Landforms on earth

Mountains
Plateaus
Plains

Types of mountains

Fold mountains

Mountains created due to

convergent boundaries of both
1) O-C (Rockies, Andes)
2) C-C (Himalayas, Alps)
Compressive forces of plates
)Youngest mountains on earth
)True mountains

Geomorph
Fold
mountains

Characteristics of Fold mountains

1)Extensive mountain chain

2) Great heights
3) Formed along unstable parts of the
earth
4) Sedimentary deposits of marine
origin (C-C)

Phases of mountain building

Pull of descending
limb of convection
current
great pressure of
compressive force
exerted by the
convection cells

Geo-syncline
Elongated, narrow
depression on
continental margins
Here sediments
from both land and
ocean accumulate

C-C collision
Sediments from
continental crusts
of both plates +
geo-syncline
folded
Because of
sediments of geosyncline marine
origin

Fold mountains of the world

Pamir Knot

Kirthar
range

Su
ra l a i
ng m
e an

Hindu kush, Kirthar and Sulaiman Ranges

Mountains in Europe

List of mountains to locate

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Alaska range
Southern Alps
Dinaric Alps
Atlas mountains
Pyrenees
Caucasus
Apennines
Taurus
Elburz and Zagros

9) Hindukush
10) Kirthar range
11) Kunlun Shan
12) Urals mountains
13) Appalachian
mountains
14) Great Dividing
Range

Importance of mountain building process

understanding of the origin and evolution of
earths crust.
At the time of the formation of the earth
crust, first basaltic crust of ocean - breaking
and melting - a lighter continental crust
developed.
collide with one another = a larger land
mass.
The joints = fold-mountains.

Urals Mountains

Types of mountains

Block mountains formation

Block mountains
Fault-block mt.
Due to forces within
interior of the earth
Uplifted part = horst
depressed part =
Grabben
Horst => block
mountains
Grabben => rift valley

Phases of Divergent continental crust

African rift valley block mountains

Example of block mountains

Europe

India

comparison
Fold mountains

Block mountains
Not true mountains
True mountains
Tensile force
Compressive force -faulting
folding
Diverging plates
Due to collision of
(Conti)
plates (C-C, O-C)
Differential erosion
Folding of
of horst of fault
sedimentary rocks
looks like mountains

Landforms on earth

Plateaus
Meaning:
Flat, Table land,
upland, higher
than
surrounding
areas

Formation of Plateaus

Raised land during mountains building

process
Deposition from lava
Deposition from wind
Eroded due to glaciers

Types of plateau
Intermontane
plateau

Bolivia plateau
Tibetan plateau
Columbia plateau
Colorado plateau
Anatolia Plateau
(Turkey)

Continental
plateau

Deccan plateau
Katanga plateau
Ozark plateau
(USA)
Ethiopian
highland

Types of Plateau

Glacial plateau

Lava plateau

Columbia-snake
Grahwal plateau plateau (USA)
Deccan Plateau
Laurentian
Shan plateau
plateau
(Canada)
(Myanmar)

Bolivia plateau

Columbiacolorado

Ozark plateau

Anatolia plateau

Loess plateau

Laurentian plateau

Katanga Plateau
Origin of River
Congo and Zambezi
Dense equatorial
forest
Known for resources
- Gold, diamonds,
Copper

Plateau of Mato Grasso, Brazil

Equatorial region
Dense rainforest
Known for gold
reserve

Shan plateau,
Myanmar
Plateau
crossed by
Salween river
Irrawaddy river
passed in eastern
side
Shan plateau- chief
source of lead, zinc
and silver Myanmar
Known for teak
forest
(Burmese Teak)

Roof of the
Tibetan plateau

world highest
and largest
plateau
Source of Indus,
Brahmaputra,
Salween,
Mekong,
Yangtse, Hwang
He
Imp role in
Indian monsoon

Batholith
Granite
Less mobile,
cannot move
upward
Backbone of
fold
mountains

Landforms on earth

Mountains
Plateaus
Plains

Plains
Meaning
Flat areas with low
heights
Best for human
habitation
Most populated
areas of the world
alluvial plains of
rivers

Depositional plains
- Rivers
- Sea (sub-merged
coast)
Erosional plains
- Erosion of plateau

Important river basins of the world

Asia

Europ Afric
e
a

Indus

Danube Nile

Ganga
Brahmaputra

Rhine

Yangtze (China)
Rhone
Hwang He (China) Po
Ob- Irtysh (Russia) Don
Mekong (SE Asia)

