CE 203-Class Note 2 (Part 2) - SKS
CE 203-Class Note 2 (Part 2) - SKS
CE 203-Class Note 2 (Part 2) - SKS
Geological Features
Example: Marianas Trench in the South Pacific Ocean is the deepest (>10.6 km)
trench.
Oceanic Trench
Most of Earth's deep-sea trenches are around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. This
map shows the locations of these deep-sea trenches.
Oceanic Ridge
Mid-ocean ridges are formed by rising magma along divergent
plate boundaries. New oceanic crust is formed along the
narrow ridge crest, where magma rises and solidifies.
They form a single, connected, volcanic mountain range over
thousands of km in length. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge extends
almost the entire length of the North and South Atlantic Ocean
and is one of the most prominent subterranean ocean floor
features. It rises 3000 meters above the ocean basin floor and
is closely monitored by scientists.
The Mid-Indian Ridge is another prominent feature, and it is actually a continuance of the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge system, stretching from below South Africa up to India and Egypt.
Source: Stormbreaker
Oceanic Ridge
The lavas may erupt out on to the surface, either from long fissures extending over a considerable part
of the Earth, or from centrally located chimney type vents. The former, normally quiet eruptions, are
called fissure type eruptions (also called mass type eruptions) ; and the latter, generally violent
explosive eruptions, are called central type eruptions.
Volcano
Violent naturally occurring central type eruptions where hot lava comes out through a central vent
regularly or occasionally, are called volcanoes. A frequently erupting volcano is known as active
volcano ; one with rare eruptions is called a dormant volcano; while the volcanoes which have stopped
their eruptions since a long geological time, are called extinct or dead volcano.
Source: TED-Ed
Volcanic Hazards
Eruptive style and hazard depends on:
Tectonic setting
Depth of magma formation
Rate of magma movement to the surface
Percent and type of volatiles (gases)
Volcanic Landforms
Volcanic cones
Flood basalts
Calderas
Volcanic Landforms (Cones)
Stratocones or Composite cones are imposing volcanic mountains, with sloping peaks rising
several thousand meters above the landscape. They can range anywhere from 1-10 km in diameter.
Stratocones are made up of layers of lava, volcanic ash, and fragmented rocks. These layers are
built up over time as the volcano erupts through a vent or group of vents at the summit’s crater.
Composite volcanoes are believed to kill the most people because of their deadly nature and high
numbers. Example: Mount ‘Fuji’.
Volcanic Landforms (Cones)
In a Cinder cone, lava erupts from a small vent in the crust and 'sprays' melted rock fragments
(pyroclasts) into the air where they then fall back to earth in a pile. These rock fragments are
glassy, gas-filled chunks of lava called cinders that cool rapidly as they sail through the air and
land close to the vent opening, slowly accumulating in the geometric shape of a cone. Cinder cones
tend to be small, hill-sized volcanoes that range in height from tens to hundreds of meters high.
Examples: Hawaiian volcanoes, Cones in Utah, USA.
Volcanic Landforms (Cones)
Slow and gradual accumulation of thin layers of lava build up over long periods of time, forming a
long, Shield-shaped volcano. Gentle sloping sides. Shield volcanoes can be huge because of their
ample supply of magma. For example, Mauna Loa is a shield volcano that rises more than 30,000
feet above its base on the bottom of the ocean.
Volcanic Landforms (Flood basalts)
A flood basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or
series of eruptions that coats large stretches of land or the
ocean floor with basalt lava. Eleven distinct flood basalt
episodes occurred in the past 250 million years, resulting
in large volcanic provinces, creating plateaus and mountain
ranges on earth.
They are formed by flow of very low viscosity magma,
which is why they 'flood' rather than form taller volcanoes.
The Deccan Traps of central India, the Siberian Traps, and
the Columbia River Plateau of western North America are
three regions covered by prehistoric flood basalts
Volcanic Landforms (Flood basalts)
Deccan Traps located in west-central India are one of the largest volcanic features on Earth.
They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than 2 km
thick, today covering an area of 500,000 km2 Deccan Traps began forming 66 million years
ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period and eruptions took place less than 30,000 years.
Volcanic Landforms (Calderas)
A caldera is a large hollow space that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a
volcano eruption. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma
chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface
The depressions formed in the Earth's crust by tectonic movements (displacements) like folding,
faulting etc, may result in the formation of basins for such lakes. This type of lakes are generally
quite permanent.
Barrier Lakes
The crater or caldera of an extinct volcano may get filled up with water, and thus acting as a
lake basin, called volcanic lake or crater lake.
Meteoric Lakes
In arid regions (deserts), sometimes, the winds may erode down the land surface to such an
extent that the water table is exposed to form an oasis. The lake so formed at the site of the
depression may be called as an oasis lake.
Ox-bow Lakes
The lake formed on the upstream side of an artificial dam constructed across a river may be
called as an artificial lake.
Lakes Summary