Give reason why the landforms on the surface of the earth are symbols of the energy of the earth
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Look out of your window and you will see buildings, trees, telephone poles and people. The world we live in now is shaped by people. The building you saw right there was constructed by someone, the tree planted by someone else and the poles by another. But people aren’t the only ones moving things around. Temperature, wind and rain do this all the time, creating shapes out of the Earth we know as Landforms.
Landforms
Weathering, water, elevation, sinking, and erosion of the soil are constantly shaping the surface of the Earth. It doesn’t really happen overnight but takes hundreds and thousands of years for us to notice these changes. These are the natural processes that lead to various formations of the Landforms. Landforms originate from these geological processes. Let’s understand the processes that shape the landforms.
External Process
External process means effects caused by the external factors such as rain or wind. Erosion occurs when material on the surface like soil and rocks which are called sediments are deposited or dropped off in a different location. These natural processes change the surface of the Earth. Erosion and Deposition are the processes that are occurring externally.
Internal Process
Needless to say, internal processes occur inside the surface of the Earth, beneath the crust. The internal process, like Volcanic eruption and Plate tectonics, are caused because of the intense heat in the Earth’s core that causes molten rock in the mantle layer to move thus creating uneven movement on the surface. These layers are either uplifting or sinking.
Landforms can be categorized into Mountains, Plateaus, and Plains depending upon their elevation and slope. Let us look at them individually.
Mountain
Major Landforms of the Earth
Any landmass that is higher and steeper than a hill is called a Mountain. A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Generally, mountains are higher than 2000 ft. In any other natural elevation like atmosphere, as you go higher and higher, the temperature drops down and the climate becomes colder. Habitation becomes harsher. That’s why there is less habitation in the mountainous areas.
Due to the temperature drop, it is not uncommon for mountains to develop ice on them. In some mountains, there are permanently frozen rivers of ice called as glaciers. Because of the steep slopes of the mountains, there is less land available for proper farming.
If the surface is calculated considering the sea base as the scale, there are mountains even under the sea. Mauna Kea (Hawaii) in the Pacific Ocean is an example. It is elevated higher than Mt. Everest. Also, a line of mountains is known as a range. For example, the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America. These ranges are the storehouses of water. Many rivers have their origins in these mountains, the glaciers of the mountains are the source of these rivers.
Mountains are generally untouched by civilisations are thus have the endangered species of plants and animals. They also inhibit a rich variety of flora and fauna. Mountains are further divided into three categories: