MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this

process.

Guiding Questions

What are the different landforms found on Earth?

What forces and energy make the different landforms?

What are the various ways to model landforms?

Vocabulary

topography

landform

mountain

coastline

dune

river

delta

surveying

Topography of the Geosphere

If you drove across the United States, you would observe many changes in topography, as shown in Figure 1.
Topography (tuh PAWG ruh fee) is the shape of the land. Land can be described using elevation, relief, and landforms.

The height of a point above sea level on Earth’s surface is its elevation. California has the lowest and highest points of
elevation in the continental United States. The lowest point, found at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, is 86 meters
below sea level. The highest elevation is Mount Whitney at 4,418 meters. The difference in elevation between the
highest and lowest points of an area is its relief. An area’s relief is the result of the different landforms found there.
Landforms are features such as coastlines, dunes, and mountains. Different landforms have different combinations of
elevation and relief.

READING CHECKDetermine Central Ideas Explain the three ways that land can be described.

Constructive and Destructive Forces in the Geosphere

The topography of the land is constantly being created and destroyed by competing constructive and destructive
forces. For example, over time, mountains are built up, but they’re also being worn down.

Constructive Forces Forces that construct, or build up land, are called constructive forces. Constructive forces shape
the topography in the geosphere by creating mountains and other huge landmasses. The Himalayan mountain range
in Asia formed over millions of years, as India collided with Asia and pushed up sections of the ocean floor, as shown
in Figure 2.

Destructive Forces The Himalayas were formed because land was built up, but there are destructive forces that also
change Earth’s topography. For example, rain, wind, ice, and fire destroy and wear away landmasses and affect the
geosphere.

The geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere interact with each other to affect Earth. For example, an
event that occurs in the geosphere, such as the volcano in Figure 3, will change the other spheres. A volcano releases
ash and gases into the atmosphere and volcanic material into the hydrosphere. Initially, the volcanic material and
gases may kill organisms in the biosphere. However, ash can enrich the soil and give new plants more nutrients.
Hardened lava may cut off old river channels but form a new lake.

Exploring Earth’s Surface

There are a variety of landforms on Earth because Earth’s surface differs from place to place. In addition, landforms
change over time due to constructive and destructive forces. Some landforms are snow-capped mountains, some are
giant glaciers, and others are ever-changing sand dunes. Figure 4 shows some of the landforms found on Earth.

Mountains A mountain is a landform with both high elevation and high relief. Mountains that are closely related in
shape, structure, location, and age are called a mountain range. Different mountain ranges in one region make up a
mountain system. The Rocky Mountains are a famous mountain system. Mountain ranges and mountain systems in a
long, connected chain form a larger unit called a mountain belt.

Plateaus and Plains Landforms that have high elevation and low relief are called plateaus. Streams and rivers may cut
into the plateau’s surface. Landforms that have low elevation and low relief are called plains. A plain that lies along a
seacoast is called a coastal plain. In North America, the Atlantic coastal plain extends from Florida all the way up to
Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Coastlines The boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake is the coastline. Among the 50 states, the
mainland of Alaska has the longest coastline at 10,686 kilometers. The mainland of Florida has the second longest
coastline, measuring 2,170 kilometers.

Dunes The land that extends from a coastline may be rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, or dunes. A dune is a hill of sand
piled up by the wind. Dunes in the coastal regions are parallel to the coastline and protect the land from ocean
waves.

Rivers and Deltas A river is a natural stream of water that flows into another body of water such as an ocean, lake, or
another river. When a river reaches an ocean, the water slows and sand, clay, and sediment in the water sink. When
the sediment builds up, it makes a landform called a delta. In Florida, the Apalachicola River supplies sand to St.
Vincent’s Island, a barrier island and wildlife refuge.

READING CHECKCompare and Contrast How are dunes and deltas similar and different?

Modeling Landforms

Before modern technology, scientists and mapmakers studied the land and drew maps by hand. They spent hundreds
of hours walking over landforms or sailing along coastlines to model what they saw. Then people used a process
called surveying. In surveying, mapmakers determine distances and elevations using instruments and the principles
of geometry. Today, people use computers to create topographic and other maps from aerial photography and
satellite imagery.

Topographic Maps Imagine that you are in a plane flying high above the United States. How does it look? A
topographic map portrays the surface features of an area as if being viewed from above. Topographic maps provide
accurate information on the elevation, relief, and slope of the ground, as shown in Figure 5.

Contour Lines Topographic maps have contour lines to show elevation, relief, and slope. A contour line connects
points of equal elevation. Contour lines also show how steep or gradual a slope is. Contour lines that are far apart
represent flat areas or areas with gradual slopes. Lines that are close together represent areas with steep slopes.
The change in elevation from one contour line to the next is called a contour interval. On a given map, the contour
interval is always consistent. Every fifth contour line is known as an index contour. These lines are darker and heavier
than the other lines.

Reading a Topographic Map In the United States, the scale of many topographic maps is 1 centimeter on the map for
every 0.24 kilometers on the ground. This scale allows mapmakers to show land features such as rivers and
coastlines. Large human-made structures, such as airports and highways, appear as outlines, while small structures,
such as houses, are represented with symbols.

To find the elevation of a feature on the map in Figure 6, begin at an index contour line and count the number of
lines up or down the feature. The shape of contour lines also provides information. V-shaped contour lines pointing
away from a summit indicate a ridge line. V-shaped contour lines pointing toward a summit indicate a valley. A
contour line that forms a closed loop indicates a hilltop. A closed loop with dashes inside indicates a depression, or
hollow in the ground.

Aerial Photography When photographs are taken with cameras mounted in airplanes, it is called aerial photography.
As the airplane flies, the camera takes pictures of strips of land. These picture strips are fitted together like a large
puzzle to form an accurate picture of a large area of land, as shown in Figure 7.

Satellite Imagery With the creation of computers, mapping has become easier and more accurate. Mapmakers can
make maps of Earth using computers that interpret satellite data. Mapping satellites use electronic devices to collect
data about the land surface. Pictures of the surface based on these data are called satellite images. These images are
made up of pixels, and each pixel has information about the color and brightness of a part of Earth’s surface, as
shown in Figure 8.

Satellites orbit Earth collecting and storing data. Then, computers use the data to create images. Satellite images
show details including plants, soil, rock, water, snow, and ice that cover Earth’s surface.

GPS The Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a navigational system that uses satellite signals to fix the location of a
radio receiver on Earth. GPS helps anyone with a receiver locate his or her position anywhere on or above Earth.

You may have used GPS on a phone or in a car to navigate, but do you know how it works? Twenty-four orbiting
satellites continuously send their current location and time to a GPS receiver on Earth. A user’s receiver, such as a
phone, needs information from at least three satellites to determine its location.

GIS A Geographic Information System, or GIS, is a system of computer hardware and software used to produce
interactive maps. GIS uses GPS, satellite images, statistics about an area, and other maps to display and analyze
geographic data.

The different types of information stored in a GIS are called data layers. The data layers help scientists and city
planners to solve problems by understanding patterns, relationships, and trends. Figure 9 shows how GIS could be
used to determine a neighborhood’s flood risk by analyzing data layers about the location of a river, its floodplain
boundary, and the streets in a neighborhood.