EXPLORING EARTH’S SURFACE

Learning Objectives
1. Explain what the topography of an area includes.
2. Identify the main types of landforms.

What Does the Topography of an Area Include?

 Topography is the shape of the land.
 An area’s topography may be flat, sloping, hilly, or mountainous.
 The topography of an area includes the area’s elevation, relief and
landforms.

Elevation
 It is the height of an area above the sea level.

Relief
 It is the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest parts of an
area.
 The Rocky Mountains include huge mountains separated by deep valleys.
 These areas have high relief, or great differences in elevation.

LANDFORMS
 There are many different landforms.
 A landform is a feature of topography formed by the processes that shape
the earth’s surface. e.g. hill, valley.
 Different landforms have different combinations of elevation and relief.
What Are the Main Types of landforms?
 Landforms vary greatly in size and shape.
 Three major types of landforms are plains, mountains, and plateaus

Plains
 A plain is a landform made up of flat or gently rolling land with low relief.
 A plain that lies along a sea coast is called a coastal plain (low elevation and
low relief).
 A plain that lies away from the coast is called an interior plain (low relief
but elevation can vary).
 The broad interior plains of North America are called the Great Plains.

Mountains
 A mountain is a landform with high elevation and high relief.
 A mountain’s base can cover an area of several square kilometers.
 It exist as part of a mountain range.
Mountain range
 A mountain range is a group of mountains that are closely related in shape,
structure, area, and age.
 The different mountain ranges in a region make up a mountain system.
 Mountain ranges and mountain systems in a long, connected chain from a
larger unit is called a mountain belt. Example is the Rocky mountains
stretching from North America to South America.

Plateaus
 A plateau is a large landform that has a high elevation and a more or less
level surface.
 It is not smooth on the top and rivers and streams may cut into the
plateau’s surface.
 The Columbia Plateau in Washington State is an example.
Landform Regions
 A landform region is a large area of land where the topography is made up
mainly of one type of landform.
 The Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are examples of major landform
regions.
 Other terms used to describe landform regions include uplands, which are
regions of hilly topography, and lowlands, which are regions of plains with
low elevations.

Great Plains Rocky Mountains