Teaching landforms in your classroom? If you’re searching for a quick and easy way to help students learn about landformsโwithout needing lots of extra suppliesโyouโve come to the right place! This post shares simple sorting and compare/contrast activities perfect for introducing landforms. All youโll need are some landform flashcards or pictures, making this activity both fun and hassle-free!
Materials
All you need for this simple learning activity is some good landform flashcards or pictures. I recommend downloading and printing my landform three-part cards. Optionally, you can also purchase my water features three-part cards. You’ll receive high-quality illustrations of each landform on printable flashcards, plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase!
Or, if you’re looking for EVEN MORE landforms materials for your lessons, I recommend checking out my complete Landforms Unit. It includes the landforms flashcards, a printable version of the directions in this blog post, and additional activities and printable materials.
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect landforms lesson โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying landforms in your classroom or homeschool!
Earthโs lithosphere (surface) is broken into massive, irregularly shaped pieces, called tectonic plates. Some of the plates are so large that they span entire continents. Others are smaller. Tectonic plates sit atop a denser, soft part of the mantle called the asthenosphere. If you need a refresher, view my Layers of the Earth post.
The theory of plate tectonicsis a scientific theory central to the field of geology. This theory explains that the Earth’s surface is broken into large plates that are slowly moving. These plates slide past and over one another. Their motion gradually changes the appearance of Earthโs landmasses and oceans over time and helps drive the rock cycle. Plate movement also causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions along plate boundaries.
Where two tectonic plates meet is called a boundary. There are three main tectonic plate boundary types. Without further ado, let’s take a look at each of them.
Before we dive in:ย If youโre an educator planning toย teach plate tectonics, great visuals are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my printable Boundary Type Diagrams, which you can also find within my Plate Tectonics Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
At convergent boundaries, two plates move towards one another. There are two convergent boundary subtypes:
Convergent with Subduction
When one or both plates are oceanic plates, the denser plate is subducted, or drawn underneath the less dense plate. This creates volcanic activity, severe earthquakes, and tall coastal mountains or islands.
Convergent without Subduction
Once an oceanic plate fully subducts, two continental plates may converge. Continental plates cannot be subducted. This creates huge inland mountain ranges, like the Himalayas.
2. Divergent Plate Boundary
At divergent boundaries, plates move apart. This allows new crust to form between the plates. Divergent boundaries can happen in the ocean or on continents. You will find volcanic activity and mild earthquakes at divergent boundaries. If the divergent boundary is in an ocean, you may see mid-ocean ridges due to volcanic activity. The volcanic activity can also create islands along this boundary type. Iceland is an example of an island on a divergent boundary.
3. Transform Plate Boundary
At transform boundaries, plates slide past one another. This can happen in oceans or on continents. The sliding motion produces faults with mild to severe earthquakes, such as in the San Andreas region of California. Landscape features, such as mountain ranges or riverbeds, may appear broken and offset due to the sliding of the plates.
Teaching Plate Tectonics:
If you enjoyed the illustrations and information from this post, I know you will love my complete Plate Tectonics Unit. It’s got all the worksheets, diagrams, handouts, and other printable materials you need for a great unit (plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase!).
A volcano is an opening in the crust where lava, volcanic gases, and ash are expelled onto the Earthโs surface. They typically have cone-like shapes with depressions at their centers. There are three main types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes (also known as composite volcanoes), and cinder cones. Apart from these main types, other categories of volcanoes include calderas, lava domes, and fissures. Now, let’s learn a bit more about each of the different types of volcanoes:
For teachers: If you’re teaching the types of volcanoes, landforms, plate tectonics, or Earth science, hands-on learning resources and thoughtfully designed visuals are the key to sparking understanding. That’s why I create my complete units, full of science activities and original artwork and diagrams. The artwork and information in this post come from my Plate Tectonics Unit. You can also find information on volcanoes in theLandforms Unit and information on the rock cycle and magma in the Rocks & Minerals Unit. Plus, every purchase helps support this blog! โค๏ธ
Shield volcanoes are made of layered lava rock from lava flows; wide, with gently sloping sides. They can be very large: up to ~ 10 km (6 mi) tall, when measured from the seafloor.
