MOUNTAIN
(How are Mountains Worn Down?
Erosion by Weather and Running
Water, AND How do Mountains Affect
Human Life?)
RAGHINA YUDIANSYAH
20045063
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION
1. How are Mountains Worn
Down?
Because of their great size and solidity,
mountains seem to be everlasting. Neither mountains
not any other surface features of the earth are
permanent, however. Mountains are constantly
wearing away and breaking down in the process
called erosion.
2. Erosion by Weather and Running Water
Weather is the most important cause of erosion. Changes in temperature, as
between warm days and cold nights, cause bits of surface rock to be loosened. Rain, snow,
and hail then move away this loose material. Rocks also break up through the action of
water seeping into crevices of the rock. The water is frozen during the lowering of
temperatures at night. During the day it is melted again by the sun. The freezing water
expands, pressing against the rock and widening the cracks. In dry regions, wind is an
important agent of erosion. The wind drives particles of sand and pebbles against the
rocks, loosening other small particles from the surface. Wind wears away rocks as
sandpaper does a piece of wood, although of course the action is very slow.
The combined forces of the weather cause the surface of the earth, particularly
in the exposed mountain areas, to be ground into fine material. Larger rocks are
loosened and torn away by running water. This material is washed into mountain streams
and eventually carried down to large rivers. In turn, the rocks, pebbles, and sand carried by
the streams cut into the rock of the stream bed and wear it down. The faster the water
flows, the more work it can do in wearing away the rock. Therefore mountain streams can
carve their valleys more quickly than streams in low, flat regions.
1) Glaciation
Ice wears away the mountains, in a special process called glaciation. A glacier is a
mass of snow and ice. The mass is built up over a long period of time. Finally it becomes so
heavy that it begins to move very slowly down hill.
Mountain glacier are formed at high elevations wherever there are large amounts of
snow during most of the year. The snow itself and the water formed from melting snow freeze
and pile up. Eventually, through alternate melting and freezing at the surface, a great mass of
ice is formed. The pull of gravity causes the mass to move slowly downward. The ice moves
most easily through small gullies or valleys that have already been formed by streams. As the
mass of ice continues to enlarge, it pushes a tongue of ice at the front of the glacier further and
further down the valley. Ice melts and freezes again on the rocks at the edges of the glacier.
This action pulls away surface material from the rocks and carries it along. Large rocks, gravel,
and sand frozen in the ice rub against the rock and wear it away. The result is that the glacier
eventually carves out a hollow place in the side of the mountains. The hollow is usually
rounded at the top, and is called a cirque, the French word for circus, because it looks like a
large open theater. When cirques are dug out on all sides of mountain, it becomes a very sharp
When the glacier moves through a large valley, the ice scours out the bottom of
the valley and scrapes along the sides. This results in a U-shaped valley, rather than
the normal V-shaped bed that a stream carves. Many such valleys can be seen in high
mountain regions in cool climates. Mountain glaciation accounts for some of the most
beautiful scenery in the world, such as the Alps and the Canadian Rockies.
Today, glaciation occurs only in mountain regions. In past times, however, great ice
sheets covered parts of continents. Ice movement carved and ground away the rocks
even in low regions. Glacial features are found as far south as the Ohio River Valley and
in parts of northern Europe and Asia. These continental glaciers, besides carving out
the land, also dropped material and left it behind as they melted and moved
backwards.
2) Peneplanes
The final stage of erosion of a mountain region is an almost flat
plain, called a peneplane. Not many large areas of this kind can be found
today. This is because most regions have been uplifted at least once during
the long process of erosion. However, in some mountain regions, where the
tops of the peaks are fairly flat, level surfaces can be identified as former
peneplanes
3.How do Mountains Affect Human
Mountains strongly affect the livesLife?
of those who dwell in on near them. Because
mountain soil is thin in most places, settlements are few and widely separated in
mountain regions. Mountain people are usually independent; they learn to take care of
themselves. The harsh climate of most mountain regions requires strength and endurance in
the inhabitants.
The presence of nearby mountains has important effects on the climate of
surrounding regions. When mountains lie along a coastline, much of the moisture carried by
winds blowing inland is dropped before the clouds cross the mountains. Thus the area east of
the Pacific ranges is quite dry, while the coastal areas are moist.
One of the most important effects of mountains on human life is that they act as a
barrier to travel and communication. Mountains are regions that can be easily defended
from invaders. In mountainous places such as Armenia, China, and the southern Appalachians
of the United States, the people remained isolated until recent years. They kept the language
4. Mountain Passes
The mountain passes through which people are able to cross
from one region to another have played an especially important
part in history. They serve as an example of the way mountains
affect mankind.
The Mohawk Valley. The Mohawk River Valley is a pass through the northern
Appalachian mountains. It is only 445 feet above sea level. It connects the Hudson Valley
at Albany on the east with the Great Lakes plains on the west. Before the European
settlement of America, this was a trade and war path for the Iroquois-Mohawk Indians.
