Runni

ngWat
erandFl
uvi
alLandf
orms
Thewor kofr
unningwat eri
ntheform ofsurf
acerunofforoverlandfl
owand
str
eamsi smostimportantofallt
heexogeneticorpl
anationprocessesbecause
therunni
ngwateristhemostwi despreadexogenet
icprocessont hi
searth.The
l
andformseit
hercarvedoutorbui l
tupbyrunningwaterarecalledfl
uvi
al
l
andformsandther unni
ngwat erwhichshapesthem arecall
edf l
uvi
alpr
ocess.

Ty
pesoff
luv
ialer
osi
on:

1.Soluti
onorcor rosioninvol
vest
hedi ssol
utionofsol
ublemateri
alst
hroughthe
processesofdisintegrat
ionanddecomposi t
ionofcarbonater
ocks.Thesolubl
e
mat er
ial
sareremov edfr
om theparentrocksandaremi xedwit
htherunning
waterofthestreams.

2.Abrasi
oninvol
vesther
emovalofl
oosenedmat er
ial
softherocksofvall
ey
wall
sandv al
leyf
loor
swit
hthehelpofer
osional
tools(boul
der
s,pebbles,
cobbl
esetc.)

3.At
tri
ti
oni
sthemechani
cal
wearandt
earofer
osi
onal
tool
sint
hemsel
ves.

4.Hy
draul
icActi
oninvolv
esthebreakdownoft
her
ocksofv
all
eysi
desduet
othe
i
mpactofwatercur
rentsofchannel
.

Er
osi
onal
Landf
orms:

1.Ri
verv
all
eys:

Valleysstartassmal l
andnar rowr i
lls;t
heril
lswillgradual
lydev elopintolong
andwi degul l
ies;
thegullieswillf
urtherdeepen,wi denandl engt hent ogiveri
set o
ravines.A r
av i
ne 
isalandf or
m narrowert hanacany onandi sof tenthepr oduct
ofst r
eamcut ti
ngerosion.Furthererosionofravi
neswoul df or
mv al
leys.
Dependi ngupondi mensionsandshape, manyt ypesofv alleyslikeV- shaped
vall
ey ,
gorge,canyonset c.canber ecognised.Agor geisadeepv al
leywithv er
y
steept ostr
aightsidesandacany oni scharact
erizedbyst eepst eplikeside
slopesandmaybeasdeepasgor ge.Agor geisal mostequal inwi dthatitstop
aswel lasitsbottom.Incont r
ast,acany oniswiderati tstopt hanati t
sbottom.

2.Pot
hol
esandPl
ungePool
s:

Overther
ockybedsofthehi
llst
reamsmoreorlessci
rcul
ardepr
essioncal
l
ed
pothol
esfor
m becauseofst
ream er
osi
onaidedbytheabrasi
onofrock
fragments.Atthefootofwat
erf
all
salso,largepothol
es,qui
tedeepandwi de,
form becauseofthesheari
mpactofwat erandrotati
onofboulders.Suchlar
ge
anddeephol esatthebaseofwater
fall
sar ecall
edplungepools.

3.Wat
erf
all
s:

Water
fal
lsarecausedbysuddendescentorabruptbreaki
nthelongit
udinal
cour
seoftheriv
ersduetofactor
ssuchasv ar
iati
onintherel
ati
veresi
stanceof
ther
ocks,f
alli
nthesealevel
,ear
thmov ementsetc.

4.Ri
ver
sMeander
ing:

I
tr ef
erstothebendsofl ongit
udinalcoursesoft
heri
vers.Meanderi
ngisa
naturalpr
ocesswhi chi
sgov ernedbyanumberofenv ir
onmentalfactor
sviz.
l
it
hologicalcharact
eri
sti
cs,topography,gener
alsl
ope,
vegetat
ion,annual
preci
pit
ationetc.

