Landforms Part-II

What is the Landform Made by Wind?

Wind is a geomorphic agent in all terrestrial environments. It is more active in arid regions
with fine-textured soils and sediments and little or no vegetation.
Wind can erode desert rocks in two ways:
Deflation: The removal of fine, loose particles from the surface of rocks.
Abrasion: Small particles being carried by the wind scrape of particles from the rock
surface. It then transports the eroded material by three processes:
Suspension: Very small particles (<0.15mm) are picked up and carried by the
wind.
Saltation: Small particles (0.15-0.25mm) are temporarily lifted from the ground
and bounce along the surface.
Surface Creep: Larger particles (>0.25mm) are hit and pushed along the ground
by particles being moved by saltation.
Attrition:
Sand particles carried by winds start a friction process within itself and
because of this their size reduces. This is known as attrition.
Erosion process of high speed winds is also fast.
Soft rocks break down easily but on the other hand the erosion process is long
in case of hard rocks.

Erosional Landforms formed by Wind

Deflation Hollows and Caves:

Deflation Hollows:
Deflation basins, called blowouts, are hollows formed by the removal of
particles by wind.
Blowouts are generally small, but may be up to several kilometers in diameter. //
 Caves:
As wind-borne sand impacts the rock faces, some of the blow-outs become
deeper and wider and fit to be called caves.

Yardangs:
Yardangs are parallel troughs cut into softer rock running in the direction of the wind,
separated by ridges. The direction of the yardangs can indicate the direction of the
prevailing wind.

Zeugen:
A zeugen is a tabular mass of resistant rock, standing prominently in the desert.
It is usually composed of alternating layers of hard and soft rocks.

Playas:
Playa is a flat-bottom depression found in interior desert basins and adjacent to
coasts in arid and semiarid regions, periodically covered by water.
It slowly filtrates into the groundwater system or evaporates into the
atmosphere, causing salt, sand, and mud deposition along the bottom and around the
depression's edges.
Depositional Landforms formed by Wind

Ripples:
They are regular, wavelike undulations lying at right-angles to the prevailing wind
direction.

Loess:
Loess is terrestrial sediment composed largely of windblown silt particles made of
quartz. Loess requires three things:
A source of silt
Wind to transport the silt
A suitable site for deposition and accumulation

Dunes:
Dunes are collections of loose sand built piecemeal by the wind.
It is usually composed of quartz, which is extremely hard and doesn’t easily decay.
Most Common types of Dunes:
Barchans:
Barchans have crescent-shaped points or wings that face away from the
wind, or downwind, and where sand is moving over an almost uniform
surface from where the wind is constant.
 Seif:
It is also called linear dunesis similar to barchans with a small
difference as it has only one wing or point.

What are the Coastal Landforms?

Coastal processes are among the most dynamic geologic processes since changes in the
morphology of many coasts can be seen on an annual (or shorter) timescale.
Other than the action of waves, the coastal landforms depend upon:
The configuration of land and sea floor
Whether the coast is advancing (emerging) seaward or retreating (submerging) landward.

Erosional Coastal Landforms

Cliffs, Terraces, Caves and Stacks:

Cliffs:
A sea cliff is a vertical precipice created by waves crashing directly on a steeply
inclined slope. Hydraulic action, abrasion, and chemical solution all work to cut a
notch at the high water level near the base of the cliff. Constant undercutting and
erosion causes the cliffs to retreat landward.
Sea Caves:
Sea caves form along lines of weakness in cohesive but well-jointed bedrock.
Sea caves are prominent headlands where wave refraction attacks the shore.
Sea Stacks:
A sea arch forms when sea caves merge from opposite sides of a headland.
If the arch collapses, a pillar of rock remains behind as a sea stack.
Sea Terraces:
It is a rock terrace formed where a sea cliff, with a wave-cut platform
before it, is raised above sea level.
Depositional Coastal Landforms

Beaches:
Beaches are deposits of loose sediment adjacent to a body of water. In addition to
sand, beaches around the world have a remarkable diversity of sediment size, from
boulders to fine silt.
Spits and Bars:
Spits:
A sand spit is a linear accumulation of sediment that is attached to land at one
end.
They usually develop where the coastline bends inland from the longshore
drift direction. The spit follows the longshore direction of the updrift coast.
Bars:
Sandbar, also known as Offshore Bar, is a ridge built by waves offshore from
the beach, usually submerged or partially exposed.

What are the Landforms Formed by Glaciers?

Glaciers have played a major role in the shaping of landscapes in the middle and high
latitudes and in alpine environments. They are remarkably effective at eroding soil and rock,
transporting sediment, and depositing sediment.
A glacier is a mass of ice that moves over land as sheets (continental glacier or piedmont
glacier) or as linear flows flowing down slopes of mountains into valleys (mountain and valley
glacier).

