Landforms

The outer surface of Earth is a layer of rock called the crust.

The crust can have different shapes, such as mountains, hills, and valleys.

A landform is a solid feature of Earth’s crust.

Landforms are constantly changing Landforms are constantly changing. Mountains can take millions of years to form.

Bodies of water are another type of feature found on Earths’s surface.

Rivers can act like saws, cutting through rock.

Lets go to page 34 to define different kinds of landforms.

mountain A landform high above the land around it.

Huayna Picchu

hill A high place on Earth´s surface; not as high as a mountain

valley A low, narrow area between hills or moutains.

plateau A plain that is higher than the land around it

Markawasi Plateau

volcano An opening in Earth´s crust; pressure inside the earth forces hot melted rock up

El Misti

lake A body of water surrounded by land

Lake Titicaca

plain A large, mostly flat area mainly of grass.

(on the road to Puno)

glacier A large, moving body of ice that moves downhill.

(in the Andes)

ocean The body of salt water that covers almost ¾ of Earth´s surface

Chorrillos

coast The land next to the ocean

Costa Verde

river A large natural stream of moving water.

Rimac River

island An area of land surrounded totally by water

An island on lake Titicaca

desert A barren (empty) dry area

Ica

canyon A deep V-shaped valley cut by a river through strong rock

Colca Canyon

peninsula A body of land surrounded by water on 3 sides

waterfall A place in a river where water spills suddenly downward

Las Cataratas Las Tres Hermanas - Rio Cutivireni