Different

Landforms
and Processes
Involved in Their
Formation

Science 10
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 02 03
Aeolian Erosional Mountainous
Landforms Landforms and Glacial
Landforms
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

04 05 06
Fluvial and
Coastal Plains Plateaus
Landforms
Geomorphology

the scientific study of

landforms and processes
that shape them
Geomorphology

focuses in understanding
landform history and dynamics
and predicting future changes
through observations,
experiments, and modelling
 Topography

the study of the current

terrain features of a region
and the graphic representation
of a particular landform on the
map
Landforms

natural physical
features on the
surface of Earth
 Landforms

formed by various forces of

nature such as water, wind,
ice, and the tectonic plates of
Earth
 Aeolian

01
Landforms
Dunes
Loess
Mushroom Rock
Aeolian Landforms
formed by the chemical and mechanical action of
the wind

Aeolus - Greek god of the winds

Dunes

● mounds or small hills

made up of sand,
measuring between 1-10 m
high
● may be dome-shaped,
crescent shaped,
star-shaped, linear-shaped,
or parabolic

Sand dune in Sossusvlei, Namibia.

Great Sand Dune National Park & Preserve
Dunes

● barchans - most common

type of dune found on
Earth; formed in the
direction opposite that of
the wind

Sand dune in Sossusvlei, Namibia.

barchan dunes
 Loess

● predominantly silt-sized
sediment formed by the
accumulation of
windblown dust
● appears yellowish or
brownish in color and
exhibits “cat steps”

Loess region in China

 Loess

● thickness ranges from few

centimeters to about 100
m
● a product of of glacial
activity in an area

Loess region in China

 Mushroom Rock

● also called as rock pedestal

● a naturally-occurring rock
that resembles the shape
of a mushroom

Mushroom Rock in Kansas, USA

Timna, Israel Tisa Walls, Czech republic
 Erosional

02
Landforms
Mesas
Butte
Canyon
Erosional Landforms
created from exclusively erosional and weathering
activities
 Mesa

● also called table mountains

● elevated areas of land with
a flat top and sides that are
usually steep cliffs

Enchanted Mesa or Mesa

Encantada in New Mexico
 Mesa

● usually surrounded by a
resistant rock known as a
cap rock

Grand Mesa in Western Colorado

 Butte

● almost similar to mesa as

it has a flat-topped hill and
steep sides are formed in a
semi-arid desert conditions

Coyote Buttes in Arizona

 Butte

● covers a smaller amount

of area when compared to
a mesa
● originated from a French
word which means “hillock”
or small hill

Coyote Buttes in Arizona

 Butte

● formed by erosion when a

hard cap rock overlies a
layer of less resistant rock

Elephant Butte in New Mexico

 Mountainous and
Glacial

03
Landforms
Volcanoes
Hills
Valley
Glaciers
 Mountainous
Landforms
landforms that rise higher than the rest of their
surroundings

exhibit slopes, summit area, and local relief

can be created by different tectonic activities

 Volcanoes

controlled by geological
processes that form them
and continually act on them
after their formation

can be identified from its

opening at the top called
vent

Mayon Volcano
 Volcanoes

edifice is carved out by the

more or less symmetrical
accumulation of lava and
other pyroclastic materials
around its central vent
system

Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii

 Hills

elevated portions of lands

that are formed by geologic
activities such as faulting

smaller than mountains,

only 300 m high, with
sloping sides

Chocolate Hills in Bohol

 Hills

can originate from

mountains when extensive
erosion occurs

usually have an obvious

summit, which is its
highest

Cameron Highlands in Malaysia

 Valley or Dale

a low-lying area of land

situated between hills or
mountains

usually formed by the

actions of rivers and
glacier

Cagayan Valley
Valley or Dale

V-shaped - when carved out

by flowing water

U-shaped - when carved

out by glaciers
V-shaped Valley U-shaped Valley
 Glacial Landforms
results of the actions of the glaciers
 Glaciers

huge, slow-moving bodies of

ice

created by the movement

of large ice sheets during
the Quaternary glaciations

The Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland

 Glaciers

alpine glacier - formed in

high mountains

continental glacier -
formed in cold Polar
regions

alpine glacier
Fluvial and
Coastal

04
Landforms
Delta
Peninsula
Meander
Sea Cliffs
 Fluvial Landforms
underwent sedimentation on the river bed

glaciofluvial or fluvioglacial - when the bodies of

water associated with these landforms interacted
with glaciers or ice caps
 Delta

typically a low-lying triangular

area located at the mouth of
river where it meets an ocean,
sea, or estuary

contains rich soil which

has been washed away
and deposited by running
water

Ganges Delta
 Delta

alluvium - sediment that has

accumulated due to the
interaction of delta and bodies
of water

not very old as the

formation of
contemporary deltas back
to about 7000 years ago

alluvium
Nile Delta
 Peninsula

also called as byland or biland

a piece of land that projects

into a body of water and is
connected to the mainland
by an isthmus

Bulgarian Peninsula
 Peninsula

formed by lithospheric
movement, water elevation,
and erosion

Antarctic Peninsula
Montenegran Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula
 Meander

a bend or sinuous
watercourse of river

formed when moving water

in a stream erodes the out
banks then widens its valley

Rio Negro meander in Argentina

meander
meander
 Sea Cliffs

high rocky coast that plunge

down to the edge of the sea

results of erosional actions

of water and wind

El Nido, Palawan
 Sea Cliffs

exposed to the battering of

waves, wind, and sea spray

primarily made of limestone

and sandstone and these
rocks are resistant to
weathering

The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

 Plains
05
 Plains

flat and broad land

may be along a
areas that have no grasslands, prairies,
coast, inland, or at
great changes in steeps
the ocean floors
elevation

created either by sedimentation

of the eroded soil or by flowing
lava deposited by agents such as
water, wind, and ice
 Plains

Coastal Inland High Plains

rise from sea can have an
maybe formed at
level until they elevation up to
high altitudes
meet higher 600 m and are
landforms influenced by
wind erosion
The Great Plains of USA
 Abyssal Plain

found at the
deepest part of
the ocean;
located at a
depth of 3-6 km
CEO
between the
foot of a
continental rise
and a mid-ocean
ridge
Plateaus
06
 Plateaus

portion of lands
also known as table
elevated thousands some are formed by
lands or flat-topped
of feet above their volcanic eruptions
mountains
surroundings

results of geologic uplifts or the

weathering of land areas also
slow movement of large parts of
produces plateaus
stable areas of Earth’s crust
Plateau, Mesa, Butte
Tibetan Plateau
Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa
Plateau in Tanzania
Thank you!