CEEES/SC 10111-20111
Planet Earth
Elements
of Maps plus Streams & Flooding Laboratory
Click here for a copy of the Lab
Manual Chapter
Elements of Maps
Running water is the most important
force
shaping the Earth’s surface – familiar landforms owe their origin to
streams.
Many cities are located on rivers and depend on them for drinking
water,
freight transport, and recreation.
The first step in erosion by running water is weathering (see
Chapter
5 of the text book), which causes rocks at the surface to disintegrate
and
decompose.
As rainfall supports vegetation and
vegetation
holds a layer of soil in place over unweathered rock, humid landscapes
tend
to have relatively rounded ridges, valleys, and slopes.
However, loose sediment and soil eventually move downhill by mass
wasting
or water erosion. Once they reach a stream, the sediments are carried
farther
downslope by fast currents.
Runoff and Drainage Basins
Stream Channels & Valleys
Features of Streams and
Their
Valleys
Floods & Recurrence Intervals
Landscapes in Humid Environments
Drainage
Patterns
Evolution of
Stream Systems