Understanding Terrain: A Comprehensive Guide to Landforms
Terrain: Understanding Earth’s Diverse Landforms
Terrain: The physical features of a tract of land.
Erosion Features
Band: A form of sediment erosion on loamy-clay materials in a semi-arid environment, strongly dissected by the intense action of water.
Landscapes
Countryside: Lowlands alternating with layers of clay, sandstone, and other sedimentary rocks, characterized by their soft modeling.
Elevations
Cerro Witness: A stratified elevation that represents the residue of a horizontal platform eroded over time, isolated against a tabular relief.
Glacial Features
Cirque Glacier: A semicircular depression formed by glacial erosion, bounded by rocky escarpments and steep slopes located below the level of summits.
Mapping
Isohips: Level curves on maps that connect points of equal height above or below a reference level. Thicker curves are called master curves.
River Formations
Delta: An alluvial deposit accumulation, fan-shaped, located at the mouth of a river, caused by the load of material in suspension that exceeds the river’s capacity.
Wind Formations
Dune: A mound consisting of a pile of sand accumulated by the wind in coastal or arid areas.
Geological Fractures
Faults: Fractures in a rock layer due to orogenic forces.
Weathering Processes
Gelifraction: The mechanical weathering of rocks by freezing water, leading to expansion, fracturing, and disintegration, resulting in scree in cold, wet climates.
Geological Depressions
Geosyncline: A depression of the earth’s crust where large amounts of sediment accumulate, are lifted, and folded, forming part of large marine sedimentary basins.
Slopes
Glacis: A ramp with a gentle slope, typical of piedmont areas, rooted in a mountain slope and connecting with the bottom of a valley or depression.
Tectonic Features
Horst: A tectonic pillar, limited by faults, elevated above the surrounding ground by a fault system or its own uprising.
Valleys
Sickle: A deep cut or narrow valley carved by a river, prevalent in limestone areas.
Lakes
Mountain Lakes: Lakes of glacial origin, often small and deep.
Wetlands
Marshes: Low, swampy areas flooded by the sea or the mouth of a river, often unstable.
River Bends
Meander: A curve in the channel of a river.
Glacial Deposits
Moraine: An accumulation of weathering materials from detachment or erosion by a glacier, transported and deposited on the sides.
Plateaus
Paramo: A tabular platform, table, or tooth formed by a horizontal surface bounded by escarpments.
Plains
Peneplain: An almost uniformly plain where some residual features may be found.
Watercourses
Wadi: A natural course of rainwater that flows in extraordinary abundance, typically after heavy rain, leading to a flood of short duration.
Relief
Tabular Relief: Horizontal relief with an exhumed river network, found in the middle of a sedimentary basin after the Alpine orogeny, where river erosion dissected structural platforms, originating residual forms away from similar materials.
Submerged Valleys
Ria: A submerged river valley resulting from the elevation of sea level or land subsidence.
Glacial Valleys
Valley Glacier: A trough-shaped valley carved by a glacier.
Volcanic Formations
Volcano: Relief formed by lava accumulation around a pipe or chimney that connects the earth’s surface with magma. The external volcanic apparatus consists of a cone caused by accumulating rigid fracture.
Geological Foundations
Zocalo: A set of metamorphic and igneous materials that form the foundation of coverage, composed of old materials subject to thrust tectonics that behave with rigid fracture.