unit 1º the earth - wordpress.com · hydrosphere. the hydrosphere is the collection of all water...

Unit 1º The earth3º ESO.

martes 2 de octubre de 2012

Earth Surface.

Earth has different spheres that interact together.

Atmosphere. Gas sphere

Hydrosphere. Water sphere.

Lithosphere. Rock sphere.

Biosphere. Living sphere.


Landscape.The result of that interaction is the landscape. Landscape is formed by relief (landforms), vegetation (which depends of the weather and the sources of water) and human intervention (farming).


LandformsLandforms, the relief, are the hardware of a l a n d s c a p e . T h e vegetat ion an d the human occupation can c ha n g e e a s i ly b ut landforms don´t. It doesn´t mean it can´t change but it takes more time.


Continental landforms.Mountains. They are high land areas with steep sides a n d e n d i n g , commo n ly, i n a peak.When they are smaller and thier sides are less steep are called hills.

They are usually found in groups called mountain range. Himalaya is the highest one.


Continental landforms.Valley. Low and flat area between mountains or hills with a river or stream flowing through it. When it´s narrow and deep it´s called gorge or canyon, this last one specially in America.


Continental landforms.

Plains. Flat low areas. They are formed by rivers and can be found nearby the coast oftenly. Most of Europe is a great plain.



Plateaus. Large rised areas mostly flat. When they are small they are called “mesa”.



Basin or depression. Natural depressions or low land areas. Some of them are below the sea level, but commonly are below its surroundings.The biggest rivers on Earth flow in this areas like the Amazon or Congo.


Coastal relief.Peninsula. An area of land surrounded by water on all sides but o n e . C o m m o n l y a p e n i n s u l a i s a n y ex te n s i o n o f la n d bigger than a cape, some of them could be huge.They are jo ined to mainland by an isthmus


Coastal relief.

Cape. Part of the coast which extends into the sea.


Coastal relief.Gulf. A large area of a sea or an ocean partially enclose by land. When it´s small we call it bay.


Coastal relief.-Fiord. A long narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs. They are common in northern coasts like Norway or Sweden. In the Middle Ages vikings used them as harbours.


Coastal relief.Island: An area of land surrounded by water by all sides. When they are in groups we call it archipelago.


Coastal relief.Beaches are low and sandy coastlines. When they are high and steep are called cliffs. They can be together in the same coastline.


Oceanic relief.Continental shelves are nearby the coastline, they are the extension of the continental crust under the ocean.Continental slopes are the border between continetal crust an oceanic crust. They are submarine cliffs.


Oceanic relief.Ocean ridge. They are, basically underwater mountain ranges but geologically speaking are much more than that.

The Mid-Atlantic R i d g e i s t h e longest one with 40.000 km.


Oceanic relief.Ocean trenches are large, deep depressions in the ocean floor created when the oceanic crust clashes with the continental one and bend under it.T hey are re s p o n s i b le o f earthquakes. The Challenger Deep is the deepest one. It´s in the Pacific Ocean.


Hydrosphere.

The hydrosphere is the collection of all water of the Earth.There´re two types of water in the planet. - Saline water. Found mostly in the oceans and seas. It reprents the 97% of all the water.- Fresh water. Only the 3 % of the water. It´s devided between:- Icecaps and glaciers. 68.7 %- Underground water. 30.1 %- Fresh surface water. 0.3%

- Rivers. 2%- Swamps. 11%- Lakes. 87 %


Fresh water.River. It´s natural a wate rco ur se, u sual ly freshwater, wich flows towards an ocean, lake or another river.Small rivers are called streams or creek.

The river runs in a stream bed between two banks.They are main eroding agents.


Fresh water.Lake.A body of relatively still water, they lay in a basin. If they are big enough they are called seas (Caspian Sea). If they are small they are called ponds and if it´s connect to sea lagoon


Fresh water.Groundwater. It runs and is stored under the ground. It represents the 30% of the water on the continents. It´s very valuable because:- It´s a source of drinking water.- It runs towards rivers and lakes renewing their waters.- It enables plants to grow.


Fresh water.Glaciers and icecaps.They hold most of the Earth´s fresh water. They are masses of ice c r e a t e d b y t h e accumulation of snow an d hai l. They are found in the polar regions (Icecaps) and t h e t o p o f h i g h mountains.


Saline water.Saline water is found, mainly, in the oceans, which are divided into seas.Oceans are huge bodies of wate r. Sea s are the coastal parts of an ocean.They are important as:- Source of food- Source of raw materials.- A r e u s e d f o r transport.


unit 1º the earth - wordpress.com · hydrosphere. the hydrosphere is the collection of all water...

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