The relief of the Earth and its main forms

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Relief is the shape that the earth's surface has. Over time, it changes under the influence of various forces. Places where there were once great mountains are becoming plains, and in some areas there are volcanoes. Scientists are trying to explain why this is happening. And much is already known to modern science.

Reasons for transformations

The relief of the Earth is one of the most interesting mysteries of nature and even history. Because of how the surface of our planet has changed, the life of mankind has also changed. Change occurs under the influence of internal and external forces.

Among all landforms, large and small ones stand out. The largest of them are the continents. It is believed that hundreds of centuries ago, when there was no man yet, our planet had a completely different look. Perhaps there was only one mainland, which eventually broke up into several parts. Then they split up again. And all the continents that exist now appeared.

Ocean depressions have become another major form. It is believed that earlier there were also fewer oceans, but then there were more of them. Some scientists argue that after hundreds of years new ones will appear. Others say the water will flood some parts of the land.

Changesrelief of the planet for many centuries. Even despite the fact that a person sometimes greatly harms nature, his activity is not capable of significantly changing the relief. This requires such powerful forces that only nature has. However, a person cannot not only radically transform the relief of the planet, but also stop the changes that nature itself produces. Despite the fact that science has made a big step forward, it is not yet possible to protect all people from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and much more.

Basic information

The relief of the Earth and the main landforms attract the close attention of many scientists. Among the main varieties are mountains, highlands, shelves and plains.

Shelf - these are those parts of the earth's surface that are hidden under the water column. Very often they stretch along the coast. The shelf is a type of relief that is found only under water.

Uplands are isolated mountains, mountain valleys and even ridge systems. Much of what is called mountains is actually highlands. For example, Pamir is not a mountain, as many people think. The Tien Shan is also a highland.

Mountains are the most grandiose landforms of the planet. They rise above the land by more than 600 meters. Their peaks are hidden behind the clouds. It happens that in warm countries you can see mountains, the peaks of which are covered with snow. The slopes are usually very steep, but some daredevils dare to climb them. Mountains can form chains.

The plains are stability. Plains Dwellersless likely to experience changes in terrain. They almost do not know what earthquakes are, because such places are considered the most favorable for life. A real plain is the most flat earth surface.

Internal and external forces

The influence of internal and external forces on the Earth's relief is grandiose. If you study how the surface of the planet has changed over several centuries, you can see how what seemed eternal disappears. It is being replaced by something new. External forces are not able to change the Earth's relief as much as internal ones. Both the first and the second are divided into several types.

Internal Forces

Internal forces that change the Earth's topography cannot be stopped. But in the modern world, scientists from different countries are trying to predict when and where an earthquake will occur, where a volcano will erupt.

Internal forces include earthquakes, crustal movements and volcanism.

As a result, all these processes lead to the emergence of new mountains and mountain ranges on land and at the bottom of the ocean. In addition, geysers, hot springs, volcano chains, ledges, fissures, depressions, landslides, volcano cones and more.

Outside Forces

External forces are not capable of producing noticeable transformations. However, they should not be overlooked. The external processes that shape the Earth's relief include the following: the work of wind and flowing waters, weathering, the melting of glaciers and, of course, the work of people. Although man, as mentioned above,not yet able to greatly change the face of the planet.

The work of external forces leads to the creation of hills and ravines, hollows, dunes and dunes, river valleys, crushed stone, sand and much more. Water can destroy even a great mountain very slowly. And those stones that are now easily found on the shore may turn out to be part of a mountain that was once great.

Planet Earth is a grandiose creation in which everything is thought out to the smallest detail. It has changed over the centuries. There have been cardinal transformations of the relief, and all this - under the influence of internal and external forces. In order to better understand the processes taking place on the planet, it is necessary to know about the life that it leads, not paying attention to the person.