Grade by Grade
A. Physical Patterns in a Changing World · Physical Patterns in a Changing World

Landforms Around the World

A3.1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe the physical characteristics of mountains, plateaus, plains and valleys.
  • I can locate some major landforms on a world map and describe where they are.
  • I can explain why landforms are a pattern geographers study.

Words to know

landform
A natural shape of Earth's surface, such as a mountain, plateau, plain or valley.
relief
The difference in height between the high and low points of an area.
elevation
Height above sea level, measured in metres.
mountain
A landform that rises steeply far above the land around it, with a peak or ridge at the top.
plateau
A large, high area of fairly flat land, often with steep sides.
plain
A large area of flat or gently rolling, low land.
valley
A long, low area of land between hills or mountains, often with a river in it.
physical feature
A natural part of the environment, such as a landform, a body of water, the climate or the natural vegetation.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you learned about Canada's physical regions, like the Cordillera, the Interior Plains and the Canadian Shield. You learned that a landform is a natural shape of the land, and you looked at a cross-section: a side view that shows how the land goes up and down.

In Grade 7 you zoom out to the whole world. You will find patterns: where the big mountains are, where the wide plains are, and why they are there.

Let's start with a question

If you could stand on the highest point on Earth, you would be on top of Mount Everest in the Himalayas, about 8 849 m above sea level. If you drove across southern Saskatchewan, you could see for kilometres over flat farmland. Both places are on the same planet. Why is Earth's surface so different from place to place?

Geographers start by describing landforms: how high they are, how steep, how flat, and where they are.

A straight gravel road runs between golden wheat and yellow canola fields across flat land under a big blue sky.
The Interior Plains of southern Saskatchewan: flat land and a horizon that seems to go on forever. Compare this with the high, steep Himalayas. AI-generated image

Four main landforms

  • Mountains rise steeply above the land around them. They usually come in long chains called mountain ranges. They have peaks, ridges and steep slopes. Example: the Rocky Mountains in western Canada and the United States.
  • Plateaus are high but flat on top, like a table. They often have steep edges called cliffs or escarpments. Example: the Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas.
  • Plains are low and flat or gently rolling. Rivers often flow slowly across them. Many of the world's farms are on plains. Example: Canada's Interior Plains (the Prairies).
  • Valleys are long, low areas between higher land, often with a river or a lake at the bottom. Example: the Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa.

There are other landforms too: hills (lower and rounder than mountains), canyons (deep, narrow valleys with steep walls), deltas (flat land at a river's mouth) and islands.

mountainplateauvalleyplainseaside view, not to scale
A side view of four landforms: a pointed mountain, a high flat plateau, a valley with water at the bottom, and a low flat plain beside the sea. Not to scale.
LandformExampleWhere it isWhat it is like
MountainsHimalayasAsia (Nepal, India, China, Bhutan and others)The world's highest mountains, including Mount Everest
MountainsAndesAlong the west side of South AmericaA very long mountain chain with many volcanoes
MountainsRocky MountainsWestern Canada and the United StatesHigh, rugged peaks; part of Canada's Cordillera
PlateauTibetan PlateauAsia, north of the HimalayasA huge, very high, fairly flat area
PlainInterior Plains (Prairies)Central Canada and the central United StatesFlat to rolling land, rich soil, lots of farms
ValleyGreat Rift ValleyEastern AfricaA long, wide valley where the land is pulling apart
Some major landforms of the world.

Thinking like a geographer: patterns

When you look at a physical map of the world, landforms are not scattered randomly. There are patterns:

  • Many of the highest mountains form long chains near the edges of continents, such as the Andes along the Pacific coast of South America and the Rockies in western North America.
  • Huge plains often lie in the middle of continents, like the Interior Plains of North America.
  • Old, worn-down areas like the Canadian Shield are rocky and fairly low, even though they are very old.

In the next lessons you'll find out why: moving plates build mountains, and water, wind and ice wear them down.

Worked example

Let's describe a landform like a geographer

Describe the Rocky Mountains using the four W's of a physical description: What is it? Where is it? What is it like (height, slope, shape)? Why does it matter to people?

