RELIEFS OF AMERICA: TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The reliefs of America contemplate a series of important geographical features. With 8% of the total surface of the Earth, America has ancient geological structures at its eastern point that originated before the separation of Pangea. Geographically, America is the second largest continent on the planet.

Its extension goes from Cape Morris Jesup (Canada) to the Drake Passage, which separates the continent from Antarctica. Due to the movements of the tectonic plates, in the west are the mountain ranges that go from north to south, and in the center are the plains, which arose from the different sedimentation processes.

America is organized into three subcontinents: North America, Central America, and South America. Both the first and the last are linked by a small fraction of land that was formerly part of an island arc, until it emerged to become continuous land.

For some scholars, the most important feature of America - in terms of relief - is that it is basically made up of a series of mountain ranges, which cross the entire region and which have particular features depending on their location.

characteristics

- The American territory is almost entirely above sea level. The lowest point is in the Carbon Lagoon, 105 meters below sea level.

- Part of the structure in North America and South America is made up of the oldest shields on the planet: the Canadian shield and the Guiana-Brazilian shield.

- In the west of the continent, a mountainous system made up of mountain ranges, formed by movements in the tectonic plates in the Tertiary Era, predominates. It includes the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Madre and the Andes Mountains.

- Although the mountain ranges extend over almost the entire continent, they only lose continuity in Central America.

- An important volcanic activity is concentrated in Central America.

- The relief of the continent has presented changes thanks to eruptions and glaciers.

- There are important mountain ranges and massifs, such as the Laurentian plateau, the Appalachian mountains, the Ozark plateau, the Guiana massif, the Brazilian plateau and the Mato Grosso.

- Among the changes that the mountain ranges and shields produced, in the middle of the continent the plains stand out, which represent important fluvial sources for the region, such as the Great Central Plain in North America or the Chacopampean plain in the south.

- The Antilles are part of an island arc and are home to valleys, mountains, plains and plateaus.

- The mountainous area has high seismic (due to the collision of continental tectonic plates) and volcanic activity. Because of this, from a geological point of view, it is an active zone.

- Landslides are a common phenomenon, even more so for urban settlements.

- North America, Central America and South America show similarities in terms of the shape and type of relief.

- The Rocky-Andes system in the longest chain of mountains in the world.

- The continent includes both young and very old formations.

Organization

To better understand the organization of the relief of America, it can be organized into three large groups:

On the shores of the Pacific

There are the Andes Mountains (South America), Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre del Sur (Mexico) and the Rocky Mountains in North America.

To the East

The oldest formations are found: the Canadian Shield and the Appalachian Mountains, the Guyana Shield and the Brazilian Shield.

In the middle

The American plains are located: central plains, the Venezuelan plains and the Amazon plain.

Types

Mountains

Constituted in the form of mountain ranges, some extend in a parallel way from north to south. As mentioned before, the Rocky Mountains in North America and the Andes Mountains stand out in the south of the continent.

The Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre del Sur in Mexico also stand out. This area is also characterized by being mountainous and with the presence of volcanoes; this is why this area is, to some extent, unstable.

As for mountainous massifs, there are the Appalachian Mountains and the Guiana massif.

Plains

There are large plains caused by sedimentation. They are crossed by important rivers, such as the Mississippi, the Paraná, the Paraguay and the Amazon.

Plateaus

These include the Bolivian highlands, those found in Patagonia and Mato Grosso in Brazil.

Relief in North America

The North American distribution is as follows:

- Canadian Arctic.

- Region of the Great Basin.

- Great Plains.

- Great Lakes.

In this part of the continent are the following structures:

Alaska

In Alaska there are mountains that extend from the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory in Canada. It is considered the highest point in North America.

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains, with an extension of 3000 km, are located in the central part of Alabama, passing through New England and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Some of the most important are: Cumberland, Blue Ride, Catskills, Green and White.

Canadian shield

It is located in northeastern Canada and in the vicinity of the Great Lakes. The relief of this area is characterized by having a strong structure, as well as a rocky surface. There is a presence of coniferous forests, although further north - due to the cold climate - the area is tundra.

Originally, the place was home to very high mountains and with great volcanic activity that has been eroded over the millennia. This is in contrast to the flat surface it currently has.

Cost line

Mountains surround the Pacific Ocean coastline in California, Oregon, and Washington. They also extend to British Columbia in Canada.

Coastal plain

This area in the southeastern United States is characterized by its plains and by a combination of landforms, such as deltas, bogs, and swamps.

Great Plains

They stretch from the Rocky Mountains to the Canadian Shield. They have areas with few trees, some valleys and smaller mountains, such as those of Boston or those of Ouachita.

Rocky Mountains

They stretch about 6000 kilometers from New Mexico, the United States, to British Columbia in Canada. Some of the most important mountains found there are Absaroka, Bear River, Beaverhead, Big Belt, Canadian, Columbia, Guadalupe, and Lewis.

North America-Mexico

In this area you can find the mother mountains. They are made up of three large structures and a smaller one:

- Sierra Madre Occidental, located in Mexico and parallel to the Pacific coast.

- Sierra Madre Oriental, located parallel to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

- Sierra Madre del Sur, located in southern Mexico, between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca.

It should be noted that there are also the Sierra de Baja California and Sierra Nevada. In the center, where the Great Plains are located, is the Mesa del Centro de México.

Relief in Central America

The mother mountains also extend to Central America, creating a relief where forests and volcanoes predominate.

In the area there is a chain of mountains called the Central American mountain range that, although it is the same structure, receives different names in the countries it is found:

- Central Mountain Range in the Dominican Republic.

- Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica.

- Cordillera Isabelia between Honduras and Nicaragua.

- The Mayan Mountains in Belize.

- Sierra de Bahoruco in Haiti.

- Sierra de Tabasara in Panama.

- Sierra Maestra in Cuba.

In the same area are the Antilles, a group of islands that have mountains, plains and plateaus that represent an important tourist attraction in that part of the continent.

Relief in South America

The first thing that stands out in the region is the Cordillera de los Andes, a chain of mountains over 7000 kilometers long. In this mountain range is the source of important rivers.

The highest point of the mountain range (Mount Aconcagua in Argentina) is home to the largest volcanoes in the world and is an important source of income for the region due to tourism and agriculture.

Other formations that can be found are the following:

Guiana-Brazilian Shield

It corresponds to one of the oldest land formations in the world where fluvial sources that go to the Amazon River converge.

Plains

Of fertile and extensive lands, the plains are located from the east and center of Colombia, to the southwest of Venezuela.

Pampas

Another important plain in the south of the continent is the Pampa, which extends from the center of Argentina for a little more than 1000 kilometers.

Marshland

It is located in the southwest of Brazil with an area of ​​approximately 195 thousand square kilometers. This place is home to a significant number of plant species and a variety of animals.

Patagonia

It is located between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean and extends to Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan. The main scene of this area is mountainous and barren land.

Land of Fire

It is made up of an archipelago of a group of large and small islands: the