Question

4) Examine Landform "A" (three examples are provided in Death Valley, each outlined in yellow). What landform is this? delta, alluvial fan, bajada, yardang, inselberg

Answer 1

Land form:

A land form is a natural or artificial feature of the solid surface of the earth or other planetary body .Land form together make up a given terrain , and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography .Typical land form include hills , mountains, plateaus ,canyons , and valleys as well as shoreline features such as bays , peninsulas and seas , including submerged features such as mid-ocean ridges , volcanoes and the great ocean basins.

California's Death valley is one of the superlative landscapes of the United States,North America in general : It's the lowest ,most arid and hottest part of the continent .Few other areas ,Furthermore ,features such dramatic elevation changes ,with below -sea -level basins lying adjacent to mountains soaring past 11,000 feet.The unique geology and climate as well as the nakedness of the landscape make it a prime destination for topographic appreciation. Death valley and its surroundings superbly showcase the unrelenting topography of the Basin-and -Range province to which much of the U.S. Southwest belongs .The product of a stretching of the continent crust and resulting faulting this region features range after range of linear,north-south oriented mountain ranges separated by arid basins .Death valley itself lies in a trough between the panamint range to the west and the Amargosa range to the east .Bad water Basin in Death valley is the lowest point in north America :282 feet below sea level.Just westward is the 11,049-foot crown of Telescope peak in the Panamints -an incredible sweep of terrain in a small area . Also noteworthy is the fact that the highest point in the contiguous united states -14,495-foot mount Whitney -is only 85 miles from Bad water Basin in the Sierra Nevada . In this spare ,sun-blasted country super heated air can become trapped in Death valley making the basin one of the hottest place on Earth : In 1913 ,Furnace Creek registered 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Salt Formations:

Because of the large quantity of salts deposited in the drainage sink of death valley and because the arid climate ensures evaporation is greater than precipitation much salt accumulates on the basin floor forming enormous pans.The bad water basin salt flats -among the biggest in the world -sprawl over nearly 200 square miles .Virtually barren these flats constitute the lowest ground in north America and are among the lowest exposed land any where on earth .Just north of bad water basin are the eroded salt hoodoos of the Devil's Golf course.

Alluvial Fans:

During widely scattered major flood events ,rivers draining the surrounding mountains deposit broad sprays of sediment at the mounts of their canyons when they hit the basin flats .These are Known as alluvial fans and are striking features of Death valley's margin .alluvial fans merging with one another form a so-called Bajada. These depositions betray the gradual filling of the desert valleys taking place throughout the arid basin -and -range country.

Yardang:

A yardang is a streamlined protuberance carved from bed rock or any consolidated or semi consolidated material by the dual action of wind abrasion by dust and sand and deflation which is the removal of loose material by wind turbulence .Yardangs become elongated features typically three or more times longer than wide ,and when viewed from above resemble the hull of a boat.facing the wind is a steep blunt face that gradually gets lower and narrower toward the lee end. yardangs are formed by wind erosion typically of an originally flat surface formed from areas of harder and softer material.

Inselberg:

An inselberg is an isolated hill ridge or small mountain that abruptly protrudes out from a virtually level surrounding landscape.An inselberg is an isolated hill ridge or small mountain that abruptly protrudes out from a virtually level surrounding plain.The world inselberg translates to "Island mountain" in German and it was first used by wilhelm Bornhardt in 1900, a geologist who found the land forms in southern Africa .The world monadnock is of Native American origin and it refers to a solitary hill rising above the flat areas surrounding it.

Delta:

A river delta is a land form created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as the flow levels its mouth and enters slower-moving or stagnant water.This occurs where a river enters an ocean ,sea ,estuary,lake ,reservoir ,or another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment.

Dunes:

Tracts of sand dunes are scattered in death valleys covering only a small amount of terrain but making a major visual impact .They form when prevaling winds drive sand against topographic obstacles such as mountain fronts .Most accessible are the Mesquite flat Dunes.Death valley's dunes come in different forms :These are crescent linear and star types ,for example all named for the shapes they describe.

Badlands:

One of the most renowned vistas in Death valley national park can be had at Zabriskie point which features an impressive nest of badlands .These are heavily eroded and barren sedimentary formations most famously associated with certain parts of the great plains but found in many dry region of the globe.Set along Furnace Creek the Zabriskie points bad lands ,carved out of mud stone ,are particularly scenic against the blank flats of Death valley and the mountains looming beyond.

Nearby Land forms:

Death valley national park includes plenty of notable land forms outside of Death valley proper as it covers a great deal of terrain in surrounding mountains as well as adjacent basins such as panamint valley .Explorers who appreciate the /mesquite flats dunes and the salt pans of Bad water basin should take the time to visit the Devil's Hole in the Amargosa Desert to the east for example or the canyons and snowfields of the high country.