Climate is what the weather pattern is like over  a long time. The seasonal pattern of hot and cold, wet or dry, is averaged over 30 years. The climate is different around the world as it is not heated evenly by the

WHAT SHAPES THE COASTS?

Coastlines are constantly changing: they are either being eroded or built up. The waves are very powerful and can remove a large amount of material from a coastline, specially during a storm. The sand and pebbles removed from the coastline are carried by the sea and can be dropped further along a coast or out at sea. Many coastal features can be made by steady erosion of the cliffs and headlands such as sand dunes, spits and salt marshes. A beach can make the waves less powerful and reduce the amount erosion of the coast. Steep cliffs and wave-cut platforms can be formed in areas of hard rock. A bay can be carved out in an area where hard rock between it.

River start on the top of hills as small streams channelling  the rainfall or as a spring releasing ground water. They begin to cut at and change the landscape on the way to the sea. In the highlands the water can move

Over 10,000 years ago about a third of the land surface was covered by ice. Today a tenth is still covered in ice. Ice sheets can cover very large areas and can be very thick. The world's largest ice sheet covers most of  

Glacier begin to from when more snow falls during the winter than melts and evaporates in summer. The excess snow gradually builds up in layer. its increasing weight causes the snow crystals under the surface to

After a rainfall, water fills the stream channels called wadi  1. The rapidly flowing water cuts away the rocks of desert mountains and carries sediments created fan-shaped known as alluvial fans 2. Sometimes, the streams carry water into low areas in the desert plains and form into temporary lakes. The water that collects in these lakes either evaporates or seeps into the ground. Water erosion also creates big flat-topped hills known as mesas 3. and smaller flat-topped hills called buttes 4.

Erosion is the natural process by which rock are broken loose from the Earth,s surface at one location and moved to another. Erosion changes land by wearing down mountains, filling in valleys, and making rivers

The continental margins forms the part of the seabed that borders the continents. It consist of (1) the continental sheft, (2) the continental slope, and (3) the continental rise.  The continental shelf is submerged

The bottom of the ocean has feature has varied as those on land. Huge plains spread out across the ocean floor, and long mountain chains rise toward the surface. Volcanoes erupt from ocean bottom, and deep

Plate tectonics is a theory that explains the origin of most of the major features of the Earth's surface. For example, the theory tells us why most volcanoes occur where they do, why there are high ridges and deep trenches in the oceans, and how mountains form. According to this theory, the Earth has an outer shell made up of about 30 rigid pieces called tectonic plates. Some of these plates are gigantic. For instance, most of Pacific Ocean covers a single plate. The plates move about on a layer of rock that is so hot it flows, even though it remains solid. They move at speeds up to about 4 inches (10 cm) per year.