Meander
saredi
vi
dedi
ntot
womaj
ort
ypesont
hebasi
soft
henat
ureoff
luv
ial
er
osi
one.g.
:

(
1)Meander
sdev
elopedt
hroughl
ater
aler
osi
on(
nor
mal
meander
s),
 

(
2)Meander
sdev
elopedbyv
ert
ical
erosi
onorv
all
eydeepeni
ng(
inci
sed
meander
s)

Fur
t her
,inci
sedmean¬der
scanbedi
vi
dedont
hebasi
sofnat
ureandsl
opeof
val
leysidesint
o:

(i
)Ent
renchedori
ntrenchedmeander
shav
inguni
for
m sl
opesofbot
hthev
all
ey
si
desofmeanderloops,and

(i
i)I
ngrownmeander s,whichhaveunequalsl
opesofvall
eysideswher
einone
sideofthev al
leyrepresent
ingconcavesidei
sdeepl
yundercutandtheothersi
de
(convexside,sli
p-of
fslope)ischar
acter
izedbygent
leval
leysidesl
opeand
deposi¬t
ionofsedi ment smainl
ysands.

(
3)Mi
sfi
torunf
itmeanderi
sal
soi
dent
if
iedast
het
hir
dty
peofmeander
s.

Misf
itmeander
srepr
esentthosemeanderswhicharefor
medwithi
nthe
ext
ensi
veformermeander
sduet osubst
anti
aldecreasei
nthev
olumeofwat
er.

5.Oxbowl
akes:
Whent hecur v
atur
eofthemeanderloopsissoaccentuat
edduetolat
eral
erosi
on,themeanderloopsbecomeal mostci
rcul
arandthetwoendsofthe
meanderl oopscomecloser
,consequent
ly,
thestr
eamsst r
engt
henthei
rcourses
andmeanderl oopsar
eabandonedt ofor
m oxbowlakes.

Deposi
ti
onal
Landf
orms:

Thedeposit
ionofloadcarri
edbyt hestreamsiseff
ectedbyavari
etyoffact
ors,
suchas,decreasei
nchannel gradient
,spreadi
ngofst
ream wat
eroverlar
gerarea,
obst
ruct
ioninchannel f
low,decreaseinvolumeanddischar
geofwateretc.
Someoft hedeposit
ionall
andformsar e,

1.Al
luv
ialf
ansandcones:

Theyareformedduet oaccumul ati

onofmat erial
sf or
medatt hebaseoff oothi
l
ls
wherethereisabruptdropi nthechannel gr
adient.Thetransporti
ngcapaci t
yof
thestr
eamsdecr easesenor mousl yatthefoot
hi l
lzoneswhi l
etheyl eavet he
mountainsandent ertheplaintopographybecauseoft hesubst ant
ial decreasein
thei
rvel
ocityconsequentupondecr easeinchannel gr
adient.Consequent ly,l
oad
consi
sti
ngoff i
nert ocoarserandbi gsizedmat eri
alscomingf r
om upst ream is
deposi
tedatthepoi ntofbreaki nslopeorfoothil
lzoneandt husalluvialfansor
conesareformed.

Di
ff
erencebet
weenAl
l
uvi
alf
ansandAl
l
uvi
alcones

Theslopesoff ansaremuchgentlerthanthoseofall
uvi
alcones.Largeral
luv
ial
fansarecharacter
izedbygentl
etomoder ateslopeswhi
lealluvi
alconeshave
rel
ati
vel
ysteeperslopes.Al
luv
ialconesaremadeupofcoar sermateri
alst
han
theal
luvi
alfans.

2.Nat
urall
evees:

Thenarr
owbeltofri
dgesoflowheightbui
l
tbythedeposi
ti
onofsedi
mentsby
thespi
l
lwateroft
hestream oni
tseit
herbanki
scall
ednatur
all
eveeornat
ural
embankments.

3.Del
ta:

Thedeposit
ionalfeatureofalmosttr
iangul
arshapeatthemout hofariv
er
debouchi
ngeitherinthelakeoraseai scal
leddelt
a.Theidealcondi
ti
onfort
he
for
mationofdeltainclude:1.Shal
l
owSea2.Longcour seoft heri
ver
s.3.Medi
um
si
zeofthesedi
ments.4.Rel
ati
vel
ycal
m seaatt
hemout
hoft
her
iver
s.5.Lar
ge
amountofsedi
mentsupply.

