Landforms & Maps
What is a landform?
A natural feature on Earth’s surface such as mountains, valleys, or plateaus.
What is weathering?
Breaking down rocks into smaller pieces.
What causes an earthquake?
What causes an earthquake?
What is a fossil?
The remains or imprints of plants and animals from long ago.
What is elevation?
The height of land above or below sea level.
What does a topographic map show?
It shows elevation and the shape of land using contour lines.
What is erosion?
The movement of rock and soil from one place to another.
What is the Ring of Fire?
An area around the Pacific Ocean with many volcanoes and earthquakes.
Where are most fossils found?
In sedimentary rock layers.
What is a continental shelf?
The underwater edge of a continent before the ocean floor drops steeply.
Scenario: A hiker is using a topographic map and notices contour lines that are very close together.
Question: What does this tell the hiker about the terrain, and how should they prepare?
They show steep land or a sharp change in elevation. This could be the top of the mountain. The hiker should prepare for climbing the mountain.
What is deposition?
When materials carried by erosion are dropped and form new landforms.
Scenario: A city is built near the edge of two tectonic plates.
Question: What natural events should city planners prepare for, and why are these events likely in this location?
Along plate boundaries most earthquakes occur. They should prepare for earthquakes.
What can marine fossils found on mountains tell us?
That the area was once covered by water.
What tool shows direction on a map?
A compass rose.
How do scientists map the ocean floor?
They use sonar and underwater vehicles to detect ridges and trenches.
Scenario: A gardener notices cracks forming in the garden’s rocks during winter.
Question: Explain how the freeze–thaw cycle affects these rocks and what type of weathering this represents. (Physical or Chemical)
Water can freezes in rock cracks, expands, and breaks the rock apart. This is physical weathering.
What is a fault?
A crack or break in Earth’s crust where earthquakes happen.
Which rock layer is the oldest? Top or Bottom
The bottom layer of rock is the oldest.
Scenario: A map shows patterns of earthquakes along a long ridge under the ocean.
Question: What can scientists infer about tectonic activity in that area?
The plates are moving a lot
Mountains and volcanoes often form patterns on Earth’s maps.
What causes these patterns?
They form along plate boundaries where Earth’s plates meet.
Name one agent that changes Earth’s surface.
Water, wind, ice, or vegetation (plants).
What happens when plates collide?
hey form mountains or cause earthquakes.
What can fossils tell scientists?
What plants and animals lived long ago and how environments changed.
How do maps help scientists study Earth?
They show patterns of earthquakes, volcanoes, and landforms over time.