South North America

Ameri
ca

Amazon Mississippi
Missouri
Congo Parana- Colorado
Paragua
y
Niger
St. Lawrence
Zambe
Yukon
zi
Orang
Mackenzie
e

Yangtze river, China

Important locations
Yangtze 3th longest river in the world
Navigable river 35% of Chinas population
Sichuan basin rice cultivation
Shanghai biggest port of China
Wuhan Iron and steel
Nanjing textile, iron and steel
Chengdu oil and gas
Three gorge dam
Yun ho canal connect Yangtze with Hwang He

Euphrates- Tigris river, Iraq

Locations near Euphrates-Tigris

Lake Van,
Lake Urmia
Important centers in Iraq:
Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Al Basra

Amazon river, Brazil

Locations near Amazon river

Largest, 2nd longest river

Selvas equatorial rain forest
Tin, rubber in Selvas
Sertao ranching region
Petroleum reserve at the mouth
Manaus Iron ore, navigable
plateau of Mato Grasso gold reserve

Mississippi , USA

Locations near Mississippi basin

Temperate grasslands Prairies

Wheat, corn and cotton cultivation
Important cites:
Kansas agriculture
St. Pittsburg iron and steel
New Orleans port, ship building

Murray-Darling basin, Australia

Location near Murray-darling basin

Temperate grassland downs

Wheat cultivation
Sheep rearing ,Animal husbandry
Wool and dairy production

Landforms on earth
Mountains (fold and block)
Plateaus
Plains

Natural Catastrophic
events

volcanism
earthquake
Tsunami

complete sequence of
processes of creation and
movement of magma +
creation of volcanic landforms
Volcanism is not random
Reason associated with
volcanism is also not random

Geomorph
o
Volcanism

Distribution of Volcanism
1st
Pacific Ring of
Fire
O-O
convergence
O-C
convergence

Plate movements
O-O : Volcanic arc

O-C :Volcanic
mountains

Mid Oceanic Ridge

2nd
O-O divergence
Basaltic
peaceful
eruption

Mediterranean volcanism
3th
Breaking up of
Mediterranean
plates into
multiple blocks
Andesitic eruption
Frequent
interaction
Mt. Etna, Mt.

History of Mediterranean sea

Mediterranean sea is
residual part of Tethys
sea
Tethys sea was located
between Laurasia and
Gondwana
Collision of Africa to
Laurasia breaking up of
plates of Mediterranean
sea

Hot Spot Volcanoes

4th
Magma From deep
interior -Basaltic
Fixed place - Plate
movement
Island arc
Direction of plate
Hawaii, Reunion,
Kurile, Aleutian

Aleutian Islands

comparison
Basaltic eruption
Occur at midoceanic ridge and
hot spot volcanism
Basalt highly fluid
mobile
Spread across
easily
Quite eruption

Andesitic eruption
Volcanic arcs,
volcanic mountains
Andesite less fluid
less mobile
Solidifies at short
distance- intense
pressure develop
inside explosive

comparison
Basaltic eruption

Andesitic eruption

Volcanic Landforms

Intrusive Landforms

Intrusive Volcanic Landforms

Intrusive Landforms

Intrusion of Magma in sedimentary rocks

Sills (Horizontal)

Dyke (Vertical)

Laccolith magma which could not come out

Lopolith saucer-shaped

Phacolith shape like waves

Batholith intrusive granitic rock

Extrusive volcanic Landforms

Lava plateaus

Hot spot volcano on

continental crust
Cracks on
continental crust
Basaltic eruption
Spread across the
land
Layer over layer
EX. Deccan lava
trapps

Indian Deccan trap

Indian plate passed
over a hot spot near
Reunion Island
Basaltic eruption
Layer over layers
looks like steps =>
Deccan lava traps
Soil black soil
regur

Spatial distribution of Lava Plateau

List of lava plateaus of the world

Columbia-snake
plateau, USA
Ozark plateau, USA
Parana-Patagonia, S.
America
Adamawa plateau,
Africa
Bie plateau, Africa
Katanga Plateau, Africa

Deccan plateau, India

Arabian plateau
Balkan plateau, Europe
Siberian plateau, Russia
Yunan Plateau, China
Shan plateau, Myanmar
Kimberly plateau,
Australia