Ty
pesofDel
ta:

1.ArcuateDelta:Suchdeltasarefor
medwhent heriverwat
erisasdenseas
theseawat er.Arcuatedel
taareformedofcoarsermater
ial
ssuchas
gravel
s,sandandsi lt
.Suchdelt
asareveryof
tenformedintheregi
onsof
semi -
ari
dclimate.E.g.GangesDelt
a,Nil
eDelt
a.

2.Bir
dFootdel
ta:Suchdelt
asareformedwhenr
iverwat
eri
sli
ght
ert
hant
he
seawater
.E.
g.Mississi
ppidel
ta.

3.Estuar
inedel
ta:Thedeltasformedduet
ofil
l
ingoft
heestuar
iesofr
iver
s
arecal
ledest
uarinedel
tas.E.g.Nar
madaandTapir
iver
s.

4.Abandoneddelta:Whentheri
versshi
ftt
heirmouthsintheseasand
oceans,newdeltasar
eformed,whil
etheprevi
ousdelt
asar el
eft
unnouri
shed.Suchdelt
asarecal
ledabandoneddelt
as.E.g.Hoogl
iRi
ver
.

SeaWav
esandCoast
alLandf
orms
Coastalprocessesarethemostdy namicandhencemostdest ruct
ive.Mostof
thechangesal ongthecoastsar
eaccompl i
shedbyt hewaves.Stor
m wav esand
tsunamiwav escancausef arr
eachingchangesinashortperi
odoft imethan
normalbreakingwav es.Aswaveenv i
ronmentchanges,t
heintensi
tyofthefor
ce
ofbreaki
ngwav eschanges.

Er
osi
onal
Landf
orms:

1.CapesandBays:A cape i
saheadl andorapr omontor
yoflargesizeext
endi
ng
i
ntoabodyofwater,usuall
ythesea.I t
 usuall
yrepr
esent
samar kedchangein
tr
endofthecoast
li
ne.Theirproxi
mi t
yt othecoastl
inemakesthem pronet
o
natur
alf
ormsoferosion,mainlyt
idalactions.

Abayhasawi dermout hthanagulf

.Baysaremoreoftenfor
medbytheer
osi
on
ofacoast
li
neorf l
ooding,whil
egulf
saregener
all
ycreatedbythemov
ementof
theEar
th’
splat
est oform deeper
,moreencl
osedwaters.

2.Wavecutcl
if
fsandterracesaretwoformsusual
lyfoundwher
eerosi
oni
sthe
domi
nantshor
eprocess.Almostallseacli
ff
saresteepandmayrangef
rom a
fewmetr
eto30m orev enmor e.Atthef
ootofsuchcli
ff
sther
emaybeaf l
ator
gent
lyslopingplatfor
mscov eredbyrockdebr
isder
ivedf
rom seacl
if
fbehi
nd.
Suchplatf
or m occurr
ingatelevat
ionabov
etheaver
ageheightofwavesi
scal
led
wavecutt err
ace.

3.Thel ashingofwav esagai nstthebaseoft hecli

ffandt her ockdebri
st hatgets
smashedagai nstthecli
ffalongwi t
hl ashingwav escr eatehollowsandt hose
holl
owsget swi denedanddeepenedt of orm seacaves.Ther oofofthecav e
coll
apseandt heseacl i
ff
sr ecedef urtherinland.Retreatoft hecli
ffmayl eave
somer emnant sofrockstandingi solatedassmal li
slandsj ustofftheshore.
Suchr esistantmassesofr ock, ori
ginallypartsofacl ifforhillar
ecall
edsea
stacks.Theseseast acksar eer oded, l
eav i
ngbehindonl yt
hest umpwhi char e
j
ustv i
si bl
eabov ethesealev el.

