Geomorphology

Study of Earth’s physical features and how they

were formed
Internal structure of the Earth
 Classification of rocks

1. Igneous rock
• First form of rock to be formed
• Igneous means fire: to ignite
• When volcanoes erupt, magma is forced from within the
Earth’s crust
• Lava that flows on Earth’s surface cools and hardens
• Igneous rock is extracted from harden lava
Intrusive and extrusive igneous
features
• Intrusive features: rocks forming within the Earth’s crust
• Extrusive: Rocks forming on Earth’s surface

Kinds of igneous Where it is formed Composition Occurrence in SA

Extrusive: basalt On earth’s surface Small, fine crystals, High peak
usually dark mountains,
Drakensberg
Intrusive: granite Inside earth’s crust Large crystals that Usually exposed by
can be seen, light in erosion or diggings
colour
Granite
Basalt
• Quick review
2. Sedimentary Rocks
• Form from sediments
• Sediments are pieces of rocks, stone, or plant remains
• Sediments are materials from other things that
combine to make a new rock
Clastic sedimentary: sedimentary rock formed from small pieces of
rock, grains of sand or mud
Organic sedimentary: remains of plants and animals
Chemical bio sedimentary: chemical actions
Limestone
Sandstone
Coal
Clastic sedimentary
Organic sedimentary
Chemical sedimentary
3. Metamorphic Rocks
Rocks formed when igneous and sedimentary rocks change due to the
forces of heat and pressure

CONTACT METAMORPHISM: ROCKS CHANGING WHEN THEY COME

INTO CONTACT WITH MAGMA. HEAT CHANGES THE ROCK. IT BAKES
QUARTZITE
Marble
Slate
The rock cycle
1. Magma rises into Earth’s crust
2. Metamorphic rock changes into magma
3. Sedimentary rock changes into metamorphic rock
due to heat and pressure
4. Igneous rock form on the Earth’s surface
5. Intrusive igneous rock forms within the crust
6. Sedimentary rock formed by compression of
sediments
CLASS ACTIVITY
1. Match the correct order
2. Identify 2 types of igneous rock that appear on Earth’s surface
3. How is metamorphic rock formed according to the diagram
4. List 3 ways in which sedimentary rocks are formed
5. Explain why the diagram of the rock cycle is called a cycle
Intrusive features
-Earth’s mantle is made up of magma
-when magma cools it forms features inside of the
Earth’s crust
-This is called intrusive igneous features
1. Batholiths
Largest and deepest of all igneous intrusions
-may be associated with continental movements
-granite is the most common rock associated with batholiths
What batholiths would look like if
they are exposed to the surface
Laccoliths
-smaller than batholiths
-dome shape intrusion
Laccoliths on the surface
Monolith
-Monolith is a large intrusion
-towering wall of rock
Monolith
Dykes and sills
-when magma forces its way vertically through layers of rock. It forms a
dyke
-Dykes are usually only a few metres across
-Dolerite as a rock commonly seen in dyke in South Africa
Pipes
-central vents of old volcanoes
-magma has solidified to form carrot-shaped intrusions
-pipes are often called volcanic pipes
Caldera in Yellowstone above the
worlds largest active volcano
Landforms associated with
different rocks
1. Igneous rocks
Tors: weathered tops of igneous intrusions. Rounded. Columns of 20m tall.

Lava flows: thin lava flows out of a number of vents. Covers large areas with layers of
lava. Harden rocks forms basalt

Caldera: collapsed volcano. Contains lake

Domes and monoliths: large intrusions are exposed by erosion

Volcanic neck: stands out as a column of rock. It is made of magma that cooled and
became solid inside the cone of a volcano, rest of the volcano has since eroded
tors
Landforms associated with
sedimentary rocks
1. HORIZONTAL STRATA
-Sediments rocks are usually formed from sediments that were
deposited under water
-sediments are horizontal or inclined
-sediments deposited horizontally are called strata

-plateau, butte, mesa, resistant rock, canyon

2.Landforms associated with
Inclined strata
Sediments deposited at an angle
-resulted from movements of Earth’s crust

Cuesta: one steep slope one gentle slope

homoclinal ridge: steeper cuesta
Hog’s back: steepest form
Cuesta: one steep slope, one gentle
HOMOCLINAL RIDGE: STEEPER
CUESTA
A homoclinal ridge or strike ridge is a hill or ridge with a moderate,
generally between 10° to 30°
HOG’S BACK
( Geological Science) Also called: hog's back a narrow ridge that
consists of steeply inclined rock strata
Landforms associated with
metamorphic rocks
-Often quite harder than the rocks that they were formed from.
-Quartzite is harder than sandstone.
-Harder rocks are more resistant to erosion and produce features that
stand out on the landscape.
-Metamorphic rocks that occur in rivers may create waterfalls
CHAPTER 2: PLATE TECTONICS
*Theory developed in the 1960s
*Evidence to support the theory of continental drift has developed over the recent
years

