Types of relief

1. Types of relief

2. Remember: the Earth’s litosphere is
irregular, not flat.
The Earth’s surface has raised areas (like
mountains or hills), low areas (depressions),
slopes, plains…
That’s what we call
relief!
Depression: an area below
sea level that is inland.
Slope

3. Let’s study the types of relief
(also called landforms)

4. Plain
A plain is an area of flat land (or gently
undulating land) which is not higher than 200
metres above sea level.
I’m
below
sea
level
I’m at
sea level
I’m
above
sea
level
Sea level

5. Plateau

6. A plateau is a flat area higher than 200 metres
above sea level
Madrid is
located on a
plateau!
plateau

7. Mountain

8. Mountains are very high areas of relief
(over 600 metres) with slopes
slope

9. When several mountains are together,
they form a mountain range or sierra

10. Some mountains are old, some are
young
Old mountain, with rounded
forms
Young mountain, with pointed
forms

11. Valley
A valley is a flat area in between mountains.
Valleys are areas where people like to live, and
they are good for agricultura.

12. Depression
A depression is a sunken (*) area inland below
sea level. These areas can be filled by water.
depression
(*) from the verb to sink

13. Coastal relief

14. The coast is the land near the sea

15. Cliff
A cliff is a steep area of land on the coast
Cliffs in Dover,
England

16. Beach
A beach is a flat surface found along the coast.
They are formed by the accumulation of sand
and small stones

17. Cape (or headland)
A cape is an area of land where the coast
seems to jut into the sea
cape

18. Gulf
A gulf is a landform where the water of the
sea seems to jut into the land
gulf

19. Estuary
An estuary is the final part of a river.
In an estuary, salt water coming from the sea
and fresh water coming from the river mix.
City of
Liverpool, UK
estuary
The sea

20. Fjord
A fjord is a valley created by a glacier that has
been flooded by the sea.

21. A glacier is an immense mass of
ice that moves slowly
When the ice moves, it removes the land
underneath the glacier, and a valley is created.
Afterwards, water from the sea floods the
valley and a fjord is created.
glacier
fjord
The water in fjords is salt water,
because it comes from the sea

22. Peninsula
A peninsula is an area of land surrounded by the sea on
all sides except one (the isthmus). The isthmus
connects the peninsula to the continent.
Iberian Peninsula
isthmus

23. Landforms below sea level
Continental
shelf: a gentle
slope under
the sea
Continental slope: a
sharp slope
between the abyssal
plain and the
continental shelf
Abyssal
plain Abyssal plain:
flat, deep
areas of land
under the sea

24. Ocean floor landforms
Oceanic
trench:
depression
under the sea
Oceanic
ridges
Oceanic
ridge:
mountain
under the
sea