4.GloupsandGeos:Theoccasi onalsplashi
ngofthewav esagainsttheroofof
thecavemayenl argethej
ointswhencompr essedairist
rappedi nsi
de.Anatural
shafti
st husformedwhichmayev entuall
ypier
cethroughtot hesurf
ace.Wav es
breaki
ngi nt
othecav emayforcewaterorairoutofthi
shole.Suchashaf tis
termedasagl oup.Theenlar
gementoft heblow-hol
esandt hecont i
nuedacti
on
ofwav esweakenst hecav
er oof
.Whent heroofcoll
apsesal ongnarrowinl
etor
creekdev el
ops.Thi
sisknownasGeos.

Deposi
ti
onal
Landf
orms:

1.BeachesandDunes

Beachesar
echaracter
ist
icofshorel
inesthataredomi nat
edbydeposi
ti
on,but
mayoccuraspatchesalongeventher uggedshores.Mostofthesedi
ments
makingupthebeachescomef rom l
andcar r
iedbystreamsorriv
ersorfr
om
waveerosi
on.

Justbehindthebeach,
thesandsl
i
ftedfr
om ov
erthebeachsurf
aceswil
lbe
deposit
edassanddunes.Sanddunesformi
nglongri
dgesparal
l
eltot
he
coastl
i
near ever
ycommonal ongl
owsedimentar
ycoasts.

2.Bar
s,Bar
ri
ersandSpi
ts

Aridgeofsandandshingl
eformedintheseaint
heoff-
shor
ezonelyi
ng
approxi
mat el
ypar
all
elt
othecoastiscal
ledanof
fshor
ebar.Suchaconnect
ing
barthatj
oinstwolandmassesisbett
erknownasTombolo.
Anoff
shor
ebarwhi
chi
sexposedduet
ofur
theraddi
ti
onofsandi
ster
meda
bar
ri
erbar
.

Theoffshor
ebarsandbarr
ier
scommonlyf
orm acr
ossthemout
hofariverorat
theent
ranceofabay.Someti
messuchbar
ri
erbarsgetkey
eduptooneendof
thebaywhentheyarecal
l
edspit
s.

RiaCoasts:Ariaisacoast ali
nletf
ormedbytheparti
alsubmergenceof
ungl
aciat
edrivervall
ey.I
tisadr ownedri
verval
leyt
hatremainsopentothesea.
Mostlyri
asaredendriti
c.Thi spatt
erni
sinher
it
edfrom thedendr
iti
cdrai
nage
patt
ernofthefloodedrivervall
ey.

Wi
ndsandAeol
ianLandf
orms
Windisoneoft het wodomi nantagentsinhotdeser t
s.Duetost r
ongmov i
ng
windsinthedeser t
swi ndscausesdef l
ati
on,attr
it
ion(Mechanicalwearandtear
oftheparti
cles),
saltati
on(mov ementofsandsandgr avel
sthroughthe
mechanism ofbounci ng,j
umpingandhoppi ng)etc.Deflat
ioninvol
vesthel
if
t i
ng
andblowingawayofl oosemat eri
alsf
rom theground.Thewi ndacti
oncreatesa
numberofint er
esti
nger osi
onal anddeposit
ionalfeat
uresinthedesert
s.

Er
osi
onal
Landf
orms:

1.Mushroom r
ocks-Havi
ngbroadupperpar
tandnarrowbaseresembli
ngan
umbrel
l
aormushr oom ar
ecall
edmushroom rockorpedest
alr
ock.Theyar
e
for
medduet oabr
asiveworkofthewi
nds.

2.Insel
ber
g-Theyareshar
plyr
isi
ngresi
dualhi
l
labovet
hef
latsur
faces.Theyar
e
general
lyl
ocat
edinsubhumidandhumidcli
mates.

3.Deflat
ionHol
lows-Weather
edmateri
alf
rom ov
ertherocksorbar
esoil
,get
s
bl
ownoutbyper si
stentmovementofwi
ndcurr
entsinonedir
ecti
on.Thi
s
processmaycreateshal
lowdepr
essi
oncall
eddefl
ati
onholl
ows.

4.Yardangs-Asharpi
rregul
arri
dgeofsandlyi
ngint
hedi
rect
ionoftheprev
ail
ing
windinexposeddeser
tr egi
ons,
for
medbyt hewinder
osi
onofadjacentmater
ial
whichislessr
esi
stant
.

