Introduction to Major Landforms

Landforms: In simple words, a landform is nothing but a land feature on the solid surface of a planet. Landforms, in general, make up a terrain. Furthermore, their arrangement in a given landscape is called topography. Landforms include mountains, valleys, hills, canyons, bays and shorelines.

Landforms: Definition

Wikipedia defines landforms as “The recognisable, naturally formed feature on the Earth’s surface. Landforms have a characteristic shape and can include such large features as plains, plateaus, mountains, and valleys, as well as smaller features such as hills, eskers, and canyons.”

Also Read: Climate, definition and causes

Landforms: Causes

It’s interesting to note that there are a few causes that lead to changes in landforms. For example, movement of tectonic plates under the earth. As a consequence of their movement, landforms on the surface of the planet can be altered. They can have a tangible effect on mountains and hills, changing their positions.

Another example would be the effect of water and wind on the surface of earth. As they consistently hit the surface, they can create valleys and canyons (gorges with river flowing through it). For any phenomenal change on the surface, this action has to go on for millions of years.

You may be surprised to know that it took as many 6 million years for the Grand Canyon to form by the flow of the River Colorado! It runs 446 kilometres!

Also Read: Global Warming and and Greenhouse Effect

Landforms: Characteristics

It is interesting to note that landforms can be classified based on physical attributes. These are:

Elevation
Slope
Orientation
Stratification
Rock exposure
Soil type

As regards different types of landforms, they are mountains, hills, plateaus and hills.

Highest and Deepest Landforms

Mount Everest, measuring 8,850 metres or 29,035 feet above sea level, in Nepal is the highest landform on our planet. It is needless to say that it is a part of the mighty Himalayan range that has its presence in several Asian countries.

On the other hand, the Mariana trench is the deepest landform on Earth. It lies in the South Pacific Ocean. It is in the form of a mountain range and exists under water. It is 11,034 metres deep!

Exceptions

While discussing landforms, it is natural to think that harbours or ports also come under the same bracket. But the classification of landforms categorically rejects man-made features. Such features include canals, ports and as said, harbours as well.

Additionally, even a few geographical features like deserts, forests and grasslands fail to classify as landforms. Since landforms aren’t limited to planet earth, mountains, hills, polar caps found on other planets and anywhere in the universe also fall under the defined ambit of landforms.

How Landforms Affect a Particular Place

It is also interesting to note that landforms have a palpable say in ecological factors of a particular place. They could be availability of water and even exposure to solar energy. The changing heights and inclination of ground surface also affect climate and hydrologic and soil-forming processes.

Landforms also affect the weather. Volcanoes, plains and even the sea have an effect on the weather. We all know that due to sunlight, the surface of the earth heats up during the day. This causes what is called convection of air. This causes formation of clouds. Consequently, there is production of winds, sea breezes and even monsoons winds.

We hope this article on Introduction to Major landforms gives you a bird’s eye view of this feature affects our planet. For more such informative articles, keep visiting Embibe.