ENTRANCE TRICKS PRIVATE CLASS GEOGRAPHY

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE WORLD AND ETHIOPIA

FORCES THAT CHANGE THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
Internal Forces
What are the internal forces that affect the formation of landforms?
Those forces that drive energy from the interior part of the earth are called internal forces.
Internal forces form the ups and downs on the earth’s crust by breaking and bending (faulting
and folding) it. Forces inside the crust cause folding, faulting (cracking), volcanism and
earthquakes.

Folding is one of the internal processes which occurs when two forces act towards each
other from opposing sides. Due to this force, rock layers are bent into folds. The process by
which folds are formed due to compression is known as folding. There are large-scale and
smallscale folds. Large-scale folds are found mainly along destructive plate boundaries.

Types of folding: different types of folds are created, based on the nature of the forces applied
on bedrock. If the fold is upward and convex, it is called anticline. If the fold is downward, it is
called syncline.

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Fold Mountains
Fold mountains are formed by crust which has been uplifted, and folded by compressional
forces. They are formed when two plates move towards each other. The compressional force
which is created as a result of this movement pushes sedimentary rocks upwards into a series
of folds. Fold mountains are usually formed from sedimentary rocks and are usually found
along the edges of continents. This is because the thickest deposits of sedimentary rock
generally accumulated along the edges of continents. There are two types of Fold Mountains:
young fold mountains (10 to 25 million years of age, example, the Atlas, Rockies and the
Himalayas) and old fold mountains (over 200 million years of age, example, the Cape Range, the
Urals in Russia and the Appalachians of the USA).

Many ranges of mountains have been formed by folding. The Andes, the Rocky mountains, the
Alps, the Himalayas and the Australian Alps are some examples. The Atlas mountains in north
west Africa and the Cape Range in South Africa were formed by folding. This process of
mountain building is called orogeny.

Faulting Movements in the crust of the earth sometimes make cracks. These cracks are
called faults. Faulting can be caused by either lateral or vertical forces, which can be either
tensional or compressional. Tension causes a normal fault, and compression causes a reverse
fault. Major features formed by faulting include rift valleys and block/Horst mountains

Rift Valleys
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland area between highlands or mountain
ranges created by geologic rifts or faults. A rift valley is a valley formed by faulting. When two
parallel faults occur on the surface of the earth, and when the land between the two faults
sinks down, a rift valley is formed.
The largest rift valley in the world is the East African Rift Valley. It extends from Syria to
Mozambique, passing through the Red Sea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, DR Congo,
Rwanda and Burundi.
What other countries are touched by this rift valley?
The total length of the East African Rift Valley is about 7,200 km, of which 5,600 km is in Africa.
The Ethiopian Rift Valley is a part of the East African Rift Valley. It extends from northeast to
south west. Features found in the Rift Valley include active volcanoes, lakes, hot springs and
fumaroles.

Block (Horst) Mountains ;Block mountains are formed when land between two parallel
faults is pushed upward due to pressure from inside the earth. If there are two parallel faults,
the crustal block between them may either rise to produce a Horst (block) mountain, or fall, to
produce a rift valley.
Examples:
The Sierra Nevada mountains in North America.
The Harz Mountains in Germany.

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The Afar block mountain in Ethiopia.

The Ruwenzori in Africa.
Volcanism
Volcanic activity is another internal force which changes the surface of the earth. It is caused by
internal movements within the earth. Volcanism is the process by which magma, gases, water
vapour, ashes and other solid materials are forced out to the surface. Inside the earth the
temperature is very hot. This high temperature changes rocks into molten magma. When this
magma reaches the surface, volcanic activity takes place. When the magma emerges on to the
surface, it cools and hardens. It is then called lava.

Magma reaches the earth’s surface through two kinds of holes. They are vents and fissures.
Magma may force its way violently through a small hole called a vent. If lava emerges via a vent,
it builds up into a volcano (cone-shaped mound), and if it emerges via a fissure, it builds up to
form a lava plateau or lava flow. Magma may pour quietly through long cracks (fissures) onto
the earth’s surface. If the magma flows to the surface through a vent, acrater is formed.
Sometimes a volcano erupts very forcefully. When this happens, the top part of the volcano
is blown away. This forms a large crater called a caldera. Water collects in the crater or in the
caldera and forms a lake. We call this a crater lake or caldera lake. In Ethiopia there are many
crater lakes such as Zuquala, Wonchi and Dendi.

If an eruption begins again in a caldera, a new small cone-shaped volcano is formed inside the
caldera. These are known as caldera cones. Part of the magma may not reach the earth’s
surface, and when this magma cools, solidifies and forms rocks inside the crust, features such
as batholiths, lacoliths, sills and dikes, are formed.
A batholith is a very large mass of magma which accumulates in the crust. It is the
largest structure.
A laccolith is a mushroom shaped body of intrusive igneous rock. Smaller than a
batholith.
A dike is formed when magma solidifies in a vertical or near-vertical crack.
 A sill is formed when magma solidifies horizontally or nearly horizontally along a
bedding plane.