Erosional Landforms formed by Glaciers

Glacial Valleys/Troughs:
These valleys are trough-like and U-shaped with broad floors and relatively smooth,
and steep sides.
The valleys may contain littered debris or debris shaped as moraines with swampy
appearance.
Very deep glacial troughs filled with sea water and making up shorelines (in
high latitudes) are called fjords/fiords.

Cirques:
Often found at the heads of glacial valleys, these are the most common of landforms in
glaciated mountains.
They are deep, long and wide troughs or basins with very steep concave to
vertically dropping high walls at its head as well as sides.
 A lake of water can be seen quite often within the cirques after the glacier
disappears. Such lakes are called cirque lakes or tarn lakes.
Horns and Serrated:
Ridges Horns form through headward erosion of the cirque walls.
If three or more radiating glaciers cut headward until their cirques meet, high,
sharp pointed and steep sided peaks called horns form.

Depositional Landforms formed by Glaciers

Glacial Till:
The unassorted coarse and fine debris dropped by the melting glaciers is called glacial
till.
Some amount of rock debris small enough to be carried by such melt-water
streams is washed down and deposited.
Such glaciofluvial deposits are called outwash deposits.
The outwash deposits are roughly stratified and assorted.
Moraines:
They are long ridges of deposits of glacial till.
Terminal moraines are long ridges of debris deposited at the end (toe) of the
glaciers.
Lateral moraines form along the sides parallel to the glacial valleys.
Many valley glaciers retreating rapidly leave an irregular sheet of till over their
valley floors called ground moraines.
The moraine in the centre of the glacial valley flanked by lateral moraines is
called medial moraine.
They are imperfectly formed as compared to lateral moraines.
Sometimes medial moraines are indistinguishable from ground moraines.
Eskers:
These are ridges made of sands and gravels, deposited by glacial meltwater flowing
through tunnels within and underneath glaciers, or through meltwater channels on top of
glaciers.
Over time, the channel or tunnel gets filled up with sediments. As the ice
retreats, the sediments are left behind as a ridge in the landscape.
Drumlins:
They are smooth oval shaped ridge-like features composed mainly of glacial till with
some masses of gravel and sand.
The long axes of drumlins are parallel to the direction of ice movement.
They may measure up to 1 km in length and 30 m or so in height.
The drumlin end facing the glacier is called the stoss end and is blunter and
steeper than the other end called tail.

Landforms made by Winds

Erosional Landforms formed by Wind
Deflation Formed by the removal of particles by wind.
Hollows
Caves Formed when blowouts formed by winds become deeper
and wider and fit to be called caves.

Yardangs Parallel troughs cut into softer rock running in the direction
of the wind, separated by ridges.
Zeugen Tabular mass of resistant rock, standing prominently in the
desert.

Playas Flat-bottom depression found in interior desert basins and

adjacent to coasts in arid and semiarid regions, periodically
covered by water.

Depositional Landforms formed by Wind

Ripples Regular, wavelike undulations lying at right-angles to the

prevailing wind direction.
Loess Terrestrial sediment composed largely of windblown silt
particles made of quartz.

Dunes Collections of loose sand built piecemeal by the wind.

Coastal Landforms

Erosional Coastal Landforms

Cliffs Vertical precipice created by waves crashing directly
on a steeply inclined slope.

Sea Caves Form along lines of weakness in cohesive but well-jointed

bedrock.
Sea Stacks Forms when sea caves merge from opposite sides of a
headland
Sea Terraces Forms where a sea cliff, with a wave-cut platform before it,
is raised above sea level.
Depositional Coastal Landforms

Beaches Deposits of loose sediment adjacent to a body of water.

Spits Linear accumulation of sediment that is attached to land at

one end.
Bars It is a ridge built by waves offshore from the beach, usually
submerged or partially exposed.
Landforms Formed by Glacier
Erosional Landforms formed by Glaciers

Glacial Trough-like and U-shaped with broad floors and relatively

Valleys/Troughs smooth, and steep sides

Cirques They are deep, long and wide troughs or basins with very
steep concave to vertically dropping high walls.
 Horns and Ridges Horns form through headward erosion of the cirque
Serrated walls.
If three or more radiating glaciers cut headward until their
cirques meet, high, sharp pointed and steep sided peaks
called horns form.

Depositional Landforms formed by Glacie

Glacial Till Formed when unassorted coarse and fine debris dropped
by the melting glaciers.

Moraines They are long ridges of deposits of glacial till.

Eskers These are ridges made of sands and gravels, deposited by

glacial meltwater flowing through tunnels within and
underneath glaciers.

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