The surface of the earth is not uniform everywhere, the earth has an infinite variety of landforms. The following are some examples of major and minor landforms:
The landforms are the result of two processes:
Internal Process:
This leads to the upliftment and sinking of the earth's surface at several places. Internal processes are Earthquake, Volcanic, and convection cells.
External Process: These are:
Erosion:
Wearing down of earth's surface and getting lowered by the process of erosion.
Deposition:
Landforms are rebuilt by the process of deposition.
Agents of erosion and deposition are running water, ice, and wind.
There are three types of Mountains:
Fold Mountains:
Fold mountains are created due to tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Alps are an example of fold mountain ranges. Aravali is the oldest fold mountain in the world.
Block Mountains:
Block mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically.
Rhine Valley and Vosges Mountains are examples of block mountains in Europe.
Volcanic Mountains:
Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activities. For, example, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Fujiyama in Japan are examples of Volcanic activities.
Importance of Mountains:
The following are the important:
Importance of Plateaus:
Importance of plains:
Fold Mountains:
Fold mountains are created due to tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Alps are an example of fold mountain ranges. Aravali is the oldest fold mountain in the world.
Block Mountains:
Block mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically.
Rhine Valley and Vosges Mountains are examples of block mountains in Europe.
Volcanic Mountains:
Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activities. For, example, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Fujiyama in Japan are examples of Volcanic activities.
Q4. How are mountains useful to man?
For example, the Great Plains of India are made by the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries.
- Mountains
- Plateau
- Basin
- Hills
- Isthmus
- Plains
- Strait
- Lake
- River
- Island Delta
- Peninsula
- Beach
The landforms are the result of two processes:
- Internal process
- External Process
Internal Process:
This leads to the upliftment and sinking of the earth's surface at several places. Internal processes are Earthquake, Volcanic, and convection cells.
External Process: These are:
- Weathering
- Erosion
- Deposition
Erosion:
Wearing down of earth's surface and getting lowered by the process of erosion.
Deposition:
Landforms are rebuilt by the process of deposition.
Agents of erosion and deposition are running water, ice, and wind.
Mountains
- It is the natural elevation of the earth's surface and higher than the surrounding areas.
- It may have a small summit and a broad base.
- As we go higher the mountain climate becomes colder.
- Glaciers are permanent rivers of ice.
- There are harsh climates, steep slopes, and less land for farming in the mountain region.
- Mountain range: Mountains may be arranged in a line called mountain range.
- Many mountain systems consist of a series of parallel ranges extending over hundreds of kilometers, for example, the Himalayas, Alps, and Rocky.
There are three types of Mountains:
- Fold Mountains
- Block mountains
- Volcanic Mountains
Fold Mountains:
Fold mountains are created due to tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Alps are an example of fold mountain ranges. Aravali is the oldest fold mountain in the world.
Block Mountains:
Block mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically.
- Uplifted blocks are called Horsts.
- Lowered blocks are called Graben
Rhine Valley and Vosges Mountains are examples of block mountains in Europe.
Volcanic Mountains:
Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activities. For, example, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Fujiyama in Japan are examples of Volcanic activities.
Importance of Mountains:
The following are the important:
- Mountains are storehouses of water.
- Many rivers originated from glaciers.
- Water from mountains:
- Use for irrigation
- Hydroelectricity
- River valleys and Terraces are ideal for the cultivation of crops such as tea, coffee, and rubber.
- The rich variety of flora and fauna.
- Forest provides fuels, fodder, shelter, herbs, etc
- Mountains are the idealistic site for tourists.
- Sports like paragliding, hang gliding, river rafting, etc
Plateaus
- A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is like flat-topped tableland standing above the surrounding areas.
- It may have one or more sides with steep slopes
- Plateaus may be old or young
- For example, the Deccan plateaus in India and, the East African plateaus in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
- Tibet plateau is the highest plateau in the world having a height of 4000 to 6000 meters.
Importance of Plateaus:
- It is rich in mineral deposits. For example, the African plateau is famous for Gold and diamond mining.
- In India, the Chhota Nagpur Plateau is a huge reservoir of Iron ore, Coal, and Manganese.
- Having Fertile soils is good for crop cultivation.
- It is a source of many waterfalls. For examples:
- Hundra falls on Subarnarekha in Chhota Nagpur.
- Jog Falls in Karnataka.
- Provides tourism destination
Plains
- Plain's landforms are flat land not more than 200 meters above sea level.
- Most of the plains are formed by the river and its tributaries.
- Rivers carry forward eroded materials such as stone, clay, sand, silt, and other materials and they deposit over the plains.
- For example, the Great Plains of India are made by the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries.
- Yangtze River in China.
Importance of plains:
- The abundance of water availability and Very fertile land for food grain production
- Easy to construct roads and buildings in the plains area
- Plains are able to sustain a very dense population.
Exercises
Q1. What are the major landforms?
The following are the major landforms
- Mountains
- Plateaus
- Plains
- Hills
Q2: What is
the difference between a mountain and a plateau?
The following are the differences:
- Mountains have a small summit and broad base whereas Plateaus have no such summit but do have a flat surface at the top.
- The harsh climate and steep slopes are found in the mountains whereas in the plateaus, not much harsh climate and steep as the mountains.
- Mountains are the much higher elevated land as compared to the plateaus.
- Not many fertile lands are found in mountains whereas they are found in plateaus.
- Sparse population density in the mountains whereas medium population density is found in the plateaus.
- Very tough to develop infrastructure such as roads, highways, and railways whereas not as tough as mountains in plateaus.
- Mountains are the source of river origin whereas plateaus do not.
- Minerals are not much in the mountains and very hard to mine the minerals in the mountains whereas the abundance of minerals resources are found in plateaus and easy to mine the minerals in the plateaus region.
Q3. What are
the different types of mountains?
There are three types of Mountains:- Fold Mountains
- Block mountains
- Volcanic Mountains
Fold Mountains:
Fold mountains are created due to tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Alps are an example of fold mountain ranges. Aravali is the oldest fold mountain in the world.
Block Mountains:
Block mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically.
- Uplifted blocks are called Horsts.
- Lowered blocks are called Graben
Rhine Valley and Vosges Mountains are examples of block mountains in Europe.
Volcanic Mountains:
Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activities. For, example, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Fujiyama in Japan are examples of Volcanic activities.
Q4. How are mountains useful to man?
The following are the importance of mountains:
- Mountains are storehouses of water.
- Many rivers originated from glaciers.
- Water from mountains:
- Use for irrigation
- Hydroelectricity
- River valleys and Terraces are ideal for the cultivation of crops such as tea, coffee, and rubber.
- The rich variety of flora and fauna.
- Forest provides fuels, fodder, shelter, herbs, etc
- Mountains are the idealistic site for tourists.
- Sports like paragliding, hang gliding, river rafting, etc
Q5. How are
plains formed?
Plains are formed by the river and its tributaries. As the rivers carry forward eroded materials such as stone, clay, sand, silt, and other materials they deposit over the plains.
For example, the Great Plains of India are made by the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries.
Q6. Why are
the river plains thickly populated?
Because of the following characteristics, river plains are thick populations:
- Having an abundance of water availability
- Having very fertile land for food grain production
- Terrains are flat which makes it easy to construct roads and buildings in the plains area
- No harsh climate and climates are suitable for human settlement.
Q7. Why are mountains thinly
populated?
Because of the following reason sparse populations are found in mountains:- Very little fertile land for food grain population
- Harsh climate for human settlement
- Lack of basic infrastructure such as roads, railways, hospitals, etc in the mountains
- No industry in the mountains region; not many sources of employability
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