Landforms and their Evolution

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A landform is a small to medium tract or parcel of the earth's surface with its own physical shape, size, and materials. A landscape is made up of several related landforms together, forming large tra…

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Youth: Few streams, poor integration, shallow V-shaped valleys, broad flat divides with marshes. Mature: Many well-integrated streams, deep V-shaped valleys, sharp divides, wider floodplains. Old Age:…

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A peneplain is an almost plain surface formed by stream erosion. It develops when streams gradually reduce valley sides to lower slopes, lower the divides between drainage basins until they are almost…

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A gorge is a deep valley with very steep to straight sides, almost equal in width at top and bottom. A canyon has steep step-like side slopes and is wider at the top than at the bottom. Gorges form in…

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Potholes are circular depressions formed by stream erosion aided by abrasion. They start as small shallow depressions where pebbles and boulders collect and get rotated by flowing water, gradually gro…

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Incised meanders are very deep and wide meanders cut in hard rocks. They form when meandering streams flowing over gentle slopes get rejuvenated due to tectonic uplift or base level changes, causing t…

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Alluvial fans form at foot slopes when mountain streams lose velocity on gentler gradients, creating cone-shaped deposits with distributary channels. Deltas form where rivers meet the sea, with well-s…

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Natural levees are low, linear ridges of coarse deposits along river banks, formed by flood waters. Point bars (meander bars) are sediments deposited on the concave side of meanders by flowing water.