UNIT 1: CHANGES IN THE POSITION OF CONTINENTS OVER TIME

-In 1912 a GERMAN geologist named Alfred Wegner came up with a theory that partly
explained this continental movement.
-He suggested that continents changed positions by drifting on the Earth’s mantle
(hence the word continental drift).
-The theory of continental drift suggested that all continents were formed from one
large landmass that slowly broke up, producing the continents in the position we know
now.
PANGEA: SUPERCONTINENT.
OVER 180 MILLION YEARS AGO
PANGEA BEGAN TO BREAK UP INTO
LAURASIA AND GONDWANALAND
175 MIL YEARS AGO
ACTIVITY
1. What is the name of the single continent that existed 180 mil years
ago?
2. Name 2 large landmasses the single continent formed around 175
mil years ago
3. Describe what continental drift is
4. Who came up with the theory? And what year was it?
UNIT 2: EVIDENCE FOR THE
MOVEMENT OF CONTINENTS
1. Very similar fossils of animals and plants on the Southern continents
2. Rock formations in East America and
West Africa are of the same age and
composition. Mountains in North America
have the same age and structure as
mountains in Britain and Scandanavia
3. Evidence of ice erosion and ice
deposition over much of the
southern continents. This could only
have been possible if the
landmasses were close to the south
pole
4. Many ridges in many oceans. Rocks
close to the ridges are much younger
than rocks further away. This suggest
that ocean floors are spreading from
the ocean ridges
5. When magma cools to form igneous
rocks, iron minerals in the magma
record the position of Earth’s magnetic
field. Therefore, minerals of the same
age would point to the same direction,
but they dont. This tells us that
positions of these minerals have
changed with continental drift
Activity
1. Use one phrase to summarise each of the five kinds of scientific
evidence that supports continental drift
2. What is the most obvious but unscientific piece of evidence that
supports continental drift?
3. How can evidence from the presence of ancient ice sheets and ice
erosion support continental drift?
4. Explain how igneous rocks can act as a compass
5. How does magma causes the sea floor to spread?
UNIT 3: PLATE TECTONICS
*A theory that suggests the crust of the EARTH is divided into 7 giant
pieces called tectonic plates
• Most plates are made up of continental crust and some oceanic crust,
which move each year.
• Forces within the mantle are believed to be the reason for this
movement
• The edges of plate tectonics are called plate boundaries (plate
movement most noticeable at boundaries)
3 Kinds of plate boundaries
1. Convergent: plates move towards each other.
They smash into each other, causing one plate to
move under the other. The point at which one
plate is forced under the other is called
subduction zone
• They cause earthquakes and volcanic activity
2. Divergent boundary
• Plates move away from each other. They pull apart. New crust is
created from erupting volcanoes at divergent plate boundaries
3. Transform boundary
• Plates usually slide past each other
• This plate movement is usually associated with earthquakes
Activity
1. What is the central idea behind plates?
2. Which is the nearest to our plate?
3. Is our plate oceanic or continental crust
4. How does new oceanic crust form at divergent plate boundaries?
5. What happens at convergent plate boundaries
UNIT 4: THE MECHANICS OF
PLATE MOVEMENTS
• HOW DO PLATES MOVE? Scientists believe that there are convectional
currents that move away from the divergent plate boundaries
UNIT 5 PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS ASSOCIATED WITH PLATE
BOUNDARIES

1. LANFORMS ASSOCIATED WITH DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES

THERE ARE 2 KINDS
1.1 A DIVERGENT BOUNDARY BETWEEN 2 OCEANIC PLATES
1.2 A DIVERGENT BOUNDARY WITHIN CONTINENTAL CRUST
MID OCEAN RIDGE (CAUSED BY 2
OCEANICE PLATES MOVING APART)
RIFT VALLEY
2. LANDFORMS ASSOCIATED WITH
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES

