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Hanging valley – A tributary valley that meets the main valley above the valley floor; Headland – Landform extending into a body of water, often with significant height and drop; Highland – Area of high elevation such as a mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau; Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain
Many of the terms are not restricted to refer to features of the planet Earth, and can be used to describe surface features of other planets and similar objects in the Universe. Examples are mountains, hills, polar caps, and valleys, which are found on all of the terrestrial planets. The scientific study of landforms is known as geomorphology.
One challenge with shaded relief, especially at small scales (1:500,000 or less), is that the technique is very good at visualizing local (high-frequency) relief, but may not effectively show larger features. For example, a rugged area of hills and valleys will show as much or more variation than a large, smooth mountain.
This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution. Over a large area, it can affect weather and climate patterns. Bathymetry is the study of underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level.
Land is often defined as the solid, dry surface of Earth. [1] The word land may also collectively refer the collective natural resources of Earth, [2] including its land cover, rivers, shallow lakes, its biosphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere (troposphere), groundwater reserves, and the physical results of human activity on land, such as architecture and agriculture. [3]
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny . [ 1 ]
With crustal extension, a series of normal faults which occur in groups, form in close proximity and dipping in opposite directions. [4] As the crust extends it fractures in series of fault planes, some blocks sink down due to gravity, creating long linear valleys or basins also known as grabens, while the blocks remaining up or uplifted produce mountains or ranges, also known as horsts.
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