divergent: plates moving apart, e.g., mid-ocean ridges
  • Convergent: plates moving together, e.g., subduction zones
  • Transform: plates sliding past each other, e.g., fault lines

Coastal Features

• Types of Coastal Features:
  • Headlands: rocky areas that jut out into the sea
  • Bays: areas of coastline indented by the sea
  • Deltas: areas of sediment deposited at a river mouth
• Coastal Processes:
  • Erosion: removal of rock and soil by the sea
  • Deposition: accumulation of sediment along the coast
  • Longshore drift: movement of sediment along the coast by currents

Test your knowledge of geography by identifying different types of landforms, including mountains, volcanic landforms, desert landscapes, and coastal features. This quiz also covers the processes that shape these landforms, such as plate tectonics and erosion.