Landforms in Geography • Geography is the

study of both people and the lands that they live in.

• An important part of studying the land is learning about landforms and understanding how the land was created and how it affects people

Got Vocab?• Landforms:

(n.) The shapes of land on Earth’s surface. Two examples of landforms are rivers and mountains.

Notes

• Your notes on how landforms are formed will include:

–A definition–A picture–An example

Plate Tectonics• The Earth’s crust is divided

into 7 major plates that float and move on top of liquid rock.

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Plate Tectonics

• Pangaea is an example of plate tectonics. According to this theory the Earth had only one land mass that slowly began to pull apart.

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Divergent Plate Boundary

• Occurs when two plates are moving apart from each

other • Can occur on land

or under water.

2

Mid Oceanic Ridge • The Mid Oceanic Ridge is an example of a divergent plate boundary. It is an area where plates pull apart and magma rises to create

new crust.

2

Convergent Plate Boundary

• Happens when two heavy continental plates collide and create mountains

• The Himalaya Mts. are an example of what happens when two plates collide.

3

Himalayan Mountain Range

• Created when the Indian Plate crashed into the Eurasian Plate

• Is an example of a convergent plate boundary

• Mt. Everest in the Himalayas continues to grow 1 cm per year

3

Subduction Plate Boundary• Happens when a

heavier ocean plate moves underneath a lighter continental plate

• The diving plate melts in the Earth’s mantle and becomes magma.

• Magma then rises through the Earth’s crust and erupts as lava

4

Cascade Mountain RangeWhen an oceanic plate slid under a

continental plate, magma rose and created volcanic eruptions which created mountain ranges like the Cascades. It is a

good example of subduction plate boundaries.

4

Transform Boundary

• Occur when plates slide past one another in the opposite direction.

• Plate edges often become stuck and pressure builds.

5

San Andreas Fault• The San Andreas Fault is an example

of a transform boundary. It is responsible for many earthquakes in

California.

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1906 San Francisco Quake• Happened when

the San Andreas Fault moved 22 ft.

• The earthquake and resulting three day fire are responsible for destroying the city and killing an estimated 700 people.

5

Weathering

• The process of breaking down landforms to create new ones.

• Large pieces of rock are broken down into smaller pieces

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Ways to Break a Rock• HEAT can cause rocks

to become so hot that they crack

• WIND can slowly carve away at rocks

• These are both examples of weathering.

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Ways to Break a Rock• Water seeps into rock

cracks, expands when frozen, and pries rocks apart.

• As water moves it cuts into rock and creates valleys

• These are two more examples of weathering.

•

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Ways to Break a Rock

• CHEMICALS slowly eat away at rocks until they break

• Another example of weathering

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Ways to Break a Rock

• All of this is possible because of TIME

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The Power of Weathering

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Erosion

• Once the rock is broken, it is moved away by water, ice, or wind and settles to create new landforms.

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Erosion

• Water and ice is usually responsible for carrying rocking material/ sediment away and depositing it somewhere else

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Landforms Created by Water and Ice Erosion

Alluvial Fan

Delta

Plain

7Examples of Erosion

Landform Created by Wind Erosion

Dune

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Plate Tectonics Aerobics

Subduction Boundary

Transform Boundary

Divergent Boundary

Convergent Boundary

Round Robin Vocabulary

Each student will have two minutes to write the definition and draw a picture for each term on their vocabulary sheet.Word

Mountain

Definition and Example

A land mass that projects above

surrounding landforms and is above 2,000 ft.

Illustration

Passing Vocab. Panels

I Have You Have Landforms!

1. Each student will receive their own vocab card

2. The game begins with the teacher reading a term’s definition.

3. Students look at their cards to see if they have the term that matches the definition.

4. The student who has the term then reads the new definition on their card aloud.

I Have…

Desert

Who has…

An area in the desert with a water source.

Landform

Bingo!

BINGO! Match the bingo definitions with these terms.

ArchipelagoDelta Isthmus Plain

Atoll Desert Lake River

Basin Dune Mountain Strait

Bay Fjord Oasis Valley

Canyon Glacier Ocean Volcano

Coast Gulf Peninsula

Coral Reef Island