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Simply put, a landform is any shape of the earth. The shape may be above water, at the water line, or underwater. The science of geography has a branch called physical geography that studies where these landforms are and how they affect the people and animals around them. A part of physical geography is devoted to studying the landforms themselves. This area of study finds out how the landforms were made and how they change. It is called geomorphology. It looks like a large word but it just means study of changing land. Landforms change in three different ways. Weathering is the effect of the wind and water on solid areas like mountains and plains. Erosion is the movement of weathered material. Erosion can be caused by nature or humans. Deposition is about where all the material ends up. The word deposition is another way of saying deposited. Read each sentence below. Fill in the missing words. 1. A is any shape of the earth. 2. Landforms change in different ways. 3. is the movement of weathered material. 4. The word deposition is another way of saying. 1
Physical geography and geomorphology did not get started until the late 1700s. This created one of the biggest problems we have with landforms; their names. The names of most of the areas and landforms on earth were already a part of history by the time scientists tried to fit them into patterns. Sometimes we will find that many names are used to describe the same type of landform. The reason for these different names is unclear. Sometimes the name changes just because the place is in a different country. One example is a piece of land that sticks out into a body of water. This can be called a peninsula, a cape, a headland, or a spit. Peninsula is usually used for the very large spits, but not always. Sometimes, a name difference is based on size but nobody has a fixed measurement to show where the name changes. For instance, many dictionaries will say a mountain is a large hill. Then they say a hill is a small form of mountain. Draw a picture of a peninsula. 2
Continents are all land areas. The places where one continent changes to another were all decided by people many years ago. Oceans and seas blend together. The names and dividing lines were also chosen hundreds or even thousands of years ago. The easiest way to find out about landforms is to break them into groups based on how they look or what made them. We are not going to look at the forces that made the landforms in this unit, just the landforms themselves. We are going to look at places that go up, places that go down, and flat places. We will explore wet places and dry places and the places where they meet. Last of all, we will look at hot places and cold places. Write the name of the oceans on the lines below. Write the name of the continents on the lines below. 3
UP AND DOWN AND FLAT Areas of earth that go up are called mountains or hills. Volcanoes are types of mountains. Some mountains were made by volcanoes as they kept erupting and grew bigger and bigger. Other mountains were made by large pieces of earth pushing against each other until one climbed on top of the other. A mountain is usually over two thousand feet tall. It often has two different types of climate areas. Usually the top is cold and bare and the lower areas have seasons with plants and animals living there. Many mountains are over ten thousand feet tall. Cliffs are sharp drop offs on the side of a mountain. They go almost straight down. Cliffs are made by a piece of the mountain breaking off. The broken pieces are usually at the bottom of the cliff. These pieces are called talus. A hill is smaller than a mountain. It is a landform that extends higher than the land around it. Draw a mountain. Draw a hill. 4
Volcanoes are made by the hot liquid inside the earth needing to find a way out. The hot magma pushes out through a weak place in the earth crust. Over many years, the sides of the volcano build it higher and higher. Some volcanoes stop erupting, but others stay active for centuries. Mountains, volcanoes, and hills can all be found on dry land and under the oceans. Many islands were made by volcanoes. Color the picture. Places that go down are called valleys and gorges. A valley is found between several mountains or hills. The land is usually very rich for farming. Many cities and towns are in valleys because the mountains block some of the bad weather. Most valleys have a good source of water that started on the mountains. Color the picture. A gorge is a deep valley cut between or through mountains by flowing water. Over the centuries, the water cut the gorge deeper and deeper. Color the picture. A valley in the ocean is usually called a trench. gorge Write your definition of the word on the lines. 5
WORD FIND Find and circle these words. They run down, across, and diagonally. mountain plateau earthquake dirt flood valley surface avalanche natural lowland mass region 14
landform valley glacier mountain earth wind forces plain 15
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