Grade 11 Geography: Topography Associated with Horizontal Strata

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key landforms and geological processes associated with horizontal strata as discussed in Grade 11 Geography.

Hilly Landscapes

Areas with strata equally resistant to erosion and no layers of hard and soft rock, which are uniform in their resistance to erosion.

Canyon

A large area characterized by deep steep-sided valleys with narrow valley floors and alternating layers of hard and soft rock, such as the Grand Canyon.

Basaltic Plateaus

Plateaus formed when lava from volcanic eruptions is deposited in layers of basaltic igneous rock.

Plateau

A flat area elevated above sea level consisting of horizontal rock strata where rainfall results in vertical erosion in weak spots or cracks.

Mesa

A flat-topped tableland with a resistant cap of rock that remains on the same level as the original plateau and is wider than it is high.

Butte

A small flat-topped hill that is higher than it is wide, representing a remnant of the vertical erosion of a mesa.

Conical Hill

An isolated rounded hill that is lower than the original plateau and results when the flat top of a Butte erodes away after the removal of the resistant cap rock.

Scarp Retreat

The change in the position of the scarp as it erodes backwards while maintaining its form, causing a mesa to erode into a butte and eventually a conical hill.

Slope Decline

A process dominant in humid areas where the slope is steepest at the start and the angle of the slope decreases over time, becoming convex in the upper part and concave in the lower parts.

Slope Retreat

A process dominant in arid areas where the angle of the slope remains constant and the slope retreats backwards parallel to its previous positions while the pediment widens.

Knick point

A feature that shows a change in the gradient of a slope.

Scarp

The cliff-like face or slope located between a high area and the low flat land.