1. Russia’s Varied Landscape: Physical Processes at Work
Chapter 17
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3. Preview

4. Analyzing the map of Russia
What are some forces that can act upon the land and alter its shape?
How might these forces have created some of the geographic features shown on your map?

7. Reading notes Read the sections (3,5,7 and 9)
Label the diagram that corresponds to the physical process
Answer the question for that section

8. 3 – How tectonic movement shapes earth

10. 5- How volcanic activity shapes earth

12. 7- How erosion shapes the landscape

14. 9- How glaciation shapes the landscape

16. How Tectonic Movement Shapes Earth
In the early 1900s no one knew what caused earthquakes
We know they are caused by plates

17. The Continents and Oceans Rest on Plates
Plates move in three ways
We feel this movement as earthquakes
Tectonic plates – huge pieces of earth’s lithosphere

18. The Movement of the Plates Creates Mountains
Plates collide and create mountains
Fold mountains – the crust folds and wrinkles
Faults – cracks between the blocks
Fault lines – fault lines that create mountains
Fault-block mountains – mountains created when blocks slide upward

19. Signs of Tectonic Movement in Russia
Russia’s landscape is varied because of tectonic movement
Landmass – a large unbroken area of land
Ural Mountains – fold mountains that run through Russia from north to south
Caucasus Mountains – fold mountains in southwest Russia
West Sayan Mountains – fault-block mountains in southern Siberia

20. How Volcanic Activity Shapes Earth
Volcanoes can reshape the landscape

21. Volcanoes Form Below Earth’s Surface
Volcanoes occur along the edge of tectonic plates
Magma pushes its way to the surface through cracks in the crust
Lava – the liquid rock when magma erupts from a volcano

22. Volcanic Explosions Alter the Landscape
Some eruptions are quiet and some are forceful
Crater – a large hole created after a violent eruption

23. Signs of Volcanic Activity in Russia
One of the most active earthquake zones because two plates meet under the easternmost Russia
The Kliuchevskoi Volcano – most active volcano in Russia and erupted in 1994
The Maly Semyachik Volcano – has a large crater filled with bright, blue water
The Krenitsyn Volcano – this volcano has erupted many times, at the base of the volcano is a hole called Ring Lake

24. How Erosion Shapes the Landscape
Landslides can also reshape earth’s surface

25. Wind, Water, Ice and Gravity Cause Erosion
Wind erodes land by picking up tiny grains of dirt and carrying them to distant places
V-Shaped Valleys – moving water erodes the land creating deep fast moving rivers
Glaciers reshape the land as sheets of ice carve out valleys and create new landforms by depositing rock and soil
Gravity is a constant force because everything eventually moves downhill

26. Floods Build Up Land
When rivers flood they deposit a fresh layer of soil
Floodplain – the area left behind when the rivers return to its banks

27. Signs of Erosion in Russia
The flat plains of Russia are the results of erosion
The Volga River – Europe’s longest river that flows through Russia and empties into the Caspian Sea
Sediment – soil or sand carried by rivers as they flow
The Amur River – forms a natural boundary between Russia and China and created flat, fertile floodplains
The Lena River – flows northward through Siberia and often forms blocks of ice

28. How Glaciation Shapes the Landscape
Glaciers are sheets of ice that cover about 1/10 of earth’s surface

29. Two Kinds of Glaciers Geographers identify two types of glaciers
Continental glaciers – huge sheets of ices in low areas near the poles
Alpine glaciers – form in high mountain valleys where snowfall is plentiful and temperatures are low

30. Glaciers Reshape the Land as They Move
Glaciers move slowly but grind rock into soil and push great loads of rock and dirt over long distances
Moraines – piles of rock and dirt pushed into mounds
Horns – pointed peaks on mountaintops
U-Shaped Valleys – carve V-shaped valleys into broad U-shaped valleys

31. Signs of Glaciation in Russia
Parts of Russia were covered by glaciers during the last ice age and have shaped the landscape
The Kolka Glacier – located in the Caucasus Mountains on Mount Kazbek
Avalanche – sudden movement of large rocks or ice down a mountainside
The Amanauzsky Glacier – located in the Western Caucasus Mountains creating a large valet between two jagged mountains
The Glaciated Yamal Peninsula – glaciers left behind holes throughout this peninsula