DIFFERENT

LANDFORMS AND
PROCESSES INVOLVED
IN THEIR FORMATION

This Photo by Unknown A uthor is licensed un der CC BY

The scientific study of landforms and the processes
that shape them is known as geomorphology. It
focuses on predicting future changes and
understanding landform history and dynamics
through observations, experiments, and modelling.

Topography, on the other hand, is the study of a

region’s current terrain features and the graphic
representation of a specific landforms on a map.
LANDFORMS
- are natural physical feature found
on the Earth’s surface. They are
formed by natural forces such as
water, wind, ice, and Earth’s
tectonic plates. Some landforms
are formed in a single day, while
others take millions of years to
form.
AEOLIAN LANDFORMS
AEOLIAN LANDFORMS
Wind’s chemical and mechanical actions creates aeolian
landforms. The term is derived from Aeolus, the Greek god of the
winds. Wind-dominated areas are more likely to have aeolian
landforms such as dunes, loess, and mushroom rocks.

Dunes are mounds or small hills made up of sand, measuring

between 1-10m high. They may be dome-shaped, crescent-shaped,
star-shaped, linear-shaped, or parabolic.
SAND DUNE IN
SOSSUSVLEI,
NAMIBIA
Loess is silt-sized sediment created by the accumulation of windblown
dust. It has a yellowish or brownish appearance and “cat steps”. Its
thickness varies between a few centimeters and about 100m. Loess is
a result of glacial activity in a particular area. It is common in
Europe, the Mississippi Valley, and Asia.

Mushroom Rock, also known as rock pedestal, is a naturally occurring

rock that is formed as result of earthquakes or glacial action.
LOESS PLATEAU- CAMEL ROCK, NEW
YINGDIAN ZHU MEXICO
EROSIONAL LANDFORMS
Erosional Landforms are created from exclusively erosional and
weathering activities. Examples of this types are mesas, buttes, and
canyons.

Mesas (also called table mountains) are elevated areas of land with a
flat top and slides that are usually steep cliffs. They are usually
surrounded by a resistant rock known as a cap rock.
THE GRAND
MESA,
WESTERN
COLORADO
Butte is almost similar to mesa as it has a flat-topped hill and steep
sides and is formed in arid to semi-arid desert conditions. The
difference is that a butte covers a smaller amount of area when
compared to a mesa. Its name originated from a French word that
means “hillock” or small hill. They are formed by erosion when a
hard cap rock overlies a layer of less resistant rock.
THE ELEPHANT
BUTTE, NEW
MEXICO
Canyons (sometimes called gorge) is a deep ravine cliffs that is often
carved from the landscape by a river, wind, or glacier. It may appear
like a valley except that it is deep-seated, narrow, and surrounded by
steep sides. Unlike other landforms, canyons were not produced by
tectonic activities or natural disasters but were influenced by water
and wind erosion over a long period of geologic time.
THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA, USA
MOUNTAINOUS
AND GLACIAL
LANDFORMS
Mountainous Landforms are 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 are landforms that are controlled by geological processes

that form them continually act on them after their formation. A
volcanic mountain can be identified from its opening at the top called
the vent. The volcano’s cone-shaped structure or edifice is carved out
by the more or less symmetrical accumulation of lava and other
pyroclastic materials around its central vent system.
MAYON VOLCANO,
PHILIPPINES
Hills are elevated portions of land that are formed by geologic
activities such as faulting. They are usually covered with grass and are
used as grazing lands for goats, cattle and carabaos. They are smaller
than mountains, only about 300m high, with sloping sides unlike the
steepness of the latter. However, it is possible that hills can originate
from mountains when extensive erosion occurs.
CHOCOLATE
HILLS,
PHILIPPINES
Valley or Dale is a low-lying area of land situated between hills or
mountains. They are usually formed by the actions of rivers and
glacier. These two forces also determine the shape of a valley :V-
shaped when carved out by flowing water and U-shaped when carved
out by glaciers. As a broad geographic landform, valleys can be
further classified as vale, dell, mountain cove, hollow, and coon or
hanging valley.
Glacial Landforms are the results of the actions of the glaciers.
Glaciers are huge, slow-moving bodies of ice. Most of the glacial
landforms that we have today are created by the movements of large
ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations. There are two main
types of glaciers, namely alpine and continental. Alphine glaciers are
formed in high mountains, while continental glaciers are formed in
cold Polar Regions.
THE ALETSCH GLACIER,
SWISS ALPS
FLUVIAL AND
COASTAL
LANDFORMS
Fluvial landforms are those that underwent sedimentation, erosion or
deposition on the riverbed. If the bodies of water associated with
these landforms interacted with glaciers or ice caps, they are called
glaciofluvial or fluvioglacial.