1.1 CONVERGENT BETWEEN 2 OCEANIC PLATES

1.2 CONVERGENT BETWEEN OCEANIC AND CONTINENTAL CRUST
1.3 CONVERGENT BETWEEN 2 CONTINENTAL PLATES
VOLCANIC ISLANDS (BETWEEN 2
OCEANIC PLATES)
RANGE OF MOUNTAINS (BETWEEN
OCEANIC AND CONTINENTAL
PLATES)
HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES (BETWEEN
2 CONTINENTAL PLATES)
3. LANDFORMS ASSOCIATED WITH
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES
EARTH’S CRUST IS NEITHER FORMED OR DESTROYED WITH
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES

The San Andreas Fault In California is on a transform plate boundary

San Andreas Fault
UNIT 6: WORLD’S VOLCANIC AND
EARTHQUAKE ZONES
ACTIVE VOLCANOES
CHAPTER 3: FOLDING AND
FAULTING
1. FOLD MOUNTAINS: mountains formed by the compressing of
sedimentary rock strata during plate movement
2. Formation: occur near convergent plate boundaries. Formed of
thick deposits of sedimentary rock. When these plate collide, the
thick deposits are forced on the land
3. Highest mountains in the world are fold mountains.
Landforms associated with fold
mountains
1. Anticlines: folded strata in a shape of an arch
2. Synclines: the trough or bottom part of a syncline.
Different kinds of folds
1. Symmetrical fold: equal limbs, equal amount of pressure from
either side
Asymmetrical fold: folds lean on one
side, pressure might be greater on
one side
Overturned fold: turned over on top
of the other folds
Overthrust folds: pressure causes
the strata to fracture on one side of
the fold
2. FAULTING: SURFACE ALONG WHICH THE
BREAK OF A FAULT OCCURS

FAULTS ARE CRACKS OR FRACTURES IN THE CRUST DUE TO THE

MOVEMENT OF TECTONIC PLATES
1. NORMAL FAULTING
REVERSE FAULTING
LATERAL FAULTING
3. LANDFORMS ASSOCIATED WITH
FAULTING
1. RIFT VALLEYS
2. BLOCK MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER 4:
EARTHQUAKES
1. Earthquakes are violent movements of earth’s crust associated with

plate movement.
2. Earthquakes are a result of tectonic forces. Plate movements cause
faults in the crust.
The faults cause tectonic stress which causes vibrations on the
earth’s crust. We call these vibrations Earthquakes
Indonesia 2004, 26 December
New Zealand earthquake
Characteristics of Earthquakes
Structure of the earthquake.
1. Focus: The point deep in the earth’s crust where an earthquake
begins.
2.Epicentre: the point on the surface immediately above the focus of
the earthquake. This is the area that suffers the worse damage.
3. Seismic waves: waves that travel through the Earth’s crust from the
focus of an earthquake
UNIT 2: MEASURING AND
PREDICTING EARTHQUAKES
1. MEASURING EARTHQUAKES: A seismograph is used to measure
earthquakes, the paper on which the markings are recorded is
called a seismogram
Richter scale
 Tsunami
• A tsunami is a series of sea waves which form when there is an earthquake
Under the seabed.
• Waves increase in height when they reach shallow water.
• When tsunami reaches shallow coastal areas, it can reach a height of 50m.
• Tsunamis can cause flooding in coastal areas.
Tsunami Warning:
Siren warning, radio, television, email or SMS.
The warnings usually tell people which areas are safe and which routes to
take.
2. Can we predict
earthquakes?
• It is impossible to predict earthquakes.
But scientists have developed ways of predicting
when they will occur, so people can leave that area.
• Animals, like birds and dogs act strangely before
earthquakes. Scientists believe that the animals feel
the vibration in the earth’s crust.
Unit 3: how earthquakes
impact people and the
environment
• 1. Developed countries will be more equipped to deal with an
earthquake due to their advanced technology.
• 2. They have better infrastructure, better medical care, more
improved emergency services.
• 3. Developing countries are more severely affected because they do
not have well structured infrastructure.
They do not have a well established medical service or emergency
service.
Effects of an earthquake on people
and environment
Less developed countries More developed countries
1. Early warning systems Few plans. ,little info given, no Better informed of evacuation
evacuation systems, lack of early drills. Early warning systems in
warning systems place

