Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Common synonyms for geomorphometry are geomorphological analysis (after geomorphology), terrain morphometry, terrain analysis, and land surface analysis. Geomorphometrics is the discipline based on the computational measures of the geometry , topography and shape of the Earth's horizons, and their temporal change. [ 2 ]
Biology can influence very many geomorphic processes, ranging from biogeochemical processes controlling chemical weathering, to the influence of mechanical processes like burrowing and tree throw on soil development, to even controlling global erosion rates through modulation of climate through carbon dioxide balance.
Terrain (from Latin: terra 'earth'), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography , terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation , slope , and orientation of terrain features.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief, but also natural, artificial, and cultural features such as roads, land boundaries, and buildings. [1]
Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills , mountains , canyons , and valleys , as well as shoreline features such as bays , peninsulas , and seas , [ 3 ] including submerged features such as mid-ocean ridges , volcanoes , and the great oceanic basins .
The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, with the terrain dropping down on either side. The crest, if narrow, is also called a ridgeline. Limitations on the dimensions of a ridge are lacking. Its height above the surrounding terrain can vary from less than a meter to hundreds of meters.
Beginning in the 1960s, it was used originally in the field of biostratigraphy to denote intervals of geological strata with fossil content demonstrating a specific ecology. [3] In Canadian literature, the term was used by Wiken [ 4 ] in macro-level land classification , with geographic criteria (see Ecozones of Canada ).
In physical geography and physical geology, aspect (also known as exposure) [1] is the compass direction or azimuth that a terrain surface faces. [ 2 ] For example, a slope landform on the eastern edge of the Rockies toward the Great Plains is described as having an easterly aspect .