The relief of the Earth and its main forms

Relief is a form that is earthlysurface. Over time, it changes under the influence of various forces. Places where once there were great mountains, become plains, and in some areas there are volcanoes. Scientists try to explain why this happens. And already much of modern science is known.

Reasons for transformations

The relief of the Earth is one of the most interesting puzzlesnature and even history. Because of how the surface of our planet has changed, the life of mankind has also changed. Changes occur under the influence of internal and external forces.

Among all forms of relief, large andsmall. The largest of these are the continents. It is believed that hundreds of centuries ago, when man was not yet, our planet had a completely different appearance. Perhaps there was only one continent, which eventually split into several parts. Then they split again. And all the continents that now exist have appeared.

Another major form is the oceanic depressions. It is believed that earlier there were also fewer oceans, but then there were more of them. Some scientists say that hundreds of years later new ones will appear. Others say that water will flood some parts of the land.

The relief of the planet changes over the longcenturies. Even though a person sometimes hurts nature, his activities are not able to significantly change the terrain. To do this, we need such powerful forces that only nature has. However, a person can not only radically transform the planet's relief, but also stop the changes that nature itself produces. Despite the fact that science has made a big step forward, it is still impossible to protect all people from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and much more.

Basic Information

The relief of the Earth and the main forms of relief attract the close attention of many scientists. Among the main varieties - mountains, highlands, shelves and plains.

Shelf - these are parts of the earth's surface that are hidden under the water column. Very often they stretch along the coast. Shelf is the kind of relief that occurs only under water.

Highlands are standing mountains, mountainousvalley and even the system of ridges. Much of what is called the mountains, in fact is upland. For example, the Pamir is not a mountain, as many believe. Also, the Tien Shan is upland.

Mountains are the most grandiose forms of reliefplanet. They rise above the land by more than 600 meters. Their peaks are hidden behind clouds. It happens that in warm countries you can see mountains, peaks of which are covered with snow. Slopes are usually very steep, but some daredevils decide to climb them. Mountains can form chains.

Plains are stability. Plains inhabitants are least likely to experience changes in the terrain. They almost do not know what earthquakes are, because such places are considered the most favorable for life. The real plain is the most flat surface of the earth.

Internal and external forces

Influence of internal and external forces on the relief of the Earthgrandiose. If you study how the surface of the planet changed for several centuries, you can see how what seemed eternal disappears. To replace it comes something new. External forces are not able to change the Earth's relief as much as the internal ones. Both the first and the second are divided into several types.

Internal forces

Internal forces that change the relief of the Earth,can not be stopped. But in the modern world, scientists from different countries are trying to predict when and where an earthquake will occur, where an eruption of a volcano will happen.

Internal forces include earthquakes, movements of the earth's crust and volcanism.

As a result, all these processes lead to the emergence ofNew mountains and mountain ranges on land and on the ocean floor. In addition, there are geysers, hot springs, chains of volcanoes, ledges, cracks, depressions, collapses, cones of volcanoes and much more.

External forces

External forces are not capable of producing visibletransformation. However, you should not lose sight of them. External processes that form the relief of the Earth include the following: the work of wind and flowing water, weathering, the melting of glaciers and, of course, the work of people. Although a person, as was said above, is not yet able to greatly change the face of the planet.

The work of external forces leads to the creation of hills andravines, hollows, dunes and barkhans, river valleys, gravel, sand and much more. Water can very slowly destroy even a great mountain. And those stones that are now easily found on the shore, may be part of a mountain that was once great.

Planet Earth is a grandiose creation, inwhich thought out all the details. For centuries it has changed. There have been cardinal transformations of the relief, and all this - under the influence of internal and external forces. In order to better understand the processes taking place on the planet, you must know about the life that it leads without paying attention to the person.

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