Extrusive volcanic Landforms

Shield / Dome volcano

Volcanic Islands (Hot
spot)
Highly fluid lava
(basaltic) build dome
Gentle slope
Quite volcano
Volcanoes of Hawaii

Cinder cones
O-C collision
volcanic mountains
Less fluid lava
(Andesitic) explode
violently
Viscous lava solidifies
at short distance
Mt. Paricutin, Mexico

Composite Cones
Volcanic
mountains
Each new eruption
new layers of
ash or lava
Mt. Stromboli, Mt.
Vesuvius, Mt. Fuji

Types of Volcanic cones

Shield/
dome
Highly fluid
Silent flow

Cinder

Composite

Less fluid /
highly viscous
Violent
eruption

Fluid +
viscous
Multiple and
violent
eruption
Highest
volcanoes
Large

Gentle slope

Steep slope

Small

Small

Geysers
Geysers
=fountains of Hot
water
Ground water
heated by
shallow source of
magma
Old faithful
geyser, Yellow
stone park, USA

Hot Spring
Hot Spring:
Water reach deep
enough heated
by interior
Locate any part of
the world


Geyser

G/w
heated
Difference between geyser and Hotspring
by shallow magma
source
Hot spring g/w heated
by either magma
source or heated rocks
Geyser chamber in
interior pressure
comes out like fountain
Hot spring - quite

comparison
geyser

Hot spring
Found anywhere
Geysers are rare
They gets different
Hot water dissolved
colors from heatwith silica
loving bacteria, like
accumulated on
cyanobacteria
surface gives
Medicinal values
different colours

Can be helpful in
USA, - Yellowstone
harness
geo-thermal
park
energy

Geo-thermal energy
Heated water is
taken out
used for moving
turbine
generation of
electricity
Cooled water
flown back into
interior

Limitations of geo-thermal energy

Difficult to locate a good source of

geothermal reservoir with current
technology
Difficult to dig a deep well with hard
and hot bedrock
Harmful gases can escape from the
earth interior while exploration GHG
gases and dissolved toxic elements

Sudden movement or vibration

in earths crust.
Release of the energy due to
intense pressure + active
internal dynamism of the earth

Geomorph
o
Earthquake

Types of Earthquake
1) Shallow focus
EQ
2) Intermediate
focus EQ
3) Deep focus EQ
Shallow focus
destructive

Earthquakes in Japan
At Junction of 3
plates

Subduction of
Pacific plate

Reasons behind EQ
1st
Collision of
Plate
boundaries
O-O collision
O-C collision
C-C collision

Reasons behind EQ
2nd
Divergent
Plate
boundaries
O-O
divergence
MOR

Reasons behind EQ
3th
Transverse plate
boundaries
Friction developed
between two plates

Reasons behind EQ
4th
Mediterranean
sea region
Numerous small
plates
Frequent
interactions

Reasons behind EQ
5th
Craton = stable part
of crust
Re-emergence of old
fractures

6th
Human Induced
1) RIS
2) mining
3) Nuclear testing

Submarine EQ
Sudden disturbances of
underlying plates transmit the
shock waves to surface waves

Geomorph
o
Tsunami

comparison
Normal waves

Tsunami waves

Speed 700 kmph

Speed 100 kmph
Cover longer
Cover shorter
distances
distances
Wavelength > 150
Wavelength ~100 km
km

wavelength
Distance between
two crests of
troughs =
wavelength
Waves of Tsunami
are wider than
normal waves of the
ocean water

Phase 1
EQ on ocean crust
uplift the water upward
Tsunami wave
generated
Vessels in the mid-sea
cannot recongnise the
tsunami waves
Sea water recede at
the shore

Phase 2
At coast depth
decrease wavelength
decreases wave
height increases
A huge wall of water
10-12 floor high
created
Enormous energy
released at the shore

Phase 3

Hit the coast

Tsunami- not a
single wave but
multiple waves
4th and 8th waves are
the most dangerous
Time lapse between
each waves 15 to
50 minutes

Phases of tsunami

Indian preparedness against Tsunami

Tsunami Early warning system- gives warning in 10
minutes of submarine earthquake
Indian National centre for Ocean Information
Sciences (INCOIS),Hyderabad
To capture Tsunami wave amplitude on 24x7 basis
real time sea-level sensors with bottom pressure
recorders
HF radars for coastal currents
Coastal tide gauge stations

Catastrophic events on earth

Their reasons and distributions
Volcanism
EQ
Tsunami