Stratovolcanoes are also called composite volcanoes. Their make-up includes layers of volcanic rockfragments and lava rock. You can find stratovolcanoes in areas near subduction zones, and they may have very explosive eruptions. This type of volcano is fairly steep-sided and medium-sized, about 1,000 โ 4,000 m (3,000 โ 13,000 ft) tall.
Examples: Mt. Fuji, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens
Fragmented volcanic rocks (called โpyroclastsโ) comprise cinder cones. They appear very steep-sided but relatively small – up to ~ 500 m (~ 1,600 ft) tall. They can occur on the sides of larger volcanoes.
Examples: Hverfjall, Hoodoo Butte, and Sunset Crater
Calderas
A caldera forms when a volcanoโs magma chamber collapses. They appear bowl-shaped, and some fill with water to create lakes. Some calderas produce severe eruptions. Calderas are 1 km (0.6 mi) wide or greater. They can be huge, like the Yellowstone Caldera, a supervolcano.
Examples: Crater Lake, Krakatoa, and Eyjafjallajรถkull
Lava Domes
Lava domes are formed from lava rock; round or spire-shaped. Interestingly, they form when viscous (thick) lava reaches the surface and piles up because it cools faster than it can flow away. Lava domes are like corks in bottles and can erupt violently. Although powerful, lava domes are relatively small; they may be found on top of larger volcanoes.
A fissure is an elongated vent rather than a central vent; they are found on the ocean floor at divergent boundaries. Additionally, fissures can occur on land.
The length of fissures varies. The longest fissure eruption in recorded history was the Laki fissure in Iceland in the 18th century. It was ~ 25 km (~ 16 mi) long. In contrast, very small fissures are sometimes on the sides of larger volcanoes.
If you loved the illustrations and info in this post, I think you’ll love studying volcanoes in my complete Plate Tectonics Unit! It features my volcano artwork and includes posters, worksheets, activities, and more materials for studying volcanoes!
Glaciers make a big mark on the landscapes beneath and around them. Both continental glaciation (ice caps, ice sheets) and alpine glaciation (valley glaciers in large mountains) shape the landscape. If you live in northern North America or northern Europe you may find landforms created by glaciation nearby! This is because during the last ice age, ice sheets covered large parts of northern Eurasia and North America. Smaller glaciers were also located (and often still are found) in tall mountain ranges like the Andes and Himalayas. Even thousands of years after a glacier disappears, you can still find evidence of its presence in the glacial landforms left behind!
Before you continue reading: if you need more background info about how glaciers form and why they are important, check out my blog post on glaciers.
A special note for educators: If you are teaching your students about glaciers, try out my Glaciers: Science on Ice unit. It is full of all the printable worksheets, handouts, and activity directions you’ll need for teaching about glaciers and glacial landforms. Plus, you’ll support this blog with your purchase! ๐
Before we can explore the different types of glacial landforms, we need to understand a little bit more about the forces at play. Glaciers shape the landscape in two main ways: through erosion and deposition. Basically, a glacier picks up materials like rocks and sediments in one place, then later sets them down in a different place. Erosion removes rocks and sediments, leaving behind scarred landscapes. The removed rocks and sediments are then deposited in different locations. Deposition builds up rocks and sediments on the landscape, creating a gently rolling or bumpy-looking terrain. Even after glaciers melt away, we can still see the unique landforms they leave behind.
Let’s take a look at a few common glacial landform types and how they form.
1. Cirque
A steep-walled mountain basin with one open side, located at the upper end of a glacial valley. Sometimes, you will find a small pond (called a tarn) in the bottom of a cirque.
