Activity 2
Landscapes and Landforms
Complete pages 5 and 6
Read the information
View the image or video
Visit the website
Learning Intention
Observe, identify and categorise landscapes and landforms using images and other sources from West Head.
Identify and explain the geomorphic processes shaping the landscapes and landforms of Palm Beach
Inquiry Questions:
What geographical features can be viewed from West Head?
What geomorphic processes are shaping the land at Palm Beach?
What are Landscapes and Landforms?
Read the information below answer question 1 in your workbook.
Landscapes
The visible features of an area, including: natural elements of landforms (such as mountains, valleys, coastlines) and water bodies (such as rivers, lakes, seas and oceans) living elements of land cover (including vegetation and wildlife) human elements (including different forms of land use, buildings and structures) changeable elements (such as weather conditions).
Landforms
The shape (morphology) and character of the land surface that results from the interaction of physical processes. For example, the action of water (fluvial action), action of wind, glacial action and weathering, and the movements within the earth's crust.
Coastal Landscapes
An environment in which water is the main geomorphic agent. Water, in the form of waves, can either gently lap or violently crash against the coastline. Wind can also be a geomorphic agent in this environment. Both water and wind create many coastal landforms such as cliffs, caves, beaches, dunes, reefs and islands.
Coastal Landforms near West Head
View the Google Earth flyover to identify the landforms at West Head and answer Q2 in your workbook.
Click on each of the icons in the 360 image below to learn identify the different observable landforms from West Head and answer Q2 in your workbook.
Field Sketch
Watch the video and read the instructions on how to complete a field sketch
Refresher - Drawing a Field Sketch
To draw a field sketch, follow these instructions:
Sit and study the view to be sketched.
Divide your page into a 3 x 3 grid.
Draw the horizon first and then the other main landforms
Add the next most obvious features
Add the details.
Label the main features
add a date and title.
Field Sketch.mp4View the image below and complete a field sketch of what you see in your workbook (Question 3). Label each of the landforms.
Geomorphic Processes
Read the information below to answer Q 4 in your workbook
Background Information
Landscapes develop because of the geomorphic processes that have taken place over time. Two of the most important agents of these processes are:
erosion (for example, the sand-blasting of wind in arid environments, the power of glaciers in alpine areas, running water in rivers and waves on coastlines)
deposition (for example, the laying down of silt deposits on the flood plain of a river in humid environments).
Some of these processes are the products of internal forces working in or below the earth’s surface. For example, volcanic eruptions which produce molten rock (volcanism) and earthquakes which involve movements along fault lines.
Other processes such as the movement of water and the action of wind also shape the earth’s surface into landform features. The movement of water can take the form of either liquid (for example, streams and rivers) or solid (for example, glaciers or ice sheets).
Credit - Australian Geography Teachers Association Resource: Landscapes and Landforms
Geomorphic Processes at Palm Beach
From West Head Lookout we are able to look out across the mouth of the Hawkesbury River to the north and east across Pittwater to Barrenjoey Headland and Palm Beach.
This provides us with an ideal opportunity to observe and identify the coastal processes that have shaped this area.
Long Shore Drift
Long shore drift is the movement of sand and other material along the beach. It happens when waves approach the beach at an angle and is dependant on prevailing winds and swash.
The long shore drift created the Palm Beach tombolo.
Erosion and Weathering
Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water.
A similar process, weathering, breaks down or dissolves rock, but does not involve movement.
The sea cliffs around Palm Beach have been shaped by wind and wave action
Deposition
Once eroded, material is transported away to another place by wind and waves.
At Palm Beach, the sand dunes have been shaped by the action of wind, wave and ocean currents.
Long shore drift has created an area of sand deposition at the northern end of the beach.
Annotated Field Sketch
Use the information and diagrams above to complete Q5 in your workbook.
In your booklet, draw a field sketch of the map below. Include the following:
A title
An arrow to show north
Annotations to identify and describe the processes of long shore drift, erosion and deposition at Palm Beach.
