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• Natural physical feature found the
Earth’s surface
• Formed by natural forces such as
water, ice, and Earth’s tectonic plates
• Some landforms are formed in a
single day, while others take millions
of years to form.
• Wind’s chemical and
mechanical action
creates this landform
• The term is derived from
Aeolus, Greek god of the
winds
• Examples: dunes, loess,
and mushroom rocks
Dunes- mounds or small hills made up of sand
Loess- silt-sized sediment created by the
accumulation of windblown dust
Mushroom Rock- a.k.a. rock pedestal,
is formed of earthquakes or glacial action.
• Created from exclusively erosional
and weathering activities.
Mesas- a.k.a. table mountains, are elevated
areas of land with a flat top and sides that are
usually steep cliffs.
Butte- almost similar to
mesa as it has flat-topped
hill and steep sides, but
butte covers a smaller
amount of area
Formed by erosion when a
hard cap rock overlies a
layer of less resistant rock
Canyon- sometimes called as gorge, is a deep
ravine between cliffs that is often carved from
the landscape by a river, wind, or glacier
• Those that rise higher than the rest
of their surroundings
• They exhibit slopes, summit areas,
and local reliefs
• Like real mountains, they can be
created by different tectonic
activities.
Volcanoes- can be identified by its opening at
the top called the vent.
Hills- elevated portions of land that are formed by
geologic activities such as faulting; usually covered
with grass and are smaller than the mountains
Valley or Dale- low-lying
area of land situated
between hills or
mountains; usually
formed by the actions of
rivers and glacier
V-shaped valley: carved out by flowing
water
U-shaped valley: carved out by glaciers
V-shaped valley: carved out by flowing
water
U-shaped valley: carved out by glaciers
• Results of the actions of the glaciers
• Glaciers- huge, slow-moving bodies of ice
Formed in high Formed in cold
mountains Polar regions
• Those that underwent sedimentation,
erosion, or deposition on the river bed.
• Glaciofluvial or fluvioglacial- of bodies
of water associated with these
landforms interacted with glaciers or
ice caps
• Shorelines were carved out by the force
of the sea
Delta- low-lying
triangular area located at
the mouth of rivers were it
meets an ocean, seas, or
estuaries
Contains rich soil washed away and deposited
by running water (Alluvium)
Peninsula- a.k.a. byland or biland; piece of land that
projects into a body of water and is connected to the
mainland by an isthmus
Came from the Latin word
which means “almost
island” as this landmass
is bordered by water on
three sides
Meander- a bend in a sinuous watercourse of the
river; formed when moving water in a stream erodes
the out banks and widen its valley
Sea cliffs- high rocky coasts that plunge to the edge of
the sea; result of the erosional actions of water and
wind; exposed to battering of waves, wind, etc.
• Flat and broad land
areas that have no great
changes in elevation
when measured with
reference to the mean
sea level.
• Flat and broad land
areas that have no great
changes in elevation
when measured with
reference to the mean
sea level.
• Abyssal plains – found
in the deepest part of the
ocean.
• Also known as table lands or flat-topped
mountains
• Portions of lands elevated thousands of feet
above their surroundings
• Results of geologic uplifts or the slow
movement of large parts of stable areas of
Earth’s crust
• Tibetan Plateau- world’s largest and highest
plateau; a.k.a. “Roof of the World”
• Orogeny- result of tectonic plate
movements
• Mountain- large and elevated
landform formed by tectonic forces or
volcanism
• Distinguished by steeply sloping sides
and sharp or slightly rounded ridges
and peaks
Mountain range-
series of closely
spaced mountains
that cover a
specific area of
the Earth.
Himalayas
• The highest
mountain system
and also the
youngest in the world
• comes from the
Sanskrit word means
“the House of Snow”
or “the Snowy Range”
Andes
The longest mountain chain in the world
The Appalachian
The oldest mountain range in the United States
The Alps
The largest mountain system in Europe
Rocky Mountains
The Major Mountain Range in Western North America
Great Dividing Range
A mountain range that forms a watershed; also called as
the Eastern Highlands