2. Kinds of settlement Many people live in rural areas, Buildings are stronger, sea walls are
difficult to reach people, poorly installed, infrastructure is protected
built buildings by safety systems
3. Disaster management Many die due to injuries, lack of Emergency teams are well trained.
shelter, food and water. Diseases Supplies of food, water, clothing,
develop and spread. Outside help blankets are stored for
takes a long time emergencies. Well trained medical
teams. Equipped hospitals enabled
to assist with injuries.
Unit 4: strategies to reduce
the impact of earthquakes
1. Early warning systems: can only work with advancement of
technology, something advanced enough to alert us on the silent
movements of plates
2. Stronger buildings: spring foundations which sway with the motion
of earthquakes
3. Evacuation drills: only affective if there are proper plans in place
and also again if we are able to predict earthquakes early enough to
warn people or evacuate them
4. Train medical personal: standby personals, added medical staff for
emergencies, disaster management hospitals
Unit 5: examples of
earthquakes
Around 150 000 earthquakes occur every year. Most of them do not
damage any infrastructure and sometimes unnoticeable.
1. New Zealand 22 February 2011
2. Haiti 12 January 2010
3. Tohoku Japan 11 March 2011
 CHAPTER 5: VOLCANOES
1. KINDS OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY: the process of volcanism involves 2 kinds
of activity.
1.1. Extrusive activity: above Earth’ surface
1.2. Intrusive activity: inside of Earth’s crust
2. TYPES OF VOLCANOES
2.1 Active: regularly erupts
2.2 Dormant: sleeping volcano, can erupt at any time again
2.3 Extinct: volcanoes that have not erupted in over 100 years and has no
signs of ever erupting again
 Structure of a volcano
1. The structure of a volcano depends on the material that the volcano
ejects and the way in which the volcano erupts.
2. These results in volcanoes of different shapes.
3. The volcano ejects lava, materials like rocks, volcanic ash, huge amounts
of steam and other gases, such as sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and
nitrogen.
4. The steam raises the humidity of the air causing rain.
5. The rain combines with ash and dust to form mud.
3. Classifying volcanoes by their shapes and the way that they erupt
3.1 CINDER CONE VOLCANOES:
Examples of cinder cone volcanoes
• Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho.
• Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds, California.
• Mono-Inyo Craters, California.
• Pisgah Crater, California.
• Cinnamon Butte, Oregon.
• Davis Lake volcanic field, Oregon.
• Newberry Volcano, Oregon.
• Amboy Crater, California
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CINDER CONE VOLCANOES

• Cinder cone volcanoes are built up of hardened fragments of lava

ejected from a single vent.
• We call this hardened lava Cinders.
• The lava breaks up and cools in the air, and falls to the ground as
cinders and ash.
• Steep coned shaped hill with a bowl shaped crater
• Cinders are formed from lava that contains gas bubbles
• Its eruption is very violent
3.2 SHIELD VOLCANOES
• Shield volcanoes form when the lava is very fluid.
• Lava flows from a number of vents.
• The lava cools and solidifies into volcanic rock around these vents.
3.3 COMPOSITE VOLCANOES
• COMPOSED OF ALTERNATING LAYERS OF ASH AND LAVA
• The lava comes from the lava chamber, which is a store of magma in
the crust.
• The magma chamber is supplied with ,magma from the mantle.
• The ejected material builds up a cone shaped mountain.
• When the mountain grows, there comes a time, when the magma,
cannot reach the surface through the main crater.
• The magma forces its way, through fissures in the side of the volcano.
Mount Fuji Japan
UNIT 2: STRUCTURE OF VOLCANOES
• VENT: pipe that leads through a volcanic cone to the surface
• VOLCANIC CONE: sides of a volcano built from ash and lava
• MAGMA CHAMBER: deep part of the volcano where magma
collects
• CRATER: the bowl shaped depression at the top of a volcano
• CALDERA: large crater created by a volcanic explosion and
collapsed volcanic cone
Caldera
 Caldera
1. When a volcano has not erupted for a long time, lava builds up and
solidifies in the crater.
2. If an eruption occurs, there is a huge explosion which pushes out the
lava plug, and blows off the whole top of the volcano.
3. This forms a caldera,
4. Sometimes the caldera fills with water, to form a lake.
Caldera hot spring
Super volcanoes
Yellowstone: super volcano
Unit 3: the impact of volcanoes on
people
and the environment
1. Positive effects
People Environment
Volcanic rock good for building and making Volcanic lava weathers to form fertile soil
roads
Hot spring used to generate electricity Volcanic ash contains nutrients that enrich the
soil
Minerals associated with volcanic intrusions
(diamonds)
Hot springs attract tourists
Many of the world’s tourist spots are volcanic
islands
2. Negative effects
People Environment

People may be buried under the ash and cinders Large areas of farm land is destroyed

Ash cloud prevents air travel large explosive ash filled eruptions may cause earth’s
temp to cool

Lava and ash destroys roads, buildings and Toxic gasses cause acid rain and pollution
infrastructure

Eruptions can cause snow to melt and mud flows can Areas covered in lava cannot be used for many years
bury settlements