Landscapes and landforms

Earth’s surface is made with a huge number of elements, to create formations. Landscapes are just certain areas comprised of ceratin geographic features that fit in the same category. Those features are called landforms. Landforms are shaped by natural changes, such as weathering, erosion and tectonic activity.

Landscape types

• Mountain Landscape: Mountain landscapes are primarily sculpted by the movement of tectonic plates. Depending on whether the plates converge (collide), diverge (pull apart), or transfer (slide past one another), geological forces fold, fault, or thrust the Earth's crust upwards to create spectacular mountain ranges over millions of years. Fold mounatins, the most common mountain type in Australia are created when tectonic plates collide at convergent boundaries, compressing and folding layers of sedimentary rock. The immense pressure forces the rock to buckle and crumple upwards, forming massive mountain ranges like the Himalayas or the Andes.

• Coastal Landscpapes: They are landscapes in which land mass meets sea. They include landforms such as obviously beaches, sand dunes, bays, cliffs, and deltas. Coastal landcapes, so close to water, are usually most susceptible to erosion, due to sea breeze, and water waves crashing onto land constantly. They are common in Australia’s urban areas.

• Riverine landscapes: They are moved by natural movement of water systems. They are many landforms here, such as rivers and headlands.

• Arid landscape: Dry landscapes, with no rain, both cold and dry.

• Karst landscape: A karst landscape is like a giant, natural sponge made of rock. It forms when rainwater mixes with air to become slightly acidic, slowly dissolving soft rocks like limestone. This creates incredible, secret worlds full of underground caves, sinkholes, and disappearing rivers. These are formed when slightly acidic water touches these already highly dissolvable rocks.