Landscapes and Landforms Q&A

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering key concepts from landscapes and landforms to tectonic processes, volcano types, rock formation and the specific example of Australia’s Glass House Mountains.

What is a landscape?

A part of the Earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one place and is characterised by a group of landforms with similar features.

What is a landform?

An individual natural feature of the Earth’s surface such as a mountain, river, dune or cave.

Name two natural Australian landmarks mentioned in the notes.

Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef (others include the 12 Apostles, The Three Sisters, Bungle Bungles, Wilpena Pound, Katherine Gorge).

How do built landscapes differ from natural landscapes?

Built landscapes are created or heavily modified by humans, while natural landscapes are largely unaffected by human activity.

What physical process primarily forms mountain landscapes?

The collision or pressure of tectonic plates pushing the land upward.

List three common features of coastal landscapes.

Beaches, cliffs and spits (other correct answers: dunes, bays, platforms, lagoons).

Why are riverine landscapes often fertile?

Because sediment deposited by rivers enriches the surrounding soil, making it excellent for agriculture.

What annual rainfall defines a desert landscape?

No more than 250 mm of rain per year.

Where are most hot deserts located?

Along the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

What bedrock is typically dissolved to create karst landscapes?

Easily dissolvable rocks such as limestone.

Name two surface or underground features typical of karst landscapes.

Caves and sinkholes (also stalactites, springs).

How much of Earth’s surface is covered by tropical rainforests?

About 6 % of the Earth’s surface.

Which landscape type contains about 50–70 % of all species on Earth?

Tropical rainforest landscapes.

Give two examples of infrastructure found in built landscapes.

Buildings and roads (other answers: transport systems, energy, sewerage, telecommunications).

Define cultural value in relation to landscapes.

The importance of a landscape as expressed through creative outlets such as art, literature, film or Indigenous storytelling.

What term do Indigenous Australians use to express the spiritual value of land?

‘Country’.

Why are national parks often created?

To preserve landscapes for their aesthetic value and public enjoyment.

Which two industries most clearly demonstrate the economic value of Australian landscapes?

Tourism and mining.

Name Earth’s five main internal layers from outermost to innermost.

Crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, inner core.

What is the lithosphere?

The Earth’s crust plus the rigid uppermost mantle.

At which type of plate boundary does new crust form?

Divergent plate boundaries (e.g., mid-ocean ridges).

Which plate boundary is responsible for the Himalayas?

Continent-continent convergent boundary.

What major hazard is most common at transform plate boundaries?

Strong earthquakes.

Define a volcano.

A rupture in the Earth’s crust where magma, ash and gases escape to the surface.

Around what percentage of the world’s volcanoes encircle the Pacific Plate?

Approximately 75 %, forming the ‘Ring of Fire’.

How do hotspot volcanoes form?

Rising plumes of magma melt through a tectonic plate away from plate boundaries (e.g., Hawaiian Islands).

Why is soil near volcanoes typically fertile?

Volcanic ash and minerals weather into nutrient-rich soils.

What other name is given to composite volcanoes?

Stratovolcanoes.

Which plate setting most commonly produces shield volcanoes?

Divergent boundaries and hotspots.

State one key difference between composite and shield volcanoes.

Composite volcanoes erupt explosively and have steep sides, while shield volcanoes erupt gently and have broad, gentle slopes.

How do igneous rocks form?

By the solidification of magma or lava.

Give one example each of an intrusive and an extrusive igneous rock.

Granite (intrusive) and basalt (extrusive).

What is an igneous intrusion?

Magma that pushes into surrounding rock but cools and solidifies before reaching the surface.

Describe a laccolith.

A mushroom-shaped igneous intrusion that domes the overlying rock layers.

What is a volcanic plug?

Solidified magma that once filled a volcanic vent; softer rock erodes away leaving the hard core exposed.

Around when did eruptions that created the Glass House Mountains begin?

Approximately 210 million years ago.

Which two main igneous rocks compose the Glass House Mountains?

Rhyolite and trachyte.

Why do the Glass House Mountains stand out above the surrounding terrain today?

Because softer surrounding sandstone eroded away, exposing the harder igneous intrusions.

Are the Glass House Mountains laccoliths or volcanic plugs?

Laccoliths.

How did erosion affect the original land surface around the Glass House Mountains?

The land surface, once 300–400 m higher, was lowered by long-term erosion.

Which rock type in the Glass House Mountains region is least resistant to erosion?

Sandstone (and basalt to some extent).

What is the key defining feature of sedimentary rocks?

They form from compaction of sediments and often show distinct layers.

Give one foliated and one non-foliated metamorphic rock example.

Slate (foliated) and marble (non-foliated).

What geological value can different groups place on the same landscape called?

Competing values.

Which landscape value category measures financial benefit?

Economic value.

How can construction both damage and incorporate natural landscapes?

While building can destroy natural environments, designers may integrate natural features like harbours or mountains into built landscapes.