Climate

Climate 

Climate is an average weather condition over many years. The climate of any place depends upon the energy coming from the sun and  an  effective distribution  of this energy throughout the planet. The world’s climate is changing slowly due to many factor is the greenhouse effect. The climate is very hot in the areas near the equator.

 Types Of Climate

The world is divided into four main types of climate the tropical, subtropical, polar and temperature climates. Each landform on the Earth like mountains, deserts have their own type of climate, places that are located near the sea  have mild climate, while towards  inland, the climate varies from hot summer to cool winter, The ocean currents affect the climate and make the climate warmer or colder.

Winds And Storms

Wind is the air in motion. We cannot see the wind but can feel it . It is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the rays of the Sun. As the rays of the Sun warm the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere also gets warmed up. Some parts of the Earth remain permanently warm as they receive direct rays from the Sun throughout the year.

Local Winds

Local winds are the winds that blow for a short period of time. These  winds are generated by the immediate influence of the surrounding areas.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes are violent rotation wind storms. When tornadoes occur, the wind whirls around a small area of extremely low pressure. Tornadoes are very  destructive, as the wind  blows at a speed of 320 km per hour. They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and can blow the Vehicles hundreds of yards away.They occur mostly in the Mississippi valley and are also known as twisters.

Hurricanes 

Hurricanes are huge storms. A warm, moist air rotates spirally around the storm and pushes the water into a mound at the centre of the storm which is also known  as the ‘eye’. When the storm reaches  the land, this mound of water causes floods along the coasts, in turn, causing damages to buildings, cars and uproots the trees. Hurricanes occur generally between 5 to 15 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. They last nearly for a week and move at a speed of 10-20 miles per hour.

Clouds And Fog

Clouds are collection of minute droplets of water of crystals of ice. These droplets are so light and minute that they can easily float in the air. Clouds are usually white or grey in colour. They move long with the wind. Fog is a cloud on the ground, made up of droplets of water suspended in the lower layer of the atmosphere. Fog is formed by the condensation of water vapour around nuclei of floating dust or smoke particles.

Types Of Clouds

 Clouds are classified on the basic  of their appearance and altitude.

 Clouds                                                                                                      Height of clouds

 High clouds (cirrocumulus, cirrus cirrostratus )                               above 18,000 feet

 Middle clouds(altostratus, Altocumulus)                                          6,500 to 18,000 feet

 Lower clouds (Stratus, Stratocumulus, Nimbostratus )                 up to  6,500 feet

 Thunder Clouds

 Thunder clouds are very big in size, they are so big that the raindrops within them grow to big sizes.

 These frozen raindrops bump into each other as they move around the air. This collision creates an electric charge and this electric charge is released is massive flash of lighting.

Precipitation

Precipitation is the formation of water particular or ice within clouds that fall towards the earth’s surface.Precipitation occurs when condensation takes places rapidly within a cloud. The main type of precipitation are rain, drizzle, sleet, snow and hail.  Precipitation is caused by heating of moist air in the lower layers of the atmosphere. When moisture-laden air that rises over the mountain ranges or when large masses of air having different temperatures meet together, Precipitation takes place.

Water Cycle

The cyclic movement of water between the land and the sea is known as the water cycle. Water from the oceans, rivers and lakes evaporates into the atmosphere as water vapour. The  water vapour within the atmosphere as water vapour. The water vapour within the atmosphere condenses and forms clouds and falls back on to the land in different forms of  precipitation.

Rain And Snow

Rain is a form of precipitation that consists of drops of water formed by the condensation of minute droplets within clouds. The size of rain droplets varies from 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm in diameter. Rain provides water that is essential for the survival of the living beings on the Earth. Snow is a form of precipitation that consists of crystals of ice. When condensation takes place at a temperature below the freezing point, the water  vapour change into minute crystals of ice and forms snowflakes. These snowflakes fall down on land from the sky.

Volcanic Earth

A volcano is a vent through which magma, the molten rock, gases and ash come out on the Earth’s surface. An eruption takes place due to pressure from the gases within the molten rock. These eruptions can be explosive or silent. The lava flowing on the surface can destroy everything on the Earth with its intense heat.

Where Are Volcanoes Found ?