Over thousands of years, the planet’s shorelines were carved out by

the force of the sea. Through the process called wave refraction, waves
crests in bodies of water realign themselves as a result of decreasing
depths. As they tumble along the shore, coastal erosions occur giving
birth to different coastal landforms.
A delta is typically a low-lying triangular area located at the mouth of
rivers where it meets an oceans , seas, or estuaries. It contains rich soil
which has been washed away and deposited by running water.
Alluvium refers to the sediment that has accumulated due to the
interaction of delta and bodies of water. In terms of age, deltas are
not very old as the formation of contemporary deltas dated back to
about 7,000 years ago.
THE GANGES
DELTA –THE
LARGEST
DELTA IN THE
WORLD
A Peninsula, also called byland or biland, is a piece of land that
projects into a body of water and is connected to the mainland by an
isthmus. It came from the Latin word which means “almost island”
as this landmass is bordered by water on three sides. Peninsulas as
formed by lithospheric movement, water elevation, and erosion. For
instance, geomorphologists believe that the Antarctic Peninsula was
not part of Antarctica but rather was part of South America. The
present positioning of this peninsula is theorized to have been caused
by the lithospheric movement some 140 million years ago.
CAPE
PENINSULA
A meander is a bend in a sinuous watercourse of the river. It is
formed when moving water in a stream erodes the out banks and then
widen its valley. Every meander has a concave bank(inner bank) and a
convex bank(outside bank). Deposition of sediments occurs at the
inner bank, whereas erosions take place at the outer edge. There are
some instances when meanders migrate downstream, thus adding to
the challenges of maintaining stable roads and bridges.
FLOODPLAIN OF RIO NEGRO, ARGENTINA
Sea cliffs are high rocky coasts that plunge to the edge of the sea.
They are the results of erosional actions of water and wind. Due to
their location, sea cliffs are exposed to the battering of waves, winds,
and sea spray. Sea cliffs are primarily made of limestone and
sandstone and these rocks are resistant to weathering. Cliffs are ideal
nesting habitats for many species of sea birds. They also serve as
places for adventures, considered to be one of Ireland’s top tourist
spot
THE CLIFF OF MOHER
PLAINS
Plains are flat and broad land areas that have no great changes in elevation
when measured with reference to the mean sea level. Plains, such as
grasslands, prairies, and steeps, are created either by sedimentation of the
eroded soil from the hills and mountains or by flowing lava deposited by
the agents, such as wind, water, and ice. Plains may be found along a
coast, inland, or on the ocean floors. Coastal plains generally rise from sea
level until they meet higher landforms, such as plateaus or mountains.
Inland plains maybe formed at high altitudes. High plains such as the
Great Plains of the USA can have an elevation up to 600m and are
influenced by wind erosion. Plains that are found in the deepest part of
the ocean are called abyssal plains. They are located at a depth of 3-6km
between the foot of a continental rise and mid-ocean range. Abyssal plains
cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface.
THE TIBETAN PLATEAU
PLATEAUS
Plateaus, also known as table lands or flat-topped mountains, are
portions of lands elevated thousands of feet above their surroundings.
They are the results of geologic uplifts or a slow movement of large
parts of stable areas of Earth’s crust. Some are formed by volcanic
eruptions. Lava from volcanoes spread out and creates lava or basalt
plateaus. Weathering of land areas also produces this type of
landforms.
Plateaus covers about 45% of Earth’s land surface. Their sizes vary
from an area of several square kilometers or broad enough to cover a
land area about four times the size of France.
MOUNTAIN RANGES
The Earth’s crust is not made up entirely of one piece. According to
plate tectonics, the lithosphere is divided into huge plates that slide
under, over, and past each other, resulting in mountain formation,
volcanism, earthquakes, and other phenomena.

Orogeny is the result of tectonic plate movements. Deformed rocks

also known as orogens or orogenic belts form during orogenesis as the
continental plate crumples and pushes upwards. The result of this
geological process is a landmass known as a mountain.
A mountain may be defined as a location with a significantly higher
elevation higher than the surrounding area. It refers to a large and
elevated landform formed by tectonic forces or volcanism. Mountains
are distinguished by steeply slopping sides and sharp or slightly
rounded ridges and peaks. The top or summit of a mountain, its slope
or side, and a very steep valley between young mountains known as
the gorge are the primary features of a mountain.

Orogenesis explains that mountains are built by internal processes

through geologic time. These mountain-building processes are
triggered by geothermal heat generated by radioactive decay in
Earth’s interior.
STAGE 1: ACCUMULATION
OF SEDIMENTS
Igneous rocks and sediments form mountain belts. These
accumulated layers can be hundred of kilometers thick and come
from nearby landmasses. Particles are released from rocks and
sediments are then transported to the edge of the continental crust by
weathering and erosion. These elements lithify beyond the continents
to form the limestones, sandstones, and shales, that make up
continental shelves, slopes, and rises.
STAGE 2: OROGENIC
PERIOD OF ROCK
DEFORMATION AND
CRUSTAL UPLIFT
During the orogenic period, the accumulated sediments are deformed by
compressional forces caused by tectonic plate collisions. There are three
types of tectonic convergence: arc-continental, oceanic-continental, and
continental-continental. When an island arc collides with the edge of a
continental plate, an arc-continental event occurs. The ocean plate area
between the arc and the continent is subducted into the asthenosphere, and
the sediments associated with the arc adhere to the continent’s margin
over time. The collision of the ocean and continental plates in an oceanic-
continental convergence allows for the accretion of marine sedimentary
deposits to the continent’s edge. Finally, when an ocean basin closes and
two continental plates collide, continental-continental convergence occurs.
The mountain systems of Appalachian, Himalayas, and the Urals are
formed by this type of mountain building.
STAGE 3: PERIOD OF CRUSTAL UPLIFT
CAUSED BY ISOSTATIC REBOUND AND
BLOCK-FAULTING
The final stage of orogenesis occurs at the end of the plate convergence. At
this stage, crustal uplift occurs due to isostatic rebound and block-faulting.
Isostatic rebound is exhibited when a crust bends the lithosphere into the
asthenosphere causing the lower layer to flow out of the way. The crust
will then sink until it reaches its buoyancy point. If anything changes the
load, isostatic rebound occurs and the crust rises back after a geologic
time.
Through erosional forces, surface materials from the mountains are
removed allowing the weight of the crust in this region to become
progressively less. When the weight decreases, the continental crust makes
an isostatic adjustments causing it to float higher in the mantle. This stage
also causes block-faulting. Here, tensional forces exists in a horizontal
direction and breaks the continental crust into pieces of smaller blocks.
Each fault block moves vertically at a different orientations and elevations
to compensate for the tensional forces and eventually produce normal and
graben faults.