Formation: Cirques become carved into the landscape at the start of valley glaciersโ paths. A cirque opens to a valley on one side, in the direction that the glacier moved.
Example: Cirque Meadows in northern Colorado, USA (seen from a distance)
A sharp, pointy mountain peak. Horns are places where three or more arรชtes meet. At the base of a horn, you will find three or more cirques.
Formation: A horn forms through erosion on all sides by three or more glaciers.
Example: Multiple glacial horns near Laguna Parรณn, Peru
The Matterhorn in the Alps is a great example of a horn. Photo by Pixabay
4. U-shaped valley
A gently sloping valley carved out by a glacier that looks like a U from a profile view. In contrast, a valley carved out by running water will have a V-shape on profile.
Formation: U-shaped valleys become eroded into the landscape by valley glaciers.
A U-shaped valley forms when a glacier moves down a mountain valley. After the glacier recedes, the U-shaped valley is left behind. Photo by Stephan Seeber
5. Moraine
Long mounds of unsorted glacial till that are deposited onto the landscape along the borders of glaciers. There are several different types of moraines including lateral moraines, end moraines, and medial moraines.
Formation: Moraines form as a glacier deposits till along its sides and front.
A low, streamlined hill made of glacial till with one steep end and one smooth, elongated end pointing in the direction that the glacier moved.
Formation: Drumlins are depositional landforms that form beneath ice sheets. If the area around a drumlin later becomes flooded with water, the drumlin can become an island.
Example: There are many drowned (island) drumlins in the Clew Bay, Ireland
Formation: Eskers form in the outwash from ice sheets. They form as sand and gravel settle out of meltwater flowing in streams underneath and in front of receding glaciers. If the area around the esker later becomes flooded with water, the esker can become an isthmus.
Example: Eskers Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada (look for subtle, s-shaped ridges in the landscape)
A depression in the earth where a buried ice block melted. Kettles are often filled with water (e.g., a kettle lake).
Formation: A kettle forms when a large chunk of ice is deposited and buried in glacial outwash. As the buried ice melts, a depression forms and often fills with water.
If you liked this blog post, I know you’ll love my Glaciers: Science on Ice unit. It is a complete set of learning materials for studying glaciers with your class or homeschool.
Plummer, C. C., Carlson, D. H., & Hammersley L. (2019). Physical Geology. Sixteenth edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 17: Glaciation.
A stream or river is a natural, flowing waterwayon the land’s surface. Stream channels are long, narrow depressions in the land where water flows. There are several common river channel types, also known as the major plan forms.
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach about rivers, having great visuals to deepen understanding is key! You can find materials for teaching channel types/plan forms within my comprehensive Science on the River Unit. It also includes activities for measuring stream discharge, lessons on drainage patterns, and stream diagrams (plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
As a river flows from its headwaters out to the sea, it usually transitions between several different plan forms. The river channel is shaped by the surrounding landscape, underlying rock type(s), sediment availability, andflow regime(i.e., variation in the amount of water flowing through a river, including the magnitude and frequency of different-sized floods).
Different rivers naturally have different plan forms – and that’s a good thing! You will find healthy streams and rivers with various natural planforms – no one planform is necessarily better than the others. It is best for a river to be as close to its natural state as reasonably possible.
The major planforms are straight, meandering, braided, and anastomosing. Next, let’s take a look at the different types of river channels you may see:
Straight River Channels
Straight channels are seen in areas where the landscape is steep, such as on the side of mountains or in straight, narrow valleys. The stream or riverโs channel appears mostly straight with few curves or bends.
Straight river channel
Meandering River Channels
A meander is a curve in a stream. Subsequently, a meandering river is curving with many noticeable bends or turns. Meandering channels are seen in areas where the topography is gentle or nearly flat, such as plains and wide valley bottoms. Even subtle changes in the land’s surface can shape the river’s path since water always flows downhill in the path of least resistance. Flow is fastest on the outside of a curve, causing erosion. In contrast, flow is the slowest on the inside of a curve. Sediments settle out of the water and accumulate on the insides of curves, where water flows slowest, forming point bars.