  1. What: a mountain range, a long chain of mountains.
  2. Where: in western North America, running north–south from northern British Columbia through Alberta and into the United States.
  3. What it's like: high, steep, rocky peaks; many are above 3 000 m. The highest peaks have snow all year and glaciers. Valleys run between the ranges.
  4. Why it matters: the mountains make travel and building roads hard, but they attract tourists, hold glaciers that feed rivers, and contain minerals and forests.

The Rocky Mountains are a high, rugged mountain range in western North America with steep peaks, glaciers and deep valleys. They are a challenge for travel but an opportunity for tourism, water and resources.

Elevation is measured from the sea

Elevation is always measured from sea level (0 m). A city on a high plateau can be at a higher elevation than the top of a hill near the ocean. The highest point in Canada is Mount Logan in Yukon, at about 5 959 m.

0 m3 000 m6 000 m9 000 m8 849 mMount EverestHimalayas, Asia5 959 mMount LoganYukon, Canada's highestover 3 000 mMany RockyMountain peakssea level
Heights are measured up from sea level. Mount Everest is about 8 849 m, Mount Logan about 5 959 m, and many Rocky Mountain peaks are over 3 000 m. The heights are drawn to scale; the widths are not.
Hands-on activity

Kitchen-table landforms

You need: a large towel or blanket, some books or boxes, and a cup of water (optional). Do this on a table or the floor.

  1. Make a plateau: put a stack of books under the towel so the top is high and flat.
  2. Make a mountain range: bunch up the towel into a long ridge with a few peaks.
  3. Make a valley: leave a long low dip between two ridges.
  4. Make a plain: smooth out a wide flat area at one end.
  5. Point to each landform and describe it using the words elevation, steep or gentle, and flat or rugged.
  6. Bonus: find each type of landform in an atlas or online map and name a real example.

What to look for: your child uses the words correctly (a plateau is high and flat; a plain is low and flat) and gives a real example of each.

Just for fun

Riddle: I'm high but I'm flat, like a giant table, and you'd need a very tall chair to sit at me. What am I?

A plateau!

Your turn

1

What is the difference between a plateau and a plain?

2

Name the mountain range that contains Mount Everest. On which continent is it?

3

What is a mountain range?

4

Describe a valley in one sentence.

5

Which Canadian landform region is a large plain?

6

What does elevation mean, and what is it measured from?

7

Give one reason many farms are found on plains.

More practice: warm-up

1

Which landform is high and flat on top, like a table?

2

Which landform is low and flat or gently rolling?

3

What is the highest mountain in Canada?

4

On which side of South America are the Andes?

5

What is a deep, narrow valley with steep walls called?

More practice: on your own

1

Explain why the Tibetan Plateau is called a plateau and not a plain.

2

Describe one pattern in where the world's highest mountain chains are found.

3

Compare a mountain and a hill.

4

Why might roads and railways in mountains follow valleys?

5

A town is on a plateau at 1 500 m. A hill near the ocean is 300 m high. Which is at a higher elevation? Explain.

Challenge

1

Choose a landform type (mountain, plateau, plain or valley) and explain one challenge and one opportunity it gives people.

2

A classmate says, "Plains are boring, so they don't matter." Use what you know to argue that plains are important.

3

Use the words elevation, relief and slope to compare the Rocky Mountains with the Interior Plains.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which landform is high and flat?

2.

Mount Everest is in which mountain range?

3.

What is elevation measured from?

4.

Canada's Interior Plains are a good example of...

5.

Which is the best description of a valley?

6.

Where are the Andes?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The Ontario curriculum (A3.1) asks Grade 7 students to identify the location and describe the physical characteristics of landforms such as mountains, plateaus, plains and valleys around the world. This builds on Grade 4, when your child studied Canada's physical regions.

How to help: Look at a world atlas, a globe or an online physical map together. Ask, "Where are the high places? Where is it flat? What do you notice?" Practise describing a landform with what, where, what it is like, why it matters.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up plateau and plain: both are flat, but a plateau is high and a plain is low.
  • Thinking elevation is height above the ground nearby: it is height above sea level.
  • Giving descriptions without locations: geographers always say where.