5.Zeugen-Thesearetabul
armasseswhi chhaveal
ayerofsof
trocksl
yi
ng
beneat
hasur f
acelayerofmoreresi
stantrocks.

Deposi
ti
onalLandf
orms:
Whenwi ndsl
owsdownorbegi ntodiedown,dependinguponsizesofgr
ainsand
t
heircr
it
icalv
eloci
ti
es,
thegrainswi
llbegint
osettl
e.So,i
ndepositi
onal
l
andfor
msmadebyt hewind,goodsorti
ngofgrai
nscanbef ound.

1.Sanddunes

Dryhotdeser tsar egoodpl acesf orsanddunef ormat i

on.Obstaclest oiniti
ate
dunef ormat i
onar eequallyimpor tant.Crescentshapedsanddunesar ecalledas
Barchanswi t
ht hepointsorwi ngsdi r
ectedawayf rom thewinddi rection.
Parabolicdunesf orm whensandsur facesarepar t
iall
ycover
edwi thveget ati
on.
Thatmeanspar aboli
cdunesar erev ersedbarchanswi thwinddirectionbei ngt he
same.Sei fissimi l
artobar chanswi t
hasmal ldi
ff
er ence.Sei
fhasonl yonewi ng
orpoint.Longitudinaldunesf orm whensuppl yofsandi spoorandwi nddi recti
on
i
sconst ant.Theyar ealignedpar alleltothewinddi recti
onandappearasl ong
ri
dgesofconsi derablelengthbutl owi nheight.Transversedunesar ealigned
perpendiculartowi nddirecti
on.Thesedunesf orm whenwi nddirect i
oni s
constantandsour ceofsandi sanel ongatedfeatureatr i
ghtanglest ot hewi nd
dir
ection.

Gl
aci
alLandf
orms
Massesoficemovingassheetsoverthel
andarecal
ledglaci
ers.Themovement
ofgl
aci
ersisslowunli
kewaterfl
ow.Themov ementcouldbeaf ewcent
imeters
toafewmet r
esadayorevenless.Glaci
ersmovebasical
lybecauseoft
heforce
ofgr
avit
y.

Erosionbygl
aci
ersistremendousbecauseoffr
ict
ioncausedbysheerwei
ghtof
theice.Someofthelandfor
mswhichgetscreat
edar e:

Er
osi
onal
Landf
orms:

Ci
rque:

Thecirquesqui t
eoftenarefoundattheheadsofgl aci
alvall
eys.The
accumulatedi cecutstheseci
rqueswhi lemov i
ngdownt hemount ai
ntops.They
aredeep, l
ongandwi detr
oughsorbasi nswithver
yst eepconcavetovert
ical
ly
droppi
nghi ghwal l
satitsheadaswell assides.Alakeofwat ercanbeseenquite
oftenwithi
nt hecir
quesaf t
erthegl
acierdisappear
s.Suchl akesarecal
ledcir
que
l
akeort arnlakes.

Hor
ns:
Hornf or
mst hroughheadwarderosionofthecir
quewal
ls.I
fthreeormore
radiat
inggl
acierscutheadwardunti
lthei
rcir
quesmeet,
high,shar
ppoint
edand
steepsidedpeakscalledhor
nf or
m.

U-
ShapedVal
ley
:

Duetoexcessi
veweightoftheglaci
erst
heymayfor
m aUshapedvall
eyint
he
mountainswi
thi
nwhichtheyflow.Theval
leyi
schar
act
eri
zedbyconcavesl
opes
andbroadandfl
atvall
eyfl
oors.

Fj
ords

I
tisalong,nar
rowi nletwi
thsteepsi
desorcl
if
fs,cr
eatedbygl
aci
alerosi
on.
Norway’
scoastl
inei sesti
matedtohave1190fj
ordsandthusf
orm excel
l
entsi
te
f
ornatural
harbours.

Deposi
ti
onalLandf
orms:

Mor
aines:

Theyar
elongridgeofdeposit
sofgl
aci
alt
il
l.Terminal
morainesar
elongridges
ofdebr
isdeposit
edattheendofthegl
aci
ers.Later
almor
ainesfor
m alongthe
si
desparal
lel
totheglaci
alval
ley
s.