Volcanoes are found on the floor of the ocean as well as on land. The lava that comes from deep within the Earth consist of minerals. Once the lava has cooled down, the minerals can be easily mined, like diamonds, gold , silver, copper and zinc, etc. Mining towns usually develop around volcanic areas. The volcanoes found on the ocean floor s are known as submarine volcanoes. When these volcanoes erupt, They disrupt the ocean and cause huge tidal waves called tsunami. Most of the submarine volcanoes are found along the ridges of the oceans. The ridges are the places where two plates are being pulled apart continuously. The molten magma solidifies in the sea and the sea water gets heated up by the heat of the magma.

Why Do Some  People Prefer To Live Closer To Volcanoes ?

Volcanoes are both beneficial and harmful. Some people prefer to live near volcanoes, as they depend on these volcanoes for their livelihood. The geothermal energy can be harnessed from under the ground that has been heated up by the Earth’s magma. This geothermal energy is used to produce electricity for domestic and industries use. Some  of the countries like. New Zealand and Iceland use this method for generating electricity. A part from this volcanoes create jobs for people in the tourism industry. Many people come to see natural hot springs and geysers near dormant volcanoes.

How Is The Crater Lake is Formed?

Whenever a volcanoes erupts, It sends the entire debris of lava and ash out from the magma chamber. This leads to the formation of a huge crater at the top of the volcano. Once the volcano stops  erupting, this crater gets filled with the water and forms a lake is Oregon’s crater lakes in the world are mostly found around the basin in mount Mazama. It is one of the volcanoes that make up the Cascades mountain ranges along the western coast of the united states. The major volcanoes of cascades are lessen peak and Mount Shasta in California, Mount Mazama, Three sisters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood in Oregon and Mount Saint Helens, Glacier Peak, etc in Washington. Mount Mazama was built by many small eruptions of  lave 400,000 years ago. 

CONE -SHAPED VOLCANOES

Cone-shaped Volcanoes erupt where the tectonic plates push each other together . Here, the magma below the land gets trapped and becomes very acidic. The acid makes the magma very thick and lava come out. Cone -shaped volcanoes erupt sporadically.

SHIELD VOLCANOES  

Shield volcanoes erupt where tectonic plates keep pulling each other apart. Here the magma below the earth is less acidic and  thin. The magma easily comes out on the surface through the volcanic vent and forms  a shop which appears like an upturned shield.

EARTHQUAKE

The sudden trembling in the earth’s surface is called an Earthquake. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas and the tremble lasts for less  than a minute. It happens along the “fault lines” in the Earth’s crust. Earthquakes are sometimes also called shakers or quakes.

How Do Earth Quakes Occurs ?

Earth quakes occur when the rocks move along the faults in the outer layers of the Earth. When tectonic plates move over each other, the edges of the plates touch each other thus making the ground to shake and cause a massive earth quake.Earthquakes cannot be predicated. It can happen both during the daytime and night time. Earthquakes do not have any connection with weather, as it happens deep inside the Earth. The source of any earthquake is called the focus, which is located at less than 70 km below the surface of the Earth. Earthquakes can be very devastating, if the focus  is nearer to the surface of the Earth. The point above the focus on the surface of the earth is known as epicentre. This area gets affected by earthquakes immediately. The vibrations of an earthquake are sent out in the form of seismic waves.

Tsunamis

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes that occur under the sea or by a land-slide in the sea that forces out a huge pulse of water along the sea bed. The force of the water is as strong as the speed of a jet plane, which causes a lot of devastation along the sea coasts.

 

Deserts

An area receives an average  of less than 25 cms of rain in a year is called a desert. Desert areas experience extreme harsh conditions and are often called as ‘Death Valley’, They are usually very dry. Deserts receives scanty rainfall and if is not even certain when they’ll  fall again.

The Largest Desert Of The World ?

The Sahara desert located in North Africa is the largest desert of the world. It is very large having an area of nine million square kilometres. About one-tenth of the Sahara desert is covered with sand and the rest is covered with rocks.

What Are Sand Dunes?

Sand dunes are mounds of ridges of sand in a desert formed by the blowing wind. The sand grains blow and pile over each other to form the sand dunes.

Rivers

Rivers are large streams of  fresh water. They flow down the hill within a channel. The flow of a river depends upon the amount and intensity of rainfall it receives. The permeability of the surface on which it flows and the structure of the drainage basin.'

