This document provides an overview of different types of landforms and the geological processes that form them. It discusses lithological landforms such as volcanic features like lava fields, craters, and plateaus. Karst landforms like caves and stalactites/stalagmites are formed by the dissolution of limestone. Climate landforms include glacial features from alpine glaciers and periglacial features in dry temperate zones. Structural landforms are related to rock structures. Coastal landforms result from erosion and deposition by sea processes and include cliffs, arches, lagoons, and marshes. For each landform type, examples of specific features are given along with the geological agents and processes responsible

1. Biology and Geology. 4 ESO
IES Antonio Gala

2. 1. An overview of landforms

3. Landscape Vs. Landform
(match both columns)
1. Landscape A……. a naturally
formed feature on the
Earth’s surface, having a
characteristic shape or
form
2. Landform B……. visible
features of an area including
both the natural
(mountains,
forests, rivers etc) and

4. .
Landforms of varying sizes and shapes,
when taken together, are referred to as a
landscape
The landforms have relationships with each
other, which means they form distinctive
groupings in these different landscapes.
Some landforms are extensive (dune fields)
and others are small (group of rocks)
Geomorphology examines landforms,
concentrated on the surface of the
lithosphere, and the processes producing
them.

5. CHANGES ON RELIEF
External energy Internal energy
Sun energy
and gravity
EXTERNAL GEOLOGICAL
PROCESSES
“Relief destruction”
Geothermal
energy
INTERNAL GEOLOGICAL
PROCESSES
“Relief construction”
Climate Lithology Human
actions
Tectonic plates
dynamics

6. External
geological
AGENT
External
geological
PROCESS
LANDFORM of
relief
‘The one who
creates the relief’
River, wind, sea,
glacier, rain,…
‘The action to create
the relief’
Weathering, erosion,
transportation,
sedimentation
‘The result’
dune, beach, valley,
caves, cliff, …
The rivererodesthe mountain and as a result we have a valley

7. 2. Lithological landforms

9. What is this feature and what
landform does it belong to?

10.  Lithological landforms
 Volcanic landforms
 Original landform: lava fields

11. What is this feature and what
landform does it belong to?

12.  Lithological landforms
 Volcanic landforms
 Original landform: craters and conical edifices

13. What is this feature and what
landform does it belong to?

14.  Lithological landforms
 Volcanic landforms BASALT (VOLCANIC ROCK)
 Derived landform: lava plateau (Giant´s causeway in Ireland)

15.  Columbia river plateau. Washington state. USA

16.  Columbia river plateau. Washington State. USA

19. What is this feature and what
landform does it belong to?
 Kaguyak volcano (Alaska) 2.5 km in diameter

20.  Lithological landforms
 Volcanic landforms
 Derived landform:caldera (Yelowstone caldera)

22. Yellowstone National Park

24. What are these features and what
landform do they belong to?

25.  Lithological landforms
 Granite landforms
 Domes (rounded blocks) and outcrops (straight blocks)
 Boulder (domes generally piled up)

26. Process of weathering in granite
 Step 1
At the beginning granite is already fractured in the
subsurface. These fractures become more intense with
the time and build a network that splits the granite
into blocks of cube-like shape.

27.  Step 2
When the fractures come into contact with rain water,
that seeps into the cracks. At night temperature
decreases enough to freeze water into ice, which
expands and breaks the corners. The building of
boulders starts.
 The decay of the corners results in granite boulders of
spheroidal shape.

28.  Step 3: The last step is erosion of the decayed granite
sand that exposes these spheroidally-weathered
boulders at the surface.

30. What are these features and how
are they produced?

31. Limestone carbonation
a
Solid rock Dissolved salt
(solution)
1
2
1. Dissolution
2. Precipitation

32. What are these features and what
landform do they belong to?

33. • Lithological landforms
– Karst landforms: endokarstic landforms
• Caves or caverns (large cavities formed when smaller spaces
join together due to the dissolution of limestone)
• Stalactites (precipitated calcium growing from the ceiling)
• Stalagmites (precipitated calcium growing from the ground)

34. Dissolution and precipitation of limestone

35. Evolution of karst landforms
What has happended here as time went by very
slowly….?

36. Ceiling of caves can collape or dissolve
completely
 “Torcal de Antequera” (Málaga. Spain)
Canyons

37. Torcas and Ravines
Which is each one?

38. 3. Climate landforms

40. Glacial landforms

42. GLACIER FORMATION
1 It severely snows

43. GLACIER FORMATION
2 The snow accumulates in the cirque and it is
transformed into ice because of its weight and low
temperatures
cirque

44. GLACIER FORMATION
3 Due to the weight the ice goes down and
forms the TONGUE
tongue
cirque

45. GLACIER FORMATIION
4 On its way down the glacier erodes and
transports materials (sediments).
cirque
tongue

46. GLACIER FORMATION
5 when the ice melts, rivers are formed and
materials are deposited forming moraines
cirque
tongue
terminus

47. GLACIER FORMATION
6 The glacier disappears thousands of years
later but the landforms remain.
cirqueGlacial cirque
U-shaped valley

48. Task
 Write the name of the landform, agent and process of
the following photos.

49. Glacial cirque Glacier Erosion

50. Glacial lake Glacier Erosion

51. Rocks with glacial striations Glacier Transportation

52. Valle de Ordesa
U-shaped valley Glacier Erosion

53. Till /Morrains Glacier Sedimentation

55. Dry temperate zones: Semi-desert
landforms

56. Gullies, torrential rain, erosion
Morocco

58. Utah USA
Hoodoo or fairy chimneys / Torrential rain / Weathering and erosion

60. Fluvial landforms

61. Water fall River Erosion

62. V-shaped valley River Erosion

63. Delta River Sedimentation

64. Gorge River Erosion

65. Meanders River Erosion/Deposition

67. Desert landforms

68. Mushroom-shaped rock, Wind, Erosion

69. Crescent (Barchan) Dunes, Wind, Deposition

70. What is this feature and what
landform does it belong to?

71. What is this
feature and
what
landform
does it
belong to?

73. Star Dunes, Wind, Deposition

74. Arches, Wind, Weathering & Erosion,

75. 4. Structural landforms

76. What are these features and what
landform do they belong to?

77. • Structural landforms
– Landforms in horizontal regions: table mountains or
plateaus, monadrocks or isolated ridges

78. What are these features and what
landform do they belong to?

79. • Structural landforms
– Landforms in folded regions: hills and crests

80. What are these features and what
landform do they belong to?

81. • Structural landforms
– Landforms in fractured regions: horst and
graben
________ fault?

82. 5. Coastal landforms

83. Cape /bay Sea Erosion

84. Cliff Sea Erosion

85. Wave-cut platform Sea Erosion
Zumaia, Euskadi
cliff cliff cliff cliff
seaseasea sea
Eroded materials Abrasion platformAbrasion platform

86. Las catedrales, Galicia
Arches Sea Erosion

87. Mar Menor (Murcia)
Lagoon Sea Sedimentation (sand bar)

88. Doñana
Marsh Sea Sedimentation (in an estuary)