Top Banner
Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres
17
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Exploring Earth’s Surface

Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres

Page 2: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

I. Topography is the shape of the land

Flat

Sloping

Hilly or Mountainous

It may be:

Page 3: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

A. The topography of an area is determined by the area’s:

Elevation

Relief

Landforms

Page 4: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.
Page 5: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

The height above sea level is called

Elevation

sea level

7735 meters

Page 6: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.
Page 7: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

The difference between highest and lowest points of an area is its

Relief

low

high

Page 8: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

A landform is a feature of topography formed by processes that shape the Earth’s surface.

Page 9: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

There are 3 main types of landforms.

Plains are landforms with flat or gently rolling land of low relief.

Page 10: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Mountains are landforms with high elevation and high relief.

A range of mountains is a group of mountains that are closely related in shape, structure, and age.

Page 11: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

And now for something completely different…

A plateau is a landform that has high elevation and a more or less level surface (low relief).

Page 12: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

II. The Earth’s Four Spheres

LithosphereAtmosphereHydrosphereBiosphere

Page 13: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Lithosphere

As you know, the lithosphere is the Earth’s solid, rocky outer layer, floating on the liquid mantle.

Page 14: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Atmosphere – The layer of gases surrounding our planet

The outermost sphere is made up of: nitrogen (78%)oxygen (21%)argon (.93%)carbon dioxide (.036%)

…and other trace gases.

Water vapor also plays an enormous role in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Page 15: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Hydrosphere

Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers, and ice form the Hydrosphere.

Page 16: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

Bios

pher

e

All living things make up the biosphere, which is found in each of the other spheres.

Page 17: Exploring Earth’s Surface Topography and Earth’s Four Spheres.

And that’s the Earth’s surface.