A Landforms Adventure

A Landforms Adventure

Road Trip! I just found out that I'm going on a road trip this summer! My parents and I are going all the way from Boston to Seattle. My class is studying landforms in school. Mom says we're going to see some amazing landforms along the way!

In Class My teacher, Mr. Lopez, explained that Earth has layers like a hard-boiled egg. Both have a shell that's thin and hard. Earth's crust is broken in pieces, like a cracked eggshell. Earth's mantle is like the white of the egg. Earth's core is in the center, like the egg yolk.

We also learned that Earth's crust is made up of huge pieces of rock called tectonic plates. The plates sit above soft, almost-melted rock and slowly slide around because of heat deep inside Earth. These movements are the most important underground forces that create landforms.

Mr. Lopez also explained that Earth's surface is always changing. He said that some changes take place slowly, while others happen really fast. Both types can change existing landforms and create new ones. Sometimes small areas high in the mantle get hot enough to melt and become magma. This melted rock can push up and erupt at the surface as lava. As lava cools and hardens, it can build up and form a volcano, which is a type of mountain.

As tectonic plates and magma change Earth under the ground, other things are happening on the surface. Weathering breaks down rock and shapes it. Erosion carries away the pieces that have broken off, called sediments, and later deposits them. Wind, water, and ice are the main tools of weathering and erosion. Mr. Lopez handed out a list of different landforms. I'm going to take the list on my trip and try to see them all!