LECTURE 3:

VOLCANIC AND TECTONIC

LANDFORMS
INITIAL AND SEQUENTIAL LANDFORMS

 Continental landforms are the result of endogenic and

exogenic processes
 Endogenic process – works from within the Earth
 Produces initial landforms
 Uplifts/brings fresh rock to the surface
 Powered by earth’s internal energy
 Exogenic process – works at Earth’s surface
 Wears down initial landforms
 Creates sequential landforms
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

 Volcano – conical or dome-shaped initial

landform that is built from lava emerging
through vents in the Earth’s surface
 Volcanism (volcanic activity) constructs
towering cones of imposing mountain
ranges as well as huge domes or plateaus of
volcanic rock
 frequent along subduction boundaries (“ring
of fire”), midocean spreading centres and
continental rifts
 Severe environmental hazard
TYPES OF VOLCANOES

 nature of volcanic eruption depends on the type of magma involved

 two main types of igneous rock (felsic and mafic) – each type builds a distinctive form of volcano
 Felsic lavas (rhyolite and andesite):
 thick and gummy, resisting flow
 Holds large amounts of gas – explosive eruptions
 doesn’t usually flow very far
 building up steep slopes
 Mafic lava (basalt):
 not very viscous and holds little gas
 eruptions of basaltic lava are usually quiet
 lava travels long distances to spread out in thin layers
EROSION OF STRATOVOLCANOES
EROSION OF SHIELD VOLCANOES
TYPES OF VOLCANOES

 Stratovolcanoes:
 formed by the emission of thick, gassy, felsic lavas and showers of tephra
 have steep slopes
 tend toward explosive eruptions
 Erosion of stratovolcanoes ultimately leaves a landscape of lava mesas, volcanic necks, and
dikes
 Shield volcanoes:
 result from eruption of basaltic (mafic) lavas
 lavas are more fluid and contain little gas – form broadly rounded domes
 As shield volcanoes become extinct and erode, their rounded forms are replaced by steep
canyons and sharp ridges
INTRUSIVE VOLCANIC LANDFORMS

 Volcanoes are extrusive landforms

 Intrusive landforms are formed when
magma cools within the crust
MAJOR INTRUSIVE LANDFORMS

 Batholith:
 Large rock masses formed due to cooling down and solidification of hot magma inside the earth
 Appear on the surface after weathering and erosion removes overlying materials
 form the core of large mountains
 Granitic
 Laccolith:
 large dome-shaped intrusive igneous rocks which are connected by a pipe-like conduit with the magma
 Lopolith:
 Saucer shape feature formed when the Magma moves upwards
 a portion of this magma moves in a horizontal direction where it finds a weak plane – forms lopolith
MINOR INTRUSIVE LANDFORMS

 Sill:
 form when magma intrudes between the rock
layers, forming a horizontal or gently-dipping
sheet of igneous rock
 Dyke:
 form as magma pushes up towards the surface
through cracks in the rock
 vertical or steeply-dipping sheets of igneous rock
TECTONIC LANDFORMS

 two basic forms of tectonic activity:

 compression occurs when lithospheric plates are squeezed together along
converging lithospheric plate boundaries
 extension happens along continental and oceanic rifting, where plates are
being pulled apart
 Each activity produces different landform types
FOLD BELTS

 When plates collide, the plates are squeezed

together at the boundary – crust crumples,
creating folds
 folds create a set of alternating anticlines (up-
arching bends) and synclines (troughs)
 Young fold mountains ( <100 million years old)
– highest, most impressive ranges; eg:
Himalayas
 Old fold mountains (formed 250 million years
ago or more) – mark formerly active plate
boundaries and tend to be lower and more
eroded; eg: Appalachians and Urals
OCEAN TRENCHES

 form at two kinds of convergent plate

boundaries: where a continental and oceanic
plate converge, or where two oceanic plates
converge
 oceanic plates are denser than continental
plates – plunge beneath them (subducts)
 at an oceanic/oceanic boundary, whichever
plate is denser – the older, cooler plate –
subducts beneath the other
 subduction forms an undersea trench – long,
narrow valleys and include the deepest areas of
the ocean
 deepest ocean trench – Mariana Trench (11km)

http://www.deepseachallenge.com/the-expedition/mariana-trench/
OCEAN RIDGES

 At divergent boundaries, plates move

away from each other – creating new crust
as magma is pushed up from the mantle
 movement of the tectonic plates transports
the newly formed crust away from the
crest of the ridge in both directions
 Eg: Mid-Atlantic Ridge
FAULTS AND FAULT LANDFORMS

