An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations .
17-405: The terms scarp and scarp face are often used interchangeably with escarpment . Some sources differentiate the two terms, with escarpment referring to the margin between two landforms , and scarp referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term scarp also describes
34-545: A plain , commonly known as flatland , is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation , and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains , as coastal plains , and as plateaus or uplands . Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, being present on all continents and covering more than one-third of the world's land area. Plains in many areas are important for agriculture . There are various types of plains and biomes on them. A plain or flatland
51-897: A given terrain , and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography . Landforms include hills , mountains , canyons , and valleys , as well as shoreline features such as bays , peninsulas , and seas , including submerged features such as mid-ocean ridges , volcanoes , and the great ocean basins . Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as elevation, slope, orientation, structure stratification , rock exposure, and soil type. Gross physical features or landforms include intuitive elements such as berms , mounds , hills , ridges , cliffs , valleys , rivers , peninsulas , volcanoes , and numerous other structural and size-scaled (e.g. ponds vs. lakes , hills vs. mountains ) elements including various kinds of inland and oceanic waterbodies and sub-surface features. Mountains, hills, plateaux , and plains are
68-471: A multitude of rock types. These different rock types weather at different speeds, according to Goldich dissolution series so different stages of deformation can often be seen in the layers where the escarpments have been exposed to the elements. Landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body . Landforms together make up
85-512: A valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides, but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains, or by cliffs . Where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass (sometimes termed a gap ). Coastal plains mostly rise from sea level until they run into elevated features such as mountains or plateaus. Plains can be formed from flowing lava ; from deposition of sediment by water, ice, or wind; or formed by erosion by
102-451: A zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau . Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks , or by movement of the Earth's crust at a geologic fault . The first process is the more common type: the escarpment
119-408: Is a flat expanse of land with a layer of grass that generally does not change much in elevation , and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains , as coastal plains , and as plateaus or uplands . Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, where they are present on all continents, and cover more than one-third of the world's land area. In
136-415: Is a transition from one series of sedimentary rocks to another series of a different age and composition. Escarpments are also frequently formed by faults. When a fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other, a fault scarp is created. This can occur in dip-slip faults , or when a strike-slip fault brings a piece of high ground adjacent to an area of lower ground. Earth
153-604: Is not the only planet where escarpments occur. They are believed to occur on other planets when the crust contracts , as a result of cooling. On other Solar System bodies such as Mercury , Mars , and the Moon , the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment. When sedimentary beds are tilted and exposed to the surface, erosion and weathering may occur. Escarpments erode gradually and over geological time . The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between
170-425: Is the third or vertical dimension of land surface . Topography is the study of terrain, although the word is often used as a synonym for relief itself. When relief is described underwater , the term bathymetry is used. In cartography , many different techniques are used to describe relief, including contour lines and triangulated irregular networks . Elementary landforms (segments, facets, relief units) are
187-509: The Universe . Examples are mountains, hills, polar caps, and valleys, which are found on all of the terrestrial planets . The scientific study of landforms is known as geomorphology . In onomastic terminology, toponyms (geographical proper names) of individual landform objects (mountains, hills, valleys, etc.) are called oronyms . Landforms may be extracted from a digital elevation model (DEM) using some automated techniques where
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#1732765471682204-404: The agents from hills or mountains. Biomes on plains include grassland ( temperate or subtropical ), steppe ( semi-arid ), savannah ( tropical ) or tundra ( polar ). In a few instances, deserts and rainforests may also be considered plains. Plains in many areas are important for agriculture because where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be deep and fertile , and
221-734: The data 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 involving many man-hours. The most detailed DEMs available are measured directly using LIDAR techniques. Igstar, cxvellie (2017), Howard, Jeffrey (ed.), "Anthropogenic Landforms and Soil Parent Materials", Anthropogenic Soils, Progress in Soil Science, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 25–51, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54331-4_3, ISBN 978-3-319-54331-4, retrieved 2022-08-12 Plain In geography ,
238-595: The flatness facilitates mechanization of crop production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock . The types of depositional plains include: Erosional plains have been leveled by various agents of denudation such as running water, rivers, wind and glacier which wear out the rugged surface and smoothens them. Plain resulting from the action of these agents of denudation are called peneplains (almost plain) while plains formed from wind action are called pediplains . Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of
255-591: The four major types of landforms. Minor landforms include buttes , canyons, valleys, and basins. Tectonic plate movement under the Earth can create landforms by pushing up mountains and hills. Oceans and continents exemplify the highest-order landforms. Landform elements are parts of a high-order landforms that can be further identified and systematically given a cohesive definition such as hill-tops, shoulders, saddles , foreslopes and backslopes. Some generic landform elements including: pits, peaks, channels, ridges, passes, pools and plains. Terrain (or relief )
272-492: 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 do not include several man-made features, such as canals , ports and many harbors ; and geographic features, such as deserts , forests , and grasslands . 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
289-644: The smallest homogeneous divisions of the land surface, at the given scale/resolution. These are areas with relatively homogeneous morphometric properties, bounded by lines of discontinuity. A plateau or a hill can be observed at various scales, ranging from a 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 (also due to human activity), can generate and affect landforms. Biological factors can also influence landforms—for example, note
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