Geomorphology: Climate World Climate

GEOMORPHOLOGY : THE STUDY OF THE CONFIGURATION OF THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
RELATED TERMS :

• PHYSIOGRAPHY

• RELIEF

• TOPOGRAPHY

• LANDFORMS

• LANDSCAPES

SURFACE FEATURES

EARTH = 2 PRINCIPAL PARTS

1. 1/3 LAND (CONSISTS OF FOUR LARGE LAND MASSES DIVIDED INTO SEVEN CONTINENTS & THOUSANDS OF SMALLER LAND MASSES

2. 2/3 WATER (FOUR MAJOR OCEANS & HUNDREDS OF SMALLER BODIES OF WATER

CONTINENTS (by the number of countries)

#1 Africa - (53)
#2 Asia - (47)
#3 Europe - (43)
#4 North America - (23)
#5 Oceania - (14)
#6 South America - (12)

Americas
(42,075,000 sq km) (825,000,000)
Eurasia
(54,697,000 sq km) (4,406,000,000)

Convert km (kilometers) to miles,
....multiply kilometers by: 0.621371

Convert sq km (kilometers) to sq miles,
.....multiply kilometers by: 0.386102

MAJOR PROCESSES

• DIASTROPHISM

• VOLCANISM

• GLACIATIONS

• GRADATION

• PLATE TECTONICS

DIASTROPHISM: THE BENDING, WARPING OR FOLDING OF THE EARHT’S CRUST; Large-scale deformation of the Earth's crust by natural processes, which leads to the formation of continents and ocean basins, mountain systems and rift valleys, and other features by mechanisms such as lithospheric plate movement, volcanic loading, or folding.

WARPING : GENTLE BENDING OF THE EARTH’S CRUST

• FOLDING : MORE INTENSE, CREATES AN ACCORDION- LIKE SERIES OF FOLDS; ALSO CALLED “VALLEY & RIDGE TOPOGRAPHY”; COMPRESSION OF THE EARTH’S CRUSTDUE TO THE COLLISION OF PLATES, RESULTING INTO THE FORMATION OF MOUNTAINS.

➢ ANTICLINE = UPWARD ARCH

➢ SYNCLINE = DOWNWARD ARCH

• FAULTING : BREAK OR FRACTURE IN THE EARTH’S CRUST CAUSING TREMORS & EARTHQUAKES

VOLCANISM: POURING OUT OF MOLTEN MATERIALS FROM CRACKS IN THE EARTH

• INTRUSIVE: MOLTEN MATERIALS SOLIDIFY BEFORE REACHING THE EARTH’S SURFACE

• EXTRUSIVE: MOLTEN MATERIALS