Landforms, Water, and Natural Resources

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Landforms, Water, and Natural Resources
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Forces Below Earths Surface

• Forces below the earths surface are key to the
  creation of landforms.

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Forces Below Earths Surface

• Internal Forces
• Plate Tectonics is the theory that explains the
  how earths forces create landforms.
• Earths crust is divided into more than a dozen
  rigid, slow-moving plates that vary in size.
• The process by which the plates move across the
  upper mantle is called continental drift.
• Along the edges of the plates, a great deal of
  tectonic activity takes place whereas, in the
  interior of the plates much less activity occurs.
• Volcanoes and earthquakes are signs that a plate
  is nearby

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Plate Movement

• Three types of movement can occur at plate
  boundaries. This movement is responsible for the
  creation of landforms.
• Spread
• Collide
• Slip

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Plate Movement

• Most spreading plates are found beneath the
  ocean however, some are found beneath continents
  creating rift valleys.
• The largest rift valley is found in eastern
  Africa and is called the Great Rift Valley.

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Plate Movement

• When plates collide, folds and faults are formed.
• Folds are places where rocks have been compressed
  into bends in the earths crust.
• Faults are places where rock masses have broken
  apart and moved from each other.
• Plate collision is responsible
• for the process of mountain
• building.

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Plate Movement

• When plates move laterally past each other, the
  pressure can create mountains, the spreading can
  create valleys, and both cause frequent
  earthquakes.

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Weathering and Erosion

• Weathering is typically a slow and almost
  undetectable process in which rock is broken down
  over time.
• Chemical weathering involves the use of chemical
  compounds to dissolve rock.
• Physical weathering involves physical processes
  to break down rock.
• Erosion is the movement of surface material from
  one location to another.
• Ice, water, and wind all cause erosion.

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Hydrosphere

• The amount of water on earth remains relatively
  the same over time however, through the
  hydrologic (water) cycle, its physical state is
  changing.

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Hydrosphere

• As precipitation falls, it flows down hills and
  mountains towards lower land and coasts.
• The first and smallest streams from this runoff
  are called headwaters.
• As the headwaters flow downstream, they join
  together to form rivers.
• A whole region that is drained by a river and its
  tributaries is called a watershed or drainage
  basin.

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Natural Resources

• Renewable resources are those that natural
  processes continuously replace.
• Forest
• Soil
• Nonrenewable resources are those that cannot be
  replaced naturally after they have been used.
• Petroleum
• Minerals

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Energy Resources

• Energy is often derived from nonrenewable
  resources such as coal, natural gas, and
  petroleum.
• These resources are referred to as fossil fuels.
• Another nonrenewable energy resource is uranium
  which is used in the creation of nuclear power.

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Energy Resources

• Renewable energy resources help to curb our use
  of fossil fuels and other nonrenewable sources of
  energy in addition to reducing carbon emissions
  in the atmosphere. These include
• Hydroelectricity
• Wind Power
• Geothermal Energy
• Solar Engery

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