Oxford University Press Espaa S.A.

, 2012
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RELIEF
Oxford University Press Espaa S.A., 2012
CONTENTS


1- THE EARTHS STRUCTURE
2- THE EARTHS SURFACE: CONTINENTS AND OCEANS
3- LAND RELIEF
4- COASTAL RELIEF AND THE OCEAN FLOOR
5- NATURAL HAZARDS
Oxford University Press Espaa S.A., 2012
LESSON OBJECTIVES
1-Learn about the Earths structure.
2 Identify and locate the continents and oceans.
3 Recognise the main continental relief forms and explain their formation
from the action
of the Earths internal forces and external agents.
4 Describe the distribution of the continental waters, their origin and
forms.
5 Recognise the relief forms in coastal areas and on the ocean floor.
6 Identify the origins of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and learn about
the consequences of both phenomena.


The Earths structure
CRUST : continents and ocean floor
MANTLE: solid and semisolid rock
INNER CORE: solid
OUTER CORE: liquid


THE EARTHS SURFACE: continents and oceans
The Earths litosphere* is divided into plates.
The Earths plates move slowly, collide or pass over each other and form
relief that can be:
Emerged land (continents): Most of it in the Northern Hemisphere
Continents: Asia, America, Africa, Antarctica, Europe, Oceania
Submerged land (underwater)
Seas and oceans (saltwater), lakes and rivers (freshwater), ice
(poles)
The level of oceans and seas changes: tides, melting of polar ice,
evaporation
5 large oceans: Pacific (the deepest), Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Southern.
* The outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km thick.
Continents and oceans
Which is the biggest and which is the smallest continent?
Which is the biggest ocean?


LAND RELIEF
CONTINENTAL RELIEF: mountains, valleys, mesetas, plains

- Internal forces Create relief
(movement of plates, volcanic eruptions, etc)

- External agents Erode relief
(wind, rain, rivers, groundwater, lakes, ice, seas, oceans and living things)
Continental relief
mountains
plains
valleys
plateaus


LAND RELIEF
CONTINENTAL WATERS: rivers, glaciers, groundwater, seas, lakes
Rivers: They flow along a river bed into the sea, a lake or another
river (tributary)
fluvial system (a river and its tributaries)
Drainage basin (surface a river and tributaries occupy)
volume (amount of water carried by a river)
Glaciers
Groundwater (filtration of water) Aquifers (blocked
water)
Inland lakes (saltwater) and seas

MAIN CONTINENTAL WATERS
3 PARTS/COURSES OF A RIVER

- UPPER COURSE EROSION
- MIDDLE COURSE TRANSPORT (meanders)
- LOWER COURSE RIVER MOUTH
Estuary: open mouth of a
river (strong tides)
Delta: accumulation of
materials at river mouth
Glacier: large mass
of ice. It moves like
a river
Groundwater: can
create karstic forms:
caves, galleries,
stalactites, stalagmites
River valley: V-Shape
Different types: Ravine, Gorge
Canyon Glacial valley: U-Shape
COASTAL RELIEF

The action of the sea shapes the
relief to form beaches and cliffs
gulf/bay
(smaller)
beach
cape
cliff
RELIEF ON THE OCEAN FLOOR
Continental shelf
Abissal plain
Ocean trench
Ocean ridge
Continental slope
Volcanoes
NATURAL HAZARDS
VOLCANIC ERUPTION
Opening in the Earths crust

lava (molten rock), gases, fire, smoke,
ash
There can be explosions during a
volcanic eruption
Volcanoes can be:
active
extinct
dormant


Earthquakes
Tremors/shaking in the Earths crust
They can cause fissures and
movements on the Earths surface

We measure the magnitude
(strength) of an earthquake with a
seismograph (ex: Richter scale)

Different components of an
earthquake:
epicentre
Seismic waves
focus