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