What processes of the earth make and shape
landscapes?
There are 2 main processes that make and shape the world, weathering and
the tectonic plates.
Weathering and erosion:
Two main elements, wind and water, transport rocks very far distances, a good
example of this is the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon used to either be a
giant plateau or a large area of flat land but then water started flowing through
the land and slowly over many years transported rocks away making these
large cracks, shaping the Grand Canyon, this is also the reason that the Grand
Canyon has rivers in between the cracks.
Tectonic plates:
Under the earths crust there are some large plates known as tectonic plates.
Underneath these plates is an extremely large deposit of magma. Underneath
these plates the magma is constantly moving around and shifting the plates,
and of course as these plates are always moving around they rub against each
other. When this happens it also effects the crust and the land above the
ground. For example plates with divergent boundaries (plates that move away
from each other) which will cause mid-oceanic rifts, volcanoes and rift valleys
to form. Convergent boundaries (plates which shift into each other can
sometimes cause one of the plates to overlap causing there to be less space
for the magma underneath, and the lava has to escape somehow, so the lava
shoots up to the surface causing a volcano to form, or even a mountain range.
The last movement of the tectonic plates that shapes landscapes is the
transformative boundaries, the transformative boundaries occurs when one
plate starts rubbing on the other one, this can form things like earthquakes
which can break and destroy land and landscapes.
