Earth: Landforms

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The earth is gorgeous, with many different landforms.

A landform is a natural part of the earth's surface. During this lesson, you will explore a variety of different landforms that can be found in various places around the world.

The first landform you will learn about is called a mountain. Mountains stretch high into the sky.

The top of a mountain is called a peak. Very tall mountains may have a snowy peak (tip) on the top.

A hill rises from the ground but is much smaller than a mountain. A hill is also usually rounded at the top. Look at the hills below.

• Do you have hills where you live?
• What is the difference between the shape of the mountain above and the hill below?

A canyon is made up of mountains, hills, and valleys.

A canyon generally has a low valley (lowland) in the middle and steep walls of rock and soil surrounding the outside of the valley. It is usually very deep and sometimes has a river flowing around its curves.

Check out the beautiful canyon below.

A steep drop from land to the ground or water is called a cliff. Most cliffs are usually found by the ocean.

• Can you see how high above the water the cliff is?

A bay is a part of the ocean that curves inward. A bay can be found next to the land. The bay below attaches to the beach.

Look at how the water below makes a half-circle shape in the land.

A landform that stretches out into the ocean is called a peninsula. A peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides and is still connected to the land.

An island is a landform that is surrounded by water.

• Can you see the island in the middle of the blue ocean?

A plateau is similar to a mountain, except the top is flat. A large or medium-sized plateau is called a mesa, and a small plateau is called a butte (pronounced "byoot" as in "beautiful").

The low area of land between two mountains is called a valley. If mountains surround your home, you live in a valley!

A volcano is a hill or mountain with a large hole at the top. Hot magma (melted rock) can be found inside a volcano. Volcanos come in many different shapes and sizes.

The volcano below is erupting.

When a volcano erupts, the magma beneath the surface comes out of different vents as lava (also melted rock). Some eruptions cause massive ash, smoke, rock, and lava explosions!

You learned about many different landforms.

• Which one was your favorite?

Now, move on to the Got It? section.