221 Facts About Earth

Stalactites and Stalagmites are natural features present in caves. These are deposits of minerals which form on cave roof, cave floor or near cave walls. Stalactites hang from the ceilings of caves like icicles, while stalagmites resemble traffic cones that look like emerging from the ground. These features form when water droplets containing some amount […]

Caves are the underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea. They are the natural openings of the Earth. Caves are formed by two methods: ♦ Weathering of rocks; or ♦ Through water seepage under the ground: Water flows through the cracks present on the Earth’s surface, dissolving certain

Canyons are deep V-shaped narrow valleys with steep sides and rocky boundaries. The word ‘Canyon’ is derived from the Spanish word cañon, which means tube or pipe. These are formed by the movement of rivers (river canyons), the process of weathering and erosion (weathering canyons), and tectonic activities underneath the Earth’s surface (submarine canyon).

A steppe is a dry and grassy belt of grassland. It is located in temperate climatic regions of the Earth, which lie between the tropics and the polar regions. They are also called mid-latitude grasslands. The two main types of grasses which are found in this area are cropland and pasture. These are short grasses,

Savanna is a type of flat grassland in tropical and subtropical regions, bordering tropical rainforests. However, certain dry savannas are present on the borders of some deserts as well. These grasslands are generally warm and they have dry climatic conditions. They are characterised by brushy and coarse grasses with a few small or dispersed trees

Grasslands are the open and flat plains on the Earth where grass is the most dominating flora. The grasslands present in the Southern hemisphere get more rainfall than those in the Northern hemisphere. Hence the grass in the Southern hemisphere grows more than 2 metres in height and its roots extend several feet into the

Plains are one of the most widespread landforms of the Earth. They are primarily classified on the basis of the process of formation. The three main types of plains are: structural plains, depositional plains and erosional plains. Erosion is a natural process that creates or destroys the landforms of the Earth. The common erosion agents

A valley is a relatively flat, low land lying between ranges of hills and mountains on the Earth’s surface. Valleys are generally formed by erosion caused by rivers or glaciers. They can be classified on the basis of shape or origin. On the basis of shape, they can be categorised as: V-shape and U-shape. And

Glaciers are categorised into two groups: alpine glaciers and ice sheets. Alpine glaciers (valley glaciers or mountain glaciers) originate from the mountainsides and move downward towards valleys. The Gorner Glacier in Switzerland and the Furtwangler Glacier in Tanzania are some of the examples of alpine glaciers. Ice sheet glaciers have broad domes and spread out

Glaciers are large masses of snow. These are formed when snow remains at one location for a very long time and turns into ice. They have ability to move, hence are called ‘rivers of ice’. The term ‘glacier’ originated from the French word glace (glah-SAY), which means ice. At present, they occupy about 10% of

Volcanic mountains are made up of lava, ash and cinders, which pour out from within the Earth and gather at the surface. When the ash and lava cools, it forms a cone-shaped mountain. The usual volcano rock has a large hole or crater at the top of it. Some of the most famous volcanic mountains

Faults refer to the cracks on the Earth’s crust. Sometimes some internal forces of the underground earth inflict a huge pressure on the Earth’s crust. This pressure pulls apart some part of the Earth’s crust. Due to which some parts of the Earth are pushed upward and the adjoining parts collapse. These movements move the

Dome Mountains are formed when a hot layer of molten magma pushes up the surface of the Earth but doesn’t crack through it. Slowly, the magma cools down and hardens into rocks. These mountains are not so high as folded mountains. Domes are flat, dissected surfaces which are sloping gradually towards the surrounding basins. The

Fold Mountains are the most common type of mountains in the world. They are formed where two or more Earth’s tectonic plates are pushed together. At the region where the collision takes place, the boundaries of the plates are compressed together moving the rocks and debris outwards giving rise to outcropped landform on the surface

A mountain formation starts when two tectonic plates collide. The colliding plates either subduct or uplift. Subduction means sliding of the oceanic crust below the continental crust. And uplift means upward movement of crust due to the movements of tectonic plates. Mountain formation started several million years ago when the continents were forming. During that