Landforms & Forces

Landforms can be created by constructive processes, such as deposition.

These landforms include deltas, barrier islands, and sand dunes. Landforms
can also be created by destructive processes, such as erosion. These
landforms include valleys, canyons, caves, arches, and lakes.

Valleys, Canyons, Caves and Arches

Erosion can create new landforms such as valleys, canyons, caves and
arches. Erosion is the process by which rock and soil are moved by wind or
moving water.

The sea arch above was likely formed by water erosion.

Lakes and Valleys

A glacier is a large, slow moving mass of ice and snow that moves across the
Earth's surface, pushing sand and soil, cutting the Earth, forming lakes and
valleys, and moving rocks and boulders.

The glacier shown in the picture above is in the process of carving a wide
valley between the mountains.

Deltas, Barrier Islands, and Sand Dunes

The process of deposition involves the movement of sediment from one area
to another and can create new landforms such as river deltas, barrier islands,
and sand dunes.
Strong winds can cause sand on beaches to move to new areas and form
large mounds, called sand dunes.
Also, flowing water can pick up sediment from its banks and carry it
downstream. Near the place where a river empties into the ocean, the water
flow becomes very slow. The slow-moving water lays down the rest of the
sediment it is carrying. A new landform is created from the sediment. This
landform is called a delta.

Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rock is made up of pieces of other rock. Sedimentary rock often
contains fossils.
Weathering can decompose all types of rock into tiny pieces. These pieces all
together are called sediment. Sediment is carried away by wind or water and
is later deposited in another place. The sediment is buried and pressed
together. Eventually the sediment is cemented together, resulting in
sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock is soft and will often have layers or bands across it; it will
often contain fossils; the rocks will tend to scrape and crumble easily.

Some sedimentary rock, like the piece shown on the left, has large pieces of
other kinds of rock embedded in it. Other types of sedimentary rock have
horizontal "stripes" that show where different layers of silt were deposited one
on top of another.
Some common types of sedimentary rock include sandstone, limestone,
chalk, rock salt, dolomite and shale.
Sandstone is made of sand that has compacted together after many layers of
sediment have been piled on top.
Limestone forms most often from the sediment that collects on an ocean
floor. The primary components in limestone come from tiny pieces of broken
sea shells and coral that collect after the animals that lived in them have died.
Fossils of sea creatures are often found in limestone.

Fossils
Fossils are traces of past organisms preserved in the Earth's crust. They may
include actual remnants of structures or just imprints of structures. Fossils are
very important for science. Scientists study fossils to learn about the history of
the Earth's surface, climate, and life forms.

Fossil Formation
Fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock, which forms as
layers of material settle upon each other, press together, and harden over
time.

As time passes, new layers form upon the older layers. This means that as
time passes, fossils are buried deeper and deeper in the ground.
Therefore, fossils found in lower layers of sedimentary rock are older than
fossils found in upper layers of sedimentary rock.
The image to the right shows many layers of rock which contain fossils.
Some of the oldest layers contain fossils of organisms that appear similar to
fish. This would suggest that a long time ago, this area was covered in water.
The clues found in fossil layers provide valuable information about how
Earth's organisms and the Earth itself have changed over time.

Information about Organisms

Some types of organisms that lived in the past are no longer alive on the
Earth today. These organisms are said to be extinct. Fossils can show
whether or not extinct organisms were similar to those that are living today.
Fossils provide a variety of information that scientists can use to learn about
the organisms that once lived on Earth. Fossils can reveal:

the growth stages of an organism throughout its life cycle

the microscopic features of an organism, such as cell structure

the roles that organisms played within communities and food chains

how organisms have changed over time

the appearance of the organism and its structures, including information about
bone structure and organs

Organisms from the past may be similar to organisms that are living today.

Fossil of an ancient insect

Modern dragonfly

Information about Earth's Climate

The types of organisms that were present in various periods of Earth's history
can provide information about changes in the Earth's climate. Many
organisms, for example, are known to survive within certain temperature
ranges. If fossils of those organisms are plentiful, then scientists gain an
important clue about the typical temperatures during that time period.
Fossils of plants and animals in Antarctica, for example, show that a long time
ago it had a warmer climate.

Information about Earth's Surface

Fossils can also provide information about how the Earth's surface has
changed over time. If fossils of marine organisms are found in areas that are
now dry land, scientists may assume that the area was once under water.
This gives scientists important clues about land elevation, landforms, and sea
level at various times in Earth's history.
Fossils also show how the continents of the Earth have moved over time.
Fossils that have been found in both Australia and in Asia show that these
continents were connected in the past.