Landform Totally Explained

Everything about Landforms totally explained

A landform comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landforms are categorised by features such as elevation, slope, orientation, stratification, rock exposure, and soil type. They include berms, mounds, hills, cliffs, valleys, rivers and numerous other elements. Oceans and continents exemplify the highest-order landforms. Landform elements are parts of a high-order landforms that can be further identified, such as hill-tops, shoulders and backslopes.
   Some generic landform elements are: pits, peaks, channels, ridges, passes, pools, plains; these can be often extracted from a digital elevation model using some automated techniques where the data (various kinds) has been gathered by modern satellites and stereoscopic aerial surveillance cameras. Until recently, compiling the data found in such data sets required time consuming and expensive techniques of "Boots on the ground" at many man-hours. Terrain (or relief) is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used. Topography is a further synonym, and is often illustrated in the form of a contour map.
   Elementary landforms (segments, facets, relief units) are the smallest homogeneous divisions of the land surface, at the given scale/resolution. These are areas with relatively homogenous morphometric properties, bounded by lines of discontinuity. A plateau or a hill can be observed at various scales ranging from few hundred meters to hundreds of kilometers. Hence, the spatial distribution of landforms is often scale-dependent as is the case for soils and geological strata.
   A number of factors, ranging from plate tectonics to erosion and deposition, can generate and affect landforms. Biological factors can also influence landforms— for example, note the role of vegetation in the development of dune systems and salt marshes, and the work of corals and algae in the formation of coral reefs.
   Landforms don't include man-made features, such as canals, ports and many harbors; and geographic features, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, and impact craters.
   Many of the terms are not restricted to refer to features of the planet Earth, and can be used to describe surface features of other planets and similar objects in the Universe.

List of landforms

Landforms produced by erosion and weathering usually occur in coastal or fluvial environments, and many appear under those headings. Some other erosion landforms that don't fall into those categories include:

canyon

cave

cuesta

dune (an eolian landform not restricted to coastal environments)

erg (an eolian landform not restricted to coastal environments)

gulch

gully

hogback

lavaka

limestone pavement

rock formations

tea table

ait

anabranch

arroyo

bar

bayou

braided channel

Carolina Bay

basin

beach

cave

cliff

endorheic basin

exhumed river channel

foreland basin

ice dam

island

lacustrine plain

lake

levee

marsh

meander

oasis

pond

pool

riffle

river

spring

stream

stream terrace

swamp

valley and vale

waterfall

watershed

arête

cirque

crevasse

corrie or cwm

dirt cone

drumlin

drumlin field

esker

fjord

glacier

inselberg

kame

kame delta

kettle

moraine

moulin (geology)

mountain & mountain range

nunatak

outwash fan and outwash plain

pingo

summit

valley

alas

bluff

butte

cliff

cuesta

dale

dell

escarpment (scarp)

glen

graben

gully

hill

horst

knoll

mesa

mountain

plain

plateau

ravine

ridge

rock shelter

scree

strath

& terracettes

vale

valley

valley shoulder

caldera

cinder cone

volcanic craters, but not impact craters

geyser

lava dome

lava flow & lava plain

maar

mid-ocean ridge

oceanic trench

pit crater

tuya

vent

volcanic island

volcano, shield volcano, mud volcano & composite volcano (or stratovolcano)

Deposition landform

Landforms produced by deposition of load or sediment (usually coastal or fluvial).

Further Information

Get more info on 'Landforms'.

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