 Fault – fracture created in the brittle rocks of

the Earth’s crust, as different parts of the crust
move in different directions
 Active fault – movement was recent
 Many tectonic forms result directly from
faulting
 helpful to classify them according to the type
of fault involved – dip-slip/normal faults,
strike-slip/transcurrent faults and
thrust/reverse faults
NORMAL FAULT LANDFORMS

 crust is pulled apart and overlying

(hanging-wall) block moves down with
respect to the lower (foot wall) block
[divergent boundaries]
 creates fault scarps, grabens, and horsts
 Rift Valley of East Africa – example of
extension and normal faulting at a
continental scale. Continental lithosphere
is beginning to rupture and split apart in
the first stage of forming a new ocean
basin.
STRIKE-SLIP FAULT LANDFORMS

 crustal blocks move in a horizontal direction

(sideways past each other) [transform
boundaries]
 Most famous active strike-slip fault – San
Andreas fault
 Appears as a straight, narrow scar
 In some places this scar is a trench-like
feature, and elsewhere it is a low scarp
REVERSE FAULT

 crust is compressed and the hanging-wall block moves up and over the footwall block [convergent
boundaries]
 When compression is severe (continent-continent collision) – rock layers can ride over each other on a low-
angle overthrust fault
 Repeated faulting can produce a great rock cliff hundreds of meters high
LANDFORMS AND ROCK STRUCTURE

 rock structure controls the locations of uplands and lowlands, as well as the routes of streams and rivers
 affects landforms – different types of rocks are worn down by erosion at different rates (some rock types are
easily eroded, while others are more resistant)
 weak rocks form valleys
 strong rocks form hills, ridges, and uplands
LANDFORMS OF HORIZONTAL STRATA

 In arid regions of horizontal strata,

resistant rock layers produce
vertical cliffs separated by gentler
slopes on less resistant rocks
 Plateaus, mesas, and buttes are
formed
PLATEAU

 area of highland, usually consisting of

relatively flat terrain that is raised
significantly above the surrounding area,
often with one or more sides with steep
slopes
MESA

 an isolated, flat-topped hill or

mountain with steep sides that is
smaller in area than a plateau
BUTTE

 butte is also a flat-topped hill with steep sides, though smaller in area than a mesa
 rule of thumb – mesa has a top that is wider than its height, while a butte has a top that is
narrower than its height
CONICAL HILL

 landform with a distinctly conical Smaller Larger

shape
 usually isolated or rises above
other surrounding foothills, and is
often, but not always, of volcanic
origin Conical hill Butte
 circular base and smooth sides (pointed butte)
with a gradient of up to 30°
LANDFORMS OF INCLINED STRATA

 Large areas of South Africa have tilted or inclined sedimentary rock

 Inclined strata are layers of rock below the Earth’s surface which tilt at an angle
 occurs when strata is subjected to stress (either compression, tension, volcanic
intrusion or tectonic movement) and they become tilted relative to their original
(horizontal) position
 Faulting or folding causes the strata to be tilted
 Inclined strata give rise to a different class of topographical forms
DIP AND SCARP SLOPES

 Generally harder and softer strata alternate

 As a result of the continued erosion, difference in
resistance of the different layers causes homoclinal
ridges
 softer layers will be removed more easily than the
harder layers – forming ridges (homoclinal ridges)
 steeper slope, soft rock layer – scarp slope
 gentle slope, resistant rock layer – dip slope
 TYPES OF HOMOCLINAL RIDGES

 Homoclinal ridges are classified according to the angle of the dip slope
 type of homoclinal ridge depends on the gradient at which the layers dip
CUESTA BASINS AND DOMES

 hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other
 can form basin-shaped or dome-shaped structures
 Basin – scarp slope will face the outside and the dip slope will face the inside
 Dome – scarp slope faces the inside and the dip slope faces the outside
HELPFUL VIDEOS

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ix2exmIx8k
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ3OTRwCyRw