How Major Landforms Formed

The Four types of Major Landforms are: Mountains, Hills, Plains, and Plateaus.
MOUNTAINS
Formed by slow but gigantic movements of the earths crust (the outer layer of the earth.)
When two slats of the earths crust smash into each other, the land can be pushed upwards
forming mountains. Many of the greatest mountain ranges of the world have formed
because of enormous collisions between continents.
TYPES OF MOUNTAINS:
Fold Mountains (Folded Mountains)
Is the most common type of the mountain and were formed over millions of years. Formed
when two plates collide head on, and their ranges crumbled, much the same way as a piece
of paper folds when pushed together. The upward folds are known as anticlines. The
downward folds are called synclines.
Fault block Mountains
Formed when faults or cracks in the earths crust force some materials or block of rock up
and others down. Instead of the earth folding over, the earth's crust fractures (pulls apart).
It breaks up into blocks or chunks. Sometimes these blocks of rock move up and down, as
they move apart and blocks of rock end up being stacked on one another. Fault-Block
Mountains have a steep front side and a sloping back side.
Dome Mountains
The result of a great amount of melted rock (magma) pushing its way up under the earth
crust. Without actually erupting onto the surface, the magma pushes up overlaying rock
layers. The magma cools and forms hardened rock. The uplifted area created by rising
magma is called a dome because of looking like the top half of a sphere (ball). The rock
layers over the hardened magma are warped upward to form the dome. But the rock layers
of the surrounding area remain flat. As the dome is higher than its surroundings, erosion by
wind and rain occurs from the top. This results in a circular mountain range. Domes that
have been worn away in places form many separate peaks called Dome Mountains.
Volcanic Mountains
Volcanic mountains are formed by volcanoes. Formed when molten rock (magma) deep
within the earth, erupts, and piles upon the surface. Magma is called lava when it breaks
through the earth's crust. When the ash and lava cools, it builds a cone of rock. Rock and
lava pile up, layer on top of layer.
Plateau Mountains (Erosion Mountains)

 These mountains are formed by erosion. Are large flat areas that have been pushed above
sea level by forces within the Earth, or have been formed by layers of lava. The dictionary
describes these as large areas of high levels of flat land, over 600 meters above
sea level. Plateau Mountains are mostly found beside Fold Mountains.
HILLS
Hill Landforms are formed a few ways. One of the ways was through the melting and
shifting of glaciers. When the glaciers melted and shifted they dug up ground thus created
the hills. Another way is through currents of water. When the water dries up, hills can be
left. It can also be created through erosion and deposits. Wind and rain can create hill
landforms.
PLAINS
The first plains were created from lava flowing on Earth. Lava can burn things and make
things that were almost flat, flatter. Erosion and deposits can also create plains.
TYPES OF PLAINS:
Coastal Plains
Solid materials are carried off by rivers or waves from other coastal plains; these materials
are deposited along the shore extending the coast seaward.
Flood Plains
A flood plain is formed of mud, sand, and silt that are left behind when the river overflows
its banks. These materials are carried off by the river as it erodes the land upstream. A river
in flood conditions can carry a large amount of eroded material, which the overflow waters
deposit onto the flood plain.
Structural Plains
Due to endogenic forces, an area can be raised or lower. These actions are called uplift and
subsidence respectively. These actions cause plains to be formed. They are called structural
plains.
Alluvial Plains
Formed by the deposition of sediments brought by the rivers from the high altitudes are
called alluvial plains.

Glacial Plains

 Formed by the movement glaciers under the force of gravity. Such plain are found in
Canada, Siberia, etc.
PLATEAUS
Can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion
of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Magma rises from the mantle causing the ground
to swell upward, in really large, flat areas of rock that are uplifted. Erosion can influence
the shape of a plateau. Soft rock often erodes away on the top of a plateau. Many plateaus
are therefore topped with a hard, durable surface called cap rock. Cap rock protects the
plateau from erosion of the soil underneath it.
TYPES OF PLATEAUS
Dissected Plateau
A result of upward movement in the Earths crust. The uplift is caused by the slow collision
of tectonic plates. The Colorado Plateau, in the western United States, has been rising about
.03 centimeter (.01 inch) a year for more than 10 million years.
Volcanic Plateau
Formed by numerous small volcanic eruptions that slowly build up over time, forming a
plateau from the resulting lava flow.