Illustrated Geology Glossary (at 35,000 feet) - V

Glossary!

These are common geologic (and manmade/geographic features), as seen from 35,000 feet.

You can open any of these examples in Google Earth by clicking the Google Earth icon:

If you don't know the name of the feature you're looking for, go here: "What Was That?" (This is a tool that sorts features based on what they look like: mountains, rivers, valleys, piles of sand etc.)

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{V} back to top

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Valleys, Fault-Controlled - Faults often produce straight, steep valleys. Faults grind rocks together, creating a plane of weakness, which is more easily eroded than surrounding rock. This plane is a good place for a valley to form. (Note: Not all faults look like valleys, though. In fact, most do not.)

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Valleys, U-Shaped - A wide valley with steep sides - a cross-section of the valley would look like a U. These valleys are carved by glaciers, and are usually only seen in the northern regions of the U.S. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~12 miles, and so are each ~3 miles across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Valleys, V-Shaped - V-shaped valleys typically form from rivers. Their sides are gentle slopes straight down to the river below, unlike U-shaped glacial valleys that have very steep sides and a rounded, flat bottom. V-shaped valleys are common in recently-uplifted, young terrain; for example: in the western states. Older, more well-developed terrain rarely have V-shaped valleys. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.