Geography
Major Landforms
Important terms:-
The landscape is being continuously worn away by two processes – weathering and erosion.
Weathering: Weathering is the breaking up of the rocks on the earth’s surface.
Erosion: Erosion is the wearing away of the landscape by different agents like water, wind and
ice.
The eroded material is carried away or transported by water, wind, etc. and eventually
deposited.
This process of erosion and deposition creates different landforms on the surface of the earth.
Work of a River:-
Waterfall: When the river tumbles at steep angle over very hard rocks or down a steep valley
side,
it forms a waterfall.
Meanders: As the river enters the plain it twists and turns forming large bends known as
meanders.
Cut-off Lake: Due to continuous erosion and deposition along the sides of the meander, the
ends of
the meander loop come closer and closer. In due course of time the meander loop cuts off from
the
river and forms a cut-off lake, also called an ox-bow lake.
Floodplain: As it floods, the river deposits layers of fine soil and other material called sediments
along its banks. This leads to the formation of a flat fertile floodplain. The raised banks are
called
levees.
Distributaries: When the river approaches the sea, the speed of the flowing water decreases
and
the river begins to break up into a number of streams called distributaries.
Delta: The river becomes so slow that it begins to deposit its load. Each distributary forms its
own
mouth. The collection of sediments from all the mouths forms a delta.
Work of Sea Waves:-
Sea caves: The erosion and deposition of the sea waves give rise to coastal landforms and they
continuously strike at the rocks developing cracks. The cracks become larger and wider over
time.
Due to which, hollow like caves are formed on the rocks. They are called sea caves.
Sea Arches: When these cavities become bigger and bigger only the roof of the caves remain, it
forms sea arches.
Stacks: Erosion breaks the roof and only walls are left and these wall-like features are called
stacks.
Sea cliff - The steep rocky coast rising almost vertically above seawater is called sea cliff.
Work of Ice
Glaciers: Glaciers are “rivers of ice” which erode the landscape by bulldozing soil and stones to
expose the solid rock below. Glaciers carve out deep hollows there. As the ice melts they get
filled
up with water and become beautiful lakes in the mountains.
Glacial Moraines: The material carried by the glacier such as rocks big and small, sand and silt
gets deposited and forms glacial moraines.
Landforms created by wind:-
Wind: In the desert, an active agent of erosion and deposition is wind.
Mushroom Rocks: In deserts, rocks can be shaped like a mushroom, commonly called
mushroom
rocks.
Sand Dunes: When the wind blows, it lifts and transports sand from one place to another. When
it
stops blowing the sand falls and gets deposited in low hill like structures. These are called sand
dunes.
Loess: When the grains of sand are very fine and light, the wind can carry it over very long
distances. When such sand is deposited in large areas, it is called loess.
