LANDFORMS

Loess is a deposit of silt or material which is usually yellowish or brown in color and consisting of tiny mineral particles brought by wind to the places where they now lie. It is a product of past glacial activity in an area. It is a sedimentary deposit of mineral particles which are finer than sand but coarser than dust or clay, deposited by the wind. Loess is a type of silt which forms fertile topsoil in some parts of the world. Loess deposits are usually a few meters thick. One of the key characteristics of these deposits is the ‘cat steps'. The soil has few clay particles to hold it together. It is composed mainly of quartz crystals which slide easily against each other, and is therefore very subject to erosion.

A canyon or gorge is a deep valley often carved from the Earth by a river. Most canyons originate by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau level, with a stream gradually carving out its valley. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on the valley walls. Canyons are much more common in dry, hot areas than in wetter areas because weathering has a lesser effect in arid zones. Canyons' walls are often formed of resistant sandstone.

A lake is a body of water surrounded by land.

An island is a relatively small body of land surrounded entirely by water.

An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly, a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagoes are often volcanic, forming along mid-ocean ridges. Erosion and deposition are also involved in their construction.

An ocean is a body of water that covers oceanic crust.

A cliff is a vertical, or nearly vertical exposure of rock.

A coast is a margin of land where land meets the sea.

A bay is a body of water that is partly enclosed by land (and is usually smaller than a gulf).

A butte is a flat-topped rock or hill formation with steep sides.

A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river. A cape is a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river.

An estuary is where a river meets the sea or ocean.

A fjord is a long, narrow sea inlet that is bordered by steep cliffs.

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses. An isthmus has water on two sides.

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