Esker
s:

Thesearel
ong,nar
row,
sinusri
dgescomposedofsandandgr
avel
whi
chmar
k
thefor
mersit
esofsubglaci
almel
twaterst
reams.

Dr
uml
insorBasketEggTopogr
aphy
:

Theyar
esmoot
hovalshapedri
dgeli
kefeat
urescomposedmai
nlyofgl
aci
alt
il
l
wit
hsomemassesofgravel
andsand.

Kar
stLandf
orms
 Karstt
opographyi
salandscapefor
medfrom t
hedi
ssol
uti
onofsol
ubl
e
rockssuchasli
mestone,
dolomit
e,andgy
psum.

I
tissonamedaf
terapr
ovi
nceof
 Yugosl
avi
aont
heAdr
iat
icSea 
coast
 wher
esuchf
ormat
ionsar
emostnot
iceabl
e.

Iti
schar
act
eri
zedbyunder
grounddr
ainagesy
stemswi
th 
sinkhol
es,
 
cav
es
etc.

Condi
ti
onsEssent
ialf
orFul
lDev
elopmentofKar
stTopogr
aphy

 Presenceofsol
ubl
erocks,
pref
erabl
yli
mest
oneatt
hesur
faceorsub-
surfacel
evel
.

 Theser
ocksshoul
dbedense,
highl
yjoi
ntedandt
hinl
ybedded.

Si
nkHol
e/Swal
lowHol
e

 Sinkhol
esaref
unnel
-shapeddepr
essi
onshav
inganav
eragedept
hoft
hree
toninemet
res.

 Thesehol
esaredevel
opedbyenlar
gementofthecracksfoundinsuch
rocks,
asaresul
tofcont
inuoussol
ventact
ionoft
her ai
nwater
.

 Thesur
facest
reamswhi
chsi
nkdi
sappearunder
groundt
hroughswal
l
ow
hol
es.

 Someswallowhol
eswhenf
urt
herenlar
gedduetodissolut
ionfor
mt he
l
argerdepr
essi
oncal
l
edasdol
ines.Lar
gerf
orm ofdol
inesiscall
edpolj
es.

Kar
stWi
ndow

 Whenanumberofadjoi
ningsi
nkhol
escol
l
apse,
theyf
orm anopen,
broad
ar
eacal
l
edakarstwindow.

Si
nki
ngCr
eeks/
Bogas

I
nav al
ley,
thewateroft
engetsl
ostt
hroughcracksandfissuresi
nthebed.
Thesearecal
ledsi
nkingcr
eeks,
andifthei
rtopsareopen,theyar
ecall
ed
bogas.

St
alact
it
eandSt
alagmi
te

 Thewatercont
aini
ngli
mestonei
nsolut
ion,
seepst
hrought
her
oofi
nthe
for
m ofaconti
nuouschai
nofdrops.

 Apor
ti
onoft
hewat
erhangsont
her
oofandonev
apor
ati
onofwat
er,
a
 smalldeposi
tofl
imest
onei
slef
tbehi
ndcont
ri
but
ingt
othef
ormat
ionofa
st
alacti
te,
growi
ngdownwar
dsfrom t
her
oof.

 Theremaini
ngporti
onoft hedropfall
sonthefl
oor.Thi
salsoevapor
ates,
l
eavingbehi
ndasmal ldeposi
tofl i
mestoneai
dingthef
ormati
onofa
st
alagmit
e,t
hickerandflat
ter
,ri
singupwardsfr
om thefl
oor.

 Someti
mes,st
alact
it
eandstal
agmi
tej
oint
oget
hert
ofor
m acompl
ete
pi
ll
arknownasthecolumn.

Lapi
es

 Thehighl
ycorr
ugat
edandroughsur
faceofl
imest
oneli
thol
ogy
char
acter
izedbyl
owri
dges,pi
nnacl
esandnarr
owclef
tsiscal
l
edLapi
es.