Meandering river channel
Notably, some meanders are curvy and nearly double back on themselves, forming a loop. These extra curvy meanders are called goosenecks. Over time, the fast waters on the outside curves of a gooseneck wear down the banks. Eventually, the curves erode all the way through so that the flowing river water bypasses the gooseneck, cutting off the loop. Then, the former gooseneck becomes a water feature known as an oxbow lake.
Photo by Ian Beckley on Pexels.comThe Oxbow by Thomas Cole is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0Two examples of goosenecks. When the thin neck erodes all the way through, the river bypasses the loop and an oxbow lake forms.
Braided channels are seen in many locations, including deserts, plains, glacial outwash, and coastal areas. The river channel contains sediment bars, giving it a braided appearance. For a braided channel to form, there must be plenty of sediment available in the channel to build up bars. Bars can be made of a variety of sediments: silts and sands, gravels, or larger stones.
The locations and shapes of sediment bars change over time. Although the bars in a braided channel may look permanent, the sediment is slowly making its way downstream toward the ocean. The powerful, flowing water carries each grain of sediment a short distance at a time. In fact, a single piece of sediment may travel a short distance rapidly, then settle onto a bar or the riverbed for days, months, or even years before it moves again. Even so, large floods can cause rapid changes in the locations and appearances of the bars in a braided river.
Braided river channel
Anastomosing River Channels
In an anastomosing channel, multiple river channels are separated by large, vegetated bars or islands. This gives the appearance of a few separate stream channels rather than one main channel. Braided rivers and anastomosing rivers are similar because they both have multiple channels that intertwine. The main difference between anastomosing rivers and braided rivers is that the channels of an anastomosing river are separated by semi-permanent islands, while the sediment bars of a braided river are more ephemeral (short-lived).
Anastomosing river channel
Teaching Rivers in Your Classroom
Are you an educator planning to teach about rivers? You can save time preparing lessons by using my complete Science on the River Unit below. Plus, you’ll support Wild Earth Lab with your purchase!
Rivers and streams provide endless opportunities for scientific exploration and discovery – and chances are you can find one right in your community! From their chemistry and physics to their role in ecosystems and human communities, rivers and streams offer excellent opportunities to teach critical concepts in science and math in an applied way. Acrossโฆ
Itโs hard to imagine just how little freshwater exists on Earth compared to saltwater. If you’re teaching the water cycle, your students might be amazed to learn that less than 3% of the Earthโs water is freshwaterโthe rest is saltwater. In this post, Iโll show you a hands-on freshwater learning activity that uses simple kitchenโฆ
The water cycle is the process that keeps our planet’s water in constant motion. From evaporation to groundwater flow, each step plays a vital role in shaping our environment and life on our planet. In this post, we’ll explore 10 key processes in the water cycle, breaking down how each one works. For teachers:ย If youโreโฆ
Are you teaching the water cycle or studying soil in your classroom or homeschool? Measuring infiltration rates in different types of soils is a hands-on activity that helps students explore how water interacts with the ground. This soil infiltration activity also ties in perfectly with studies of porosity and permeability. This engaging experiment works asโฆ
Teaching your students about the water cycle? Building a DIY rain gauge from a plastic bottle is a fun, hands-on activity to explore a key water cycle process: precipitation. This simple project is perfect for your classroom or homeschool and can be a stand-alone lesson or part of a larger study of water cycle processes.โฆ
Many forces work together to shape the landscape. Plate tectonics, volcanic activity, erosion, and deposition work slowly over time to form and change Earth’s surface. All these forces working together create some pretty unique and cool landforms! In this post, we’ll take a closer look at 12 common landforms – what they look like and how they form!