Different Stages Of A River

A river always originates from its source and ends in a place called a river’s mouth. The mouth of a river opens up in the sea to a lake. A mature river has three stages: torrent stage, the valley stage and the plain stage. The torrent stage or the upper course of a river refers to that stage when the river is young, the valley stage or the middle represents the state of maturing and the plain stage or the lower course is the stage when rivers become old.

Functions Of A River

The main functions of a river are erosion, transportation and deposition. Erosion mostly takes place in the upper course of a river and the process of transportation takes place in the lower course of a river.

Meanders And Oxbow Lakes

Meanders are formed by lateral erosion. Even a minor obstruction diverts the course of a river and forms amender. The meander breaks its course during floods and the river very soon regains its original position and flows ahead . the loop. That was formed earlier separates from the main course of a river and forms an oxbow lake.

Natural Leeves

Some sediments are deposited near the banks along the river. These areas rise higher than the flood plains due to frequent floods. These higher areas are known as natural leeves.

Delta

When  water comes down from a hill, it washes sand and mud from the beds and banks of rivers. When it reaches near the sea, it flows over a wide flat land and drops all the sand and mud there. This newly created land is called delta. This area is very fertile.

Glaciers And Valleys

Glaciers are frozen lakes of ice. They are formed when the snow pile up along the hollows of the mountain side. Valleys are depressions in the Earth’s surface. These depressions are surrounding by hills and mountains. They flow down to streams, lakes or oceans due to water or ice erosions.

Types Of Glacier

There are two main types of glaciers; continental glaciers and alpine glaciers. Continental glaciers are vast sheets of ice that speed across vast regions Sometimes, these glaciers  move due to pressure of ice. Continental glaciers can be found in Greenland and Antarctica. Alpine glaciers or mountain glaciers are huge masses of ice sliding down from the mountain glaciers. These types of glaciers can be found in Himalayas, the Alps, the Andes and the Rocky mountains etc.

U Shaped Valley

When a glaciers flows down through a valley in a mountains region, the sides of the valley get eroded. The flowing ice causes friction and erodes the sides of the valley. Thus a U-shaped valley is formed U- shaped valleys have a wide floor.

V Shaped Valley

When a river flows with high speed in the mountains regions, the big pointed rocks begin to flow with great speed along the moving water which leads to the formation of a deep valley known as a V-Shaped valley.

Speed Of Glacier

The speed of a glacier depends on the thickness of the accumulated ice, the temperature of the region and the slope of that particular land from where it moves  down. A glacier moves at a speed of 1 to 5 meters a day.

Oceans

Nearly 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with oceans. These are five main oceans in the world: the Pacific, The Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic and the southern ocean which is also known as the Antarctic Ocean. The computerized water crafts moving under the oceans have revealed that oceans have varied  landscape with high mountains, plains and valleys. Most of the seas are part of  the oceans. At thee edge of the oceans, there are shelves of the seas are part of the oceans. At the edge of  the oceans, there are shelves  of shallow waters. These shelves of shallow waters are known as continental shelves.

Island

Islands are lands surrounded by oceans from all the sides. There are many islands in the Pacific Oceans. These are surrounded by coral reefs. New islands are formed when volcanoes erupt under the sea.

Pacific Ocean

The pacific Ocean is the world’s largest ocean and is twice as large as Atlantic Ocean. The word pacific means calm thus  this ocean is very quiet. The deepest point on the earth’s surface is the challenges Deep in the Marianas Trench in the west Pacific Oceans. It is 10,920m deep.

Tides

The oceans are in constant movement. The movements of oceans are greatly affected by the wind and the Moon. The oceans are greatly affected by the wind  and the Moon. The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun causes the sea level to rise and fall twice in a day. Huge tides are harnessed regularly by the tidal power stations in order to produce hydro-electricity.

Icebergs

Icebergs are vast layers of ice spread  from poles over the oceans and the lands.Icebergs are huge masses of ice that break off from a glacier known as calkin and fall into a nearly water body. They are white, blue, green and sometimes even black in colour. The largest icebergs are found  in the  Antarctica. Gradually with time ice- bergs are decreasing in size as they are being constantly exposed to heat and are thus melting down slowly.

Where Are Icebergs Found ?

Icebergs are generally found at the poles, in the mountains areas like the alps and the Himalayas. Ice bergs in the Antarctic regions are flatter than those found in the  Arctic region. The biggest ice-bergs was spotted in 1956 which was 335 km long and 97 km wide.