Valleys
A valley is a hollow or surface depression of the earth bounded by hills or mountains, a natural trough in the earth's surface which slopes down to a stream, lake or the ocean, formed by water and/or ice erosion (National geographic, Erosion). Valleys can run through the mountains, hill formations and can even run through plains. Water erosion is caused by the wind and rain loosening the materials that line the valley walls/slopes and the loosened materials fall into the moving water and are carried away (Valleys: face of the earth). The streams and rivers that form and shape valleys they run through and drain into a larger body of water such as a lake or ocean.
The constant movement of water and soil create very fertile soil at the bottom of most valleys and make it ideal for farmland. The area that has the very rich soil is called the floodplain and when the water levels are high due to heavy rain the floodplain becomes floodplain becomes flooded hence, the name (Valleys: face of the earth). Since valleys run between other land forms they have sides called valley wall or valley slopes. Valleys are not always shaped by rivers or streams, they can also be formed by the movement of large ice formations called glaciers.
Glaciers tend to move larger amounts of debris and rock as they move through an area and result in narrow, steep valleys that are characteristically U-shaped whereas valleys that are formed by streams and rivers tend to be broader and more V-shaped (Valleys: face of the earth). Another natural process by which valleys are formed is by the movement in the Earth’s crust called tectonic plate movement. Valleys can be formed really quickly or it can take a long time since rivers and streams cutting through a pass is the main way that valleys are formed the rate at which the river will create a deepened valley will depend on how quickly the river flows and how easily the material is removed from the sides of the hill or mountain (Valleys: face of the earth).
A valley is a hollow or surface depression of the earth bounded by hills or mountains, a natural trough in the earth's surface which slopes down to a stream, lake or the ocean, formed by water and/or ice erosion (National geographic, Erosion). Valleys can run through the mountains, hill formations and can even run through plains. Water erosion is caused by the wind and rain loosening the materials that line the valley walls/slopes and the loosened materials fall into the moving water and are carried away (Valleys: face of the earth). The streams and rivers that form and shape valleys they run through and drain into a larger body of water such as a lake or ocean.
The constant movement of water and soil create very fertile soil at the bottom of most valleys and make it ideal for farmland. The area that has the very rich soil is called the floodplain and when the water levels are high due to heavy rain the floodplain becomes floodplain becomes flooded hence, the name (Valleys: face of the earth). Since valleys run between other land forms they have sides called valley wall or valley slopes. Valleys are not always shaped by rivers or streams, they can also be formed by the movement of large ice formations called glaciers.
Glaciers tend to move larger amounts of debris and rock as they move through an area and result in narrow, steep valleys that are characteristically U-shaped whereas valleys that are formed by streams and rivers tend to be broader and more V-shaped (Valleys: face of the earth). Another natural process by which valleys are formed is by the movement in the Earth’s crust called tectonic plate movement. Valleys can be formed really quickly or it can take a long time since rivers and streams cutting through a pass is the main way that valleys are formed the rate at which the river will create a deepened valley will depend on how quickly the river flows and how easily the material is removed from the sides of the hill or mountain (Valleys: face of the earth).