Earthquake
Earthquakes are sudden movements in the earth’s crust. They are caused by internal
movements deep down inside the earth. Earthquakes are frequently associated with faults.
They take place along fault lines where the earth’s crust is weak. When an earthquake occurs,
vibrations from the centre spread out in the form of waves in all directions. The point at which
an earthquake originates is called the focus. The point on the earth’s surface immediately

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above the focus is called the epicentre. As the vibrations spin out from the centre, the damage
they cause becomes less and less.

The intensity of an earthquake is measured by an instrument called a seismometer, and is

recorded on a seismograph. It records the vibrations produced by an earthquake. The scale
which gives the magnitude is called the Richter scale. It ranges from 0 to 9. Each number of this
scale indicates a tremor that is ten times stronger than the next lower number. An earthquake
with a magnitude of 4.0 is ten times stronger than one that measures 3.0. Readings of 7.0 or
higher indicate a strong or major earthquake. The strongest ever recorded earthquake was the
Valdivia earthquake in Chile that occurred on May 22, 1960 (9.5 on the Richter scale).
External Forces
Weathering
External forces can lower the level of the land by washing it away, and this process is called
denudation. They also can raise the level of the land by deposition.

Denudation consists of weathering and erosion.

Weathering includes disintegration (physical weathering), which breaks rocks into smaller
pieces and decomposition (chemical weathering), which forms new substances.
Physical (Mechanical) Weathering
Physical weathering breaks the rocks into smaller pieces. Its main agents (causes) are
temperature changes, frost action and the action of plants and animals.
Chemical Weathering (Decomposition)
Chemical weathering is a process that forms new substances, and it is affected by the minerals
in the rock. Its main agents are rain action and plant and animal actions.
As rain water passes through the atmosphere, it takes in carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and forms a
weak carbonic acid. When this acid water comes into contact with rock, it begins to dissolve
minerals in the rock. The rate at which rock dissolves depends on the type of rock. Limestone,
for example, dissolves very quickly. This process is known as carbonation. H2 O + CO2 ⇒
carbonic acid ⇒ dissolves and erodes limestone and forms caves.
Example:
Sofomer Cave along the River Weiyb in Bale.

Erosion
Erosion is the transporting of weathered material by various natural forces such as moving
water, wind and moving ice. Erosion occurs when particles of rock or soil are:
washed away by a river
removed by waves of the sea
 crushed under a glacier
blown away by the wind
Erosion by Running Water

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Rivers are the most important of all natural agents which help in shaping the earth’s surface.
The work of running water includes eroding, transporting and depositing eroded material. Unit
There are three types of running water erosion:
1 Sheet erosion: occurs when surface water moves in a wide flow.
2 Rill erosion: occurs when surface water cuts relatively small channels.
3 Gully erosion: occurs when floods cut deep wide gorges.
The course of a river, from its source to its mouth, can be divided into 3 stages. The action of
the river is different in these three parts. The stages are upper course, middle course and lower
course.

Upper Course
In this stage the river water is usually small in volume. As the river flows very fast down steep-
slopes, a V-shape valley, waterfalls and deep gorges are formed. The fast flow of the river
causes vertical erosion and destruction. The V-shape valley has steep sides and a narrow floor.
The fast flowing river cuts down deeply into the land.

Waterfalls are caused by sudden drops in the level of rivers. Waterfalls are formed when water
flows over hard rock which cannot be eroded easily, while soft rocks are easily eroded. The
hard rock produces an overhang, and the water flows over it as a waterfall.
The Middle Course
During a river’s middle course, the river valley becomes wider and larger. The river may receive
waters of many tributaries, which increase the volume of water. Wide-floored valleys with
gentle slopping sides are the main features of the middle course of the river. Instead of taking
the most direct course possible, the river begins to meander. Meanders are pronounced curves
in the course of a river. river spur interlocking spurs

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Erosion and Deposition by Sea Waves

Waves are formed when wind moves over the surface of the sea. This causes the particles of
water to move in a circular motion, which forms a wave. This movement of water in the sea
clashes against coastal lands and picks up rock particles and throws them into the sea as
sediments. The work of the sea along the coast includes erosion, transportation and deposition.
Some of these features formed along the shoreline are beaches, spits and lagoons.

Beach is a strip of land along the sea coast covered with various types of sediment.
Spit is a narrow ridge of sand or shingle. It projects into the sea but is attached to the
land at one end.
Lagoon is an area of saltwater separated from the sea by loose sandbanks.

Wind Erosion and Deposition

Wind erosion is common in desert and semi-desert areas. Wind erosion and deposition form
different landforms such as sand dunes, barchans and loess deposits.
Sand dune is a small hill of sand formed by the action of the wind.
 Barchan is a sand hill that has a crescent-moon shape.
Loess deposit is a deposition of fertile soil in the desert by wind.

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