During the wars between England and France for the control of the colonies, it was an
important battleground. In the Revolutionary War, the British fleet blockaded the coast of
the thirteen colonies. Then British troops tried to drive south from Canada to the Hudson
Valley. By cutting off the Mohawk Valley pass, they hoped to isolate the colonies. The
pass was an important supply route during the War of 1812. Later the Erie Canal was
constructed through the pass from the Hudson to the Great Lakes. The New York Central
Railroad built tracks from New York City to Chicago along this same route. The greatness
of New York City began when western settlers found it was easier and cheaper to ship
goods to Manhattan than to Boston. The freight came across the Mohawk Valley to Albany
and then south on the Hudson. Freight to Boston had to be put in small ox carts and
dragged over the mountains east of Albany. Thus the Mohawk Valley pass changed the
history of America.
Belfort Pass. The past of Belfort, in France, between the Vosges and the
Jura mountain ranges, is one of the most important passes in all Europe.
This pass, sometimes called the Burgundian gate, unites the Rhone-Saone River
valleys with the Rhine Valley. It is 1140 feet above sea level. Since ancient times
this has been a key point in trade between the North Sea and the Mediterranean.
It was a trade route of the Etruscans, one of the pre-Roman peoples of Italy.
Napoleon and many other military men though this was the point from which
central Europe could be controlled. Therefore it was constantly fought over.
Today it is still a busy railway and road pass through the mountains.
Khyber Pass. In Asia, the Khyber Pass connects Kabul, Afghanistan, with
Rawlpindi on the northwest frontier of Pakistan. It crosses the high mountain
range of northern India. The route follows the Kabul River and enters Pakistan at an
elevation of 6825 feet. The Khyber Pass has a steep, narrow twisting canyon. At
least part of it was cut by a mountain stream. During the summer, it is extremely hot,
and the barren rocks reflect the heat like the walls of a furnace. By this path in
ancient times invaders of India entered and spread out over the northern part of the
country. Centuries later, elements of Mongol civilization also came into India
through the Khyber Pass. The Mongol rulers left magnificent monuments, like the
Taj Mahal. Throughout the period of British power in India, the Khyber Pass was an
almost constant battle ground between the Pathan tribes of Afghanistan and the
British Army. This was the training ground for mountain and desert troops whose job
it was to keep peace and protect trade and the borders of the British Empire.
Glossary
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
Erosion is a condition of wearing away
of the earth's surface by force involving
Erosion the uplifting of objects such as running
water, ice, wind, and waves or currents.
weather is the condition of the air such
as temperature, sunlight, humidity, wind
Weather speed, in a certain place for a limited
period of time.
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
water droplets falling from the air due to the
Rain cooling process
Snow is the solid form of water that falls to
Snow earth from the atmosphere or clouds where it
has frozen into solid crystals and is like rain
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
hail is precipitation consisting of ice
Hail balls
Wind is the movement of air from areas
Wind of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
The river is a stream of surface water
that is elongated in shape and flows
River continuously from upstream to
downstream.
A valley is a type of landscape that is
usually a lowland area between two
higher landforms (which can be
valley mountains or hills). Usually, a valley
contains a stream or river that flows
along the valley floor.
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
a large chunk of ice that forms on land
through the process of crystallization of
A glacier snow or snow deposition over a long
period of time.
is the name of a large mountain range in
Europe that stretches from Austria and
mountain in the Alps Slovenia in the east, through Italy,
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and
Germany, all the way to France in the
west.
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
The U-shaped valley was formed by
glacial erosion as massive mountain
glaciers moved slowly down the
a U-shaped valley mountainside during the last glaciation.
They are characterized by steep, curved
sides at the base of the valley walls.
occurs in the upstream part of the river
because in the upstream part the erosion
that occurs is VERTICAL (downward)
erosion while in the middle and
V-shaped Valley downstream parts of the river the
erosion that occurs is Horizontal
(sideways) erosion so that the river is
wider than the upstream part.
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
is a world-famous mountain range that
begins in Canada, on the Liard River,
which is located at the northern tip of
Canadian Rockies British Columbia, and extends to the
Rio Grande River in New Mexico in the
southwestern United States
northern is a mountain range in eastern North
America that is thought to have been
Appalachian the tallest mountain on Earth during the
mountains Ordovician period
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
the Hudson River valley and
the Hudson Valley surrounding settlements in the state of
New York, United States of America
is a low mountain range in Eastern
the Vosges mountain France, near the border with Germany
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
is a small mountain range located north
The Jura Mountain of the Alps, separating the rivers Rhine
and Rhone
The Rhône is one of the major rivers in
Europe, running through Switzerland
the Rhone-Saone
and France. The Saône is a river in
River eastern France that is a tributary of the
Rhône
Glosarry Descripsion Fact
is a mausoleum (a vast and magnificent
Taj Mahal tomb building) located in Agra, India
the Pathan tribes of
the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
Link video :
How are Mountains Worn Erosion by Weather and How do Mountains Affect
Down? Running Water Human Life?
https://youtu.be/ https://youtu.be/ https://youtu.be/
aRB6WIx0TJM Q0Y02ERU7Kc f1GEjVU3qBI
