Landforms

Erosion

Wearing away of the Earth’s surface due to wind, rain, and water

Rock Weathering

When rocks break apart and decay, with 3 types - Chemical, Breaking, Forceful

Chemical Weathering

First step in soil formation, influenced by pollution in the atmosphere like acid rain

Glaciers

Sheet glaciers cover large masses of ice, found in Greenland and Antarctica, associated with ice ages

Mountain Glaciers

Smaller and more common than sheet glaciers, found in Alaska, created by elevation

Wind Erosion

Wears down surfaces in areas with no vegetation like beaches, deserts, and open fields

Water Deposition

Sediments transported and deposited by streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans, affecting landforms like canyons and valleys

Secondary Landforms

Created from the erosion of primary landforms, including Alluvial Fans and Flood Plains

Delta

Sediment deposited by rivers as they enter oceans, forming landforms like canyons

Internal Activities

Changes the Earth's surface through heat and plant movements, creating primary landforms like volcanoes and plate movements

Plate Tectonics

Theory that the Earth's surface is made of moving plates, leading to various boundaries like Convergent, Transform, and Divergent

Pangea

Supercontinent that split into separate plates, showing movements along plate edges

Convergent Boundaries

Where two plates collide, forming trenches and mountain ranges

Transform Fault/Movement

Plates sliding past each other, causing earthquakes

Divergent Boundary

Sea floor spreading, creating new ocean floors, ridges, and volcanoes

Primary Landforms

Large land masses created by uplifting forces like plate tectonics and heat, including volcanoes, mountains, and plateaus

Relief

Distance between the highest and lowest points in elevation, with more relief in the Appalachians due to steepness.