Exploring the Valley: A Journey Through Nature’s Troughs

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Valley
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A valley is a hollow or surface depression of the earth bounded by hills or mountains, a natural trough in the earth's surface, that slopes down to a stream, lake or the ocean, formed by water and/or ice erosion. Systems of valleys extend through plains, hills, and mountains. Rivers and streams flowing through valleys drain interior land regions to the ocean. At the bottom of many valleys is fertile soil, which makes excellent farmland. Most valleys on dry land are formed by running water of streams and rivers .The bottom of a valley is called its floor. Most floors slope downstream. Mountain valleys usually have narrow floors. The part of the floor along riverbanks is called flood plain. A valley's sides are called valley walls or valley slopes. A valley wall is the side slope of a stream or glacial valley. Rain, frost, wind and the atmosphere are loosening materials which fall into the stream and are carried away.
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Mouintain
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Over long periods of time, mountains are created by tremendous forces in the earth with a steep top usually shaped up to a peak or ridge. Mountains occur more often in oceans than on land; some mountainsislands are the peaks of mountains coming out of the water. Mountains are formed by volcanism, erosion, and disturbances or uplift in the earth's crust. Most geologists believe that the majority of mountains are formed by geological forces heat and pressure producing changes under the earth's crust and movements in the earth's crust. They call this movement plate tectonics. This theory sees the crust of the earth divided into a number of vast rigid plates that move about at the rate of a few centimeters a year. The uplift is caused by the collision of plates below the earth's surface that triggers various geologic processes that produce this crustal uplift. Other processes are caused by horizontal compression that is the deformation of crustal strata which produces folds or wrinkles. The Himalayas, for example, were raised by the compression that accompanied collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate. Another example is Europe's Alps and Jura mountains which were also formed by horizontal compression, generated in their case by collision with the African plate and the Eurasian plate. mountainsSome ranges of low mountains are raised by nontectonic processes, and are caused by sculpturing effects of differential erosion. Erosion occurs when wind, rain and ice are present. Mountains are impacted by erosion through the combined action of wind, rain and ice changing the shapes of the mountains. Volcanism causes mountains to form. Examples of mountains formed by periodically dangerous volcanic action are Mount Ranier and Mount Saint Helens in the United States, Mount Erebus in Antarctica, Mount Vesuvius in Italy, and Mount Fuji in Japan. Many of these volcanic mountains have summit craters that still emit steam and debris; others that no longer show signs of volcanic activity may only be dormant, not extinct. Shield volcanoes found in Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii are less spectacular even when quite high.
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Plains
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Plains are broad, nearly level stretches of land that have no great changes in elevation. Plains are generally lower than the land around them; they may be found along a coast or inland. Coastal plains generally rise from sea level until they meet higher landforms such as mountains or plateaus. Inland plains may be found at high altitudes. plainsPlant life on plains is controlled by the climate. Thick forests usually thrive on plains in humid climates, grasslands cover fairly dry plains such as the Great Plains in the United States. Plains are usually well populated because the soil and terrain are good for farming, and roads and railways are easily built between rural towns and cities. A coastal plain is a stretch of lowland along a seacoast which slopes toward the sea. In most cases, such a plain may be an elevated part of the ocean floor. Solid materials are carried off by rivers or waves from other coastal plains; plains these materials are deposited along the shore extending the coast seaward. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is a good example of a fertile and well populated coastal plain. It lies along the eastern shore of North America from Nova Scotia to Florida. The sharp upward slope of the land along the plain's inland edge is called the fall line. Coastal plains generally have a few poor harbors, but the mouth of rivers along the Atlantic seacoast have produced some fine harbors.
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Landform
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Landforms are natural features of the landscape, natural physical features of the earth's surface, for example, valleys, plateaus, mountains, plains, hills, loess, or glaciers. Valleys Plateaus Mountains Plains Hills Loess Glaciers
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Hill
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Hills are elevations of the earth's surface that have distinct summits, but are lower in elevation than mountains. Hills may be formed by a buildup of rock debris or sand deposited by glaciers and wind. Hills may be created by faults. Faults are a slight crack in the earth which can cause earthquakes. Hills are formed when these faults go slightly upward. The most famous hills in the world are the Loess hills. The Black Hills are also famous. You can find hills in low mountain valleys, valleys, plains, and even in your own backyard. hillsHills are also formed by deep erosion of areas that were raised by disturbances in the earth's crust. Erosion forms hills by carrying away all of the soil on a mountain, causing a hill to be left behind. Humans also make hills by digging soil up and dumping it in a giant pile. Volcanoes are also another way that hills are formed. Volcanoes form hills when they erupt. During the eruption, volcanic ash is spewed through the air; after the eruption, the lava or molten rock hardens and builds up a thick layer of lava rock. The ash falls on the hardened lava causing a layer of ash to form on the hill. When rain falls, this layer of ash mixes with the rainwater to form black colored water. This black water will freeze causing the lava rock to crack and crumble and eventually erode to form a hill.
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Erosion
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Movement
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Weathering
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To break up into pieces
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Deposition
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Collects
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