Mount
ainsandPl
ateaus

Mount
ains

Mount ainsaresignificantrel
ieff eaturesoft hesecondor derontheear t
h’s
sur f
ace.Mount ainbui l
dingreferst othesetofpr ocessesthatcol
lecti
vely
producemount ainbel t
s.Thepr ocessest hatpr oducemount ai
nbeltsarecall
ed
asor ogenesis&i ncludef ol
ding( ant i
cli
nes&sy ncli
nes),
faulti
ng,
met amorphism
&i gneousactivi
ties,oftenasar esultofpl at
et ectoni
cs,duri
ngwhi chsediments
accumul atedwi t
hinthegeosy nclinesar ebuckledanddef ormedast heyare
compr essedintol ong,li
nearmount ai
nchai ns.Mount ai
nshav eminimum
el
ev ati
onofar ound900m andsl opeofar ound25t o30°.Theyaremai nl
yoffour
typesasf oll
ows:

Throughoutthegeologicalti
mescal enolesst hansi xorogeneti
cormount ai
n
buil
dingmov ementshav etakenpl ace,f
olding&f r
acturi
ngt heeart
h’scrust
.
Threeofthem occurredinthePr e-Cambrianhi story(600-3500mi l
l
ionyearsago)
whilethethr
eemor er ecentorogenesisaret heCal edonian(>300my a)
,Herci
nian
(200-250mya)&theAl pine(30my a).

Al
pine(
30my
a)
Her
cini
an(
200-
250my
a) Phaner
ozoi
Cal
edoni
an(
>300my
a) c

570my
a

3Phasesofmount
ainbui
l
ding Pre- Appal
achi
ans,
Arav
ali
s,
Kj
olen Cambri
an

 Par
tofl
and>900mt
shei
ght

 Wi
thsl
ope~25–30°

 Mai
nlyoff
ourt
ypev
iz.

 Fol
dMount
ains

 Bl
ockMount
ains

 Vol
cani
cMount
ains

 Resi
dual
/Di
ssect
ed/Rel
i
ctMount
ains

Fol
dMount
ains

 Formedbyf
oldi
ngofgeosy
ncl
i
nesedi
ment
sundercompr
essi
blet
ect
oni
c
for
ces

 Lengt
hisgr
eat
erbutwi
dthi
snar
row

 ForEx.Hi
mal
aya,
Alps,
Rocki
es,
Andes,
Appl
achi
an,
Ural
,Ar
aval
i
s

 Si
ncetherockst
rat
ahavebeenelev
atedt
ogr
eathei
ght
s,Fol
dMount
ains
ar
ealsocall
edmountai
nsofel
evati
on

 Ar
ecl
osel
yassoci
atedwi
thv
olcani
cact
ivi
ti
es

 Contai
nsmanyact
ivev
olcanoes,
especi
all
yinci
rcum Paci
fi
cfol
dmount
ain
syst
em.

 Ar
eri
chi
nmi
ner
alr
esour
cessuchasTi
n,Copper
,Gol
d&Pet
rol
eum

Geosy
ncl
ines:
Geosyncl
inesarelongbutnarrowandshal
lowwaterdepr
essi
onscharact
eri
zed
bysedimentati
onandsubsidence.Theyar
ethemobil
ezonesofwater&are
gener
all
ybor der
edbytwor i
gidmasseswhichar
ecalledf
orel
ands.

Bl
ockMount
ains

 For
medduet ofaul
tscausedbytensi
onorcompr
essi
onf
orceswhi
ch
l
engthenorshor
teneart
h’scr
ust

I
tcausesasect
ionofi
ttosubsi
deorr
iseabov
ethesur
roundi
ngl
evel

 ForEx.Vosges(
France)
,Bl
ackFor
est(
Ger
many
)

 Fault
ingr
esul
tsi
nfor
mat
ionofBl
ockMount
ains&t
hei
rcount
erpar
tsi
nri
ft
val
leys

I
ngeneral
,l
argescal
eBlockMount
ains&r
if
tval
l
eysar
eduet
otensi
on
r
athert
hancompressi
on

