Earth Science

Views of Earth

Merrill Chapter 8-1 Notes

8-1 Landforms

Plains: large, relatively flat area that cover much of the US.

Coastal Plains: are broad areas along coastlines that are often called lowlands.

Low Elevation.

Interior Plains:

Plateaus: are relatively flat raised areas of land. They’re areas of nearly horizontal rocks that have been uplifted by forces within the Earth.

Mountains:

Folded Mountains: are formed when rock layers are squeezed from opposite sides, rock layers buckle and fold into these type of fountains. Ex. Appalachian Mountains.

Upwarped Mountains: These mountains are formed when crust was pushed up by forces inside Earth. Over time the sedimentary rock on top is eroded away exposing the igneous and metamorphic rocks that were originally under the crust. Ex. some areas of the Rockies and the Black Hills.

Fault-Block Mountains: are formed when huge tilted crustal blocks are separated from surrounding rock by faults. Ex. Grand Teton and Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Volcanic Mountains: begin when molten material reaches the surface through a weak area of the crust. The materials pile up, one layer on top of another, until a cone-shaped structure forms. Ex. Hawaiian Islands.