Landscape Development

Basic Landscapes Landscapes Hill slopes Stream patterns Drainage basin _________________- Earth’s surface visible from any given point on the land or from space.   1. __________________________- The angle of slope (gradient) and the shape of hill slopes can be observed, measured, and identified. 2. __________________________- streams can be identified and grouped by patterns. ______________________- area drained by a stream of system of streams. 3.____________________________- soils with similar characteristics. - grouped on the basis of composition, particle size and shape, organic content, porosity and permeability, and the maturity of the soil (soil horizons). Hill slopes Stream patterns Drainage basin Soil associations

Landscape Regions Landscape Regions- landscapes with similar characteristics. - in NYS they are grouped by   1. _______________- a large mass of land which rises to a great height above its surroundings. 2. _______________- large regions having horizontal rock structures at high elevations above sea level. - streams cut steep valleys in them (gorges). 3. _______________- an extensive region of low elevation where the land is level or gently rolling. Elevation, type of bedrock and stream drainage pattern Mountains Plateaus Plains

Reference Table Map This symbol divides different landscape types. i.e. plains, plateaus or mountains This symbol divides the same landscape region, just the names are different - physiographic provinces- - any continental landmass has several distinctive physiographic provinces. landscape regions with similar characteristics

Factors Affecting Landscapes Uplifting forces 1. _______________________- Forces which build mountains, enlarge continents, and generally raise or roughen the Earth’s surface. -   2. _______________________- Forces which lower the elevation of the Earth’s surface through subsidence and erosion. - the major cause of leveling is Earthquakes, folding, faulting, tilting, volcanic activity, continental drift, sea- floor spreading Leveling forces gravity

Factors Affecting Landscapes 3. climate- changes in temperature and moisture. a. arid- steep slopes, angular features. b. humid- c. glaciers- smooth with gentle rolling hills jagged cliffs or U-shaped valleys, polished bedrock, scratched or grooved bedrock Glacial Features Diagrams

Factors Affecting Landscapes 4. running water- the most powerful and important erosional agent in shaping landscapes. - responsible for the development of valleys and the hills and ridges between valleys. - streams in arid regions are usually temporary, and often drain into landlocked lakes (lakes that don’t drain into the ocean)

Factors Affecting Landscapes 5. soil associations - shallow and poorly developed soils-   - well developed soils- arid regions, regions with large amounts of rainfall regions with moderate temperatures and moderate amounts of moisture

Bedrock the big factor! Bedrock- the characteristic shape of many landscapes is largely determined by the type of bedrock and its structure. - harder or more resistant the rock- weathering and erosion. - hard rocks produce   - soft rocks produce _____________________- ridge that separates two gently sloping surfaces. _____________________- produce circular ridges and escarpments. less steep cliffs (escarpments), mountains and plateaus more gradual slopes, weak rocks underlie valleys escarpment domed landscape Pay attention to the diagrams!

Drainage Patterns Dendritic pattern 1. _______________________- branches in a way similar to the limbs or roots of trees. - found on plains and plateaus, where the rock layers are horizontal. 2. _______________________- develops in valley-and-ridge terrain, where rocks of different hardness are folded. 3. _______________________- found where streams radiate out from a central point on a large single peak, such as on a volcano or rounded hill. 4. _______________________- develops in a strongly jointed and faulted area. 5. Annular Pattern - develops where folding has occurred Trellis pattern Radial pattern Rectangular pattern

Dendritic Trellis Radial Annular

Time and Landscapes: What to look for? 1. young landscape- erosion is beginning. - Sharp, craggy hills Steep slope, fast moving streams Narrow V-shaped valleys

Time and Landscapes: What to look for? 2. mature landscape- Low rounded hills and broad flat valleys. Streams are no longer eroding downward, but are side cutting. Building meanders and floodplains

Time and Landscapes: What to look for? 3. old landscape- - area has become a peneplane- a region that has been reduced by erosion to a nearly flat surface. -   Uplands have been eroded to almost sea level Poor drainage system with almost no gradient, Many meanders and wide floodplains Meandering stream

Glacial Features 2. Horns- 3-sided peaks 1. Arêtes- jagged ridges 3. Cirques – bowl shaped erosion scars Hanging valleys

Glacial Features 5. Kettles & kames – formed by melt water Kame – stream flowing on glacier Kettle- ice blocks 6. Drumlins – elongated piles of glacial till Glacial Features Marks end of glacier’s advance 4. Moraines – deposits of glacial till left by glaciers 7. Eskers – snaking hill, stream deposits from under glacier 8. Outwash plains – melt water deposits, sorted by size, has layers of different sediments

Glacial Features U-shaped valley Terminal Moraine Recessional Moraine Glacier Animation notes