Vol
cani
cMount
ains

 Al
soknownasmount
ainsofaccumul
ati
on

 For
medduet
oaccumul
ati
onoft
hickl
avaasar
esul
tofv
olcani
cer
upt
ion

 Commoni
nci
rcum paci
fi
cbel
t

 ForEx.Fuji
Yama( Japan)
,Mt.Popa(My
anmar
),Mt.Maunal
oa(
Hawai)
,Mt.
May on(Phi
ll
ipi
nes)
,Mt.Agung(Bal
i)
,Mt
.Mer
api(Sumatr
a)&Mt
.Cot
opaxi
(Euador
)

Resi
dual/Di
ssect
ed/Rel
ictMount
ains

 For
medduet
owani
ngofpr
evi
ousl
yexi
sti
ngel
evat
edr
egi
onsbyer
osi
on

 ForEx.Ni
l
gir
is,
Par
asnat
hHi
l
lsofPeni
nsul
aIndi
a,Mt
.Monadnock(
USA)

 Mountainsevol
vedbydenudat
ion,
wherethegener
all
evel
oflandhave
beenloweredbyagent
sofdenudati
on;
alsoknownasmountainsof
denudati
on

Pl
ateaus
  Anelevat
edareacompar
edtoi t
ssurr
oundi
ngs,
hav
ingal
argeal
mostf
lat
toparea(
Alsoknownastabl
eland)

 Likeal
lhighl
ands,Plat
eausarealsosubj
ect
edtoerosi
onal
processes,
asa
resul
tthei
rori
ginalchar
acter
ist
icsar
ehighl
yal
ter
ed

 Accor
dingt
otheirmodeoff
ormat
ion&t
hei
rphy
sical
appear
ance,
plat
eaus
maybedivi
dedinto3ty
pesvi
z.

Tect
oni
cPl
ateaus 

 For
medbyearthmov ementswhi
chcausesupl
i
ft,
ofaconsi
der
abl
esi
ze
wit
hfai
rl
yuni
form al
ti
tude

 Forex.Deccanpl
ateaus,
Meser
apl
ateau(
ti
lt
edofcent
ral
Iber
ia)&Har
z
pl
ateau(Fault
edofGermany
)

 Whenplat
eausaresurroundedbymountai
nst
heyareknownasi
nter
-
montanepl
ateausforex.Tibet
anpl
ateau,
Bol
i
vianPl
ateau

 Whenplat
eausaresur
roundedbyseaorplainst
heyareknownas
Conti
nent
alPlat
eausForex.Deccanpl
ateau,Gr
eenl
andplat
eau,
Sout
h
Afr
icapl
ateau

Vol
cani
cPl
ateau

 Moltenlav
afrom t
hev olcani
cer
upt
ionmaysolidi
fyt
ofor
m successi
ve
sheetsofbasal
ti
clav
a, knownasLavapl
ateau

 Forex.Antr
im Pl
ateauofNorther
nisland,
NW par
tofDeccanPl
ateau&
ColumbiaSnakePlateau(
Biggestone)

Di
ssectPl
ateaus

 For
medduet
ocont
inuousweat
her
ing&er
osi
onbyr
unni
ngwat
er,
wind&
i
ce

 Hi
ghpl
ateauswor
ndown&t
hei
rsur
facebecomesi
rr
egul
ar

 ForEx.Scot
ti
shHi
ghl
and
Pi
edmontPl
ateau

 Pl
ateauf
ormedatt hefoot
hil
lzoneofextensi
vemountainsiscal
l
ed
pi
edmontplat
eau,whichissurr
oundedbymount ai
nrangeononeside
whi
lebyplai
ntopographyorcoast
alpl
ainsont heot
herside.

Gener
all
yPl
ateaushav
eri
chmi
ner
alr
esour
ces&hav
ebeenact
ivel
ymi
nedf
or
ex.

 Af
ri
canpl
ateauy
iel
dsgol
d,di
amonds,
copper
,Manganese&Chr
omi
um.

 Br
azi
l
ianpl
ateauy
iel
dsi
ron&Manganese

 DeccanPl
ateauYi
eldsManganese,
Iron&Coal

 West
ernAust
ral
i
anpl
ateauy
iel
dsGol
d&I
ron