Landforms are the naturally formed, solid features of the Earthโs surface. They shape the Earthโs topography, or form. Landforms shape the way the Earth’s surface looks and how humans, plants, and animals live in different areas. Next time you head out on a road trip or visit a park, see which of these 12 common landforms you can spot!
For Teachers:ย If youโre an educator planning toย teach landforms, great activities and visuals are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Landforms Unit, which you can also find in my Landforms and Waterbodies Bundle โplus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ
A canyon near Elephant Butte, in Arches National Park, Utah
Canyon
Definition: A deep, narrow passage bounded by cliffs on both sides. Canyons are like valleys but with much steeper walls.
Formation: Canyons form due to erosion by running water. The running water may be seasonal and only flow for a few months of the year, or flow year-round.
Definition: A naturally formed, underground chamber, below the earthโs surface or on the side of a hill or cliff.
Formation: Many caves are formed by erosion. Caves can form when slowly seeping groundwater dissolves buried rock, leaving behind hollowed-out caverns. For example, the rock limestone dissolves when in contact with mildly acidic groundwater. Erosion can also form caves when waves carve sea caves into cliffsides.
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Ampetheatre, Giants Castle Game Reserve, South Africa
A hill along the Colorado Trail, Colorado, USA.
Hill
Definition: A rounded, naturally elevated area of land.
Formation: Hills form in many ways. Some hills form as formerly larger mountains erode. Others form when sediments are deposited and then colonized with plants, such as the hills left behind in areas once covered by glaciers. Some hills form due to plate tectonic activity.
Definition: A body of land surrounded by water. Islands are smaller than continents and can be found in many types of water bodies such as oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Formation: Islands may be formed by volcanic activity or by the deposition of sediments like sand. Plate tectonics also plays a role – where ocean plates converge, uplift and volcanic activity occur – increasing the elevation of the ocean floor until it breaches the water’s surface, forming islands.
Examples of Islands
A Small Island near Pulau Guraici, North Maluku, Indonesia
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA: the largest island in Lake Superior. Isle Royale is so large it has smaller lakes on it, which have smaller islands within them!
Bird Island, near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands off the coast of Antarctica
Definition: A narrow strip of land with water on two sides, connecting two bodies of land.
Formation: Isthmuses form when the water level exposes an elevated ridge of land above the waterโs surface. Some isthmuses, such as the Isthmus of Panama, form where tectonic plates converge. Others, like the Madison Isthmus, result from the lakes and glacial drumlins (ridges of loose rock and coarse sediment deposited by glaciers) left behind in a post-glacial landscape.
Definition: A naturally elevated, flat-topped area of land with steep sides. It is larger than a butte but smaller than a plateau.
Formation: Mesas form as running water erodes the rocks and sediments surrounding an area, leaving it elevated above the surrounding landscape. A “capstone” made of harder rock than the surrounding area may prevent the mesa itself from eroding as quickly.
The Landforms Unit includes three-part flashcards and this printable classroom poster with watercolor artwork of 12 common landforms.
A glacial valley near Byron Glacier, outside of Anchorage, Alaska.
Valley
Definition: A low area of land between two hills or mountains. Valleys often have streams flowing through them.
Formation: Valleys are formed by erosion. Running water or glaciers can carve out valleys over long time periods. Flowing water tends to cut “V” shaped valleys, while glaciers carve out “U” shaped valleys.
View from inside the crater of a dormant volcano in Haleakalฤ National Park, Maui, Hawaii.
Volcano
Definition: A mountain or hill with a crater through which lava is projected.
Formation: Volcanoestypically form due to plate tectonic activity, which can allow the molten rock to breach the Earthโs surface. The buildup of solidified lava forms a cone with a crater in it.
Are you planning to teach landforms and water features? You may enjoy the learning materials I’ve created on these topics! All my learning materials feature my artwork! Find them in my shop or click on the links below:
