Geology Features
In this article, we have detailed geology features into simple subheadings that are easy to understand. To get the concept better, let’s begin by defining geology. Geology is a branch of earth science that involves studying the materials making up the earth, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them.
Geology features is a broad term referring to all physical features of the earth or rock exposed on the earth’s surface. This definition doesn’t single out a feature; it, therefore, applies to the features of the moon or other planets too.
These features are formed due to geologic forces that act to lift the earth’s surface and those that wear it away. As a result, they have influenced the appearance and shape of the ground surface. The shape or appearance is described as topography, landforms, or landscape.
This term doesn’t refer to the context of what a rock is made of. For instance, a volcano is a geology feature, and the lava flows on its flanks are also geologic features, while the rock that the lava flows are made of is not. Also, a river delta is a geology feature, but the mud and sand made of it are not geology features.
Geology Features and Processes
As stated earlier, this term is broad, and we cannot incorporate all the features and the process in this article. Instead, we have sampled a few features to help you comprehend the concept better.
Processes
Natural processes occurring at the land surface both make human life possible and also pose some danger. Those processes include erosion, deposition, soil formation, earthquakes, and water flow.
Erosion produces geology features such as valleys, canyons, river channels, bays, caves, and cliffs.
Geology Features
A few geologic features that result from deposition are deltas, beaches, dunes, and stalactites. Folds (bends) in sedimentary rock layers are a type of geologic feature.
Erosion and sediment deposition (grains of sand, silt, and clay) by streams, glaciers, wind, groundwater, and waves are surface processes that create many familiar landforms.
Deep ocean trenches, volcanoes, island arcs, submarine mountain ranges, and fault lines are examples of features that can form along plate tectonic boundaries.
Types of Geology Features
Below are some of the common types of geology features:
- Geological features related to groundwater
- Geysers
- Karst topography
- Springs
- Volcanoes
- Mountains
- Caves
- Glacier
- Deltas
These are but a few.
Volcanoes
Form along convergent and divergent plate boundaries, where two tectonic plates collide, and one moves beneath the other. Volcanoes are created by internal forces within the earth that cause heated, melted rock (magma) to erupt and flow to the surface as lava. Volcanoes are classified by the volcanic type, eruption type, and magma type as composite cones, cinder cones, and shield volcanoes.
Glaciers
Are formed when snow recrystallizes and accumulates over time.
Mountains
Are the most visual geology features on the earth’s surface. They are formed due to the movement of the tectonic plates. There are three types of mountains:
Folded mountains – Formed when continental plates are pushed together from both sides in a wave-like shape.
Fault-block mountains – Formed when tectonic forces pull crustal blocks apart, causing some parts to move upwards while others collapse. The elevated parts form the fault mountains, characterized by rough linear peaks. If one fault is present, it forms a tilted mountain. If two faults are present, a lifted mountain is formed.
Dome Mountains – Formed from hot molten rock (magma), which rises from the earth’s mantle into the crust, pushing overlying sedimentary rock layers upward to form a “dome” shape. The magma, in this case, doesn’t reach the surface; instead, it cools underneath, forming the core of the mountain.
Karsts
Are usually formed by the dissolution of rocks, in most cases limestone and other soluble rock types. They are characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage.
River delta
Is a type of topography formed when sediments carried by the river along its course are deposited as it enters slower-moving or stagnant water
When you walk around the earth, you see physical features like mountains, valleys, and plateaus. All those are features of geology, and they surround us all over. Some of these features are underground, and we are walking over them. So geology features play a vital role in our day to day lives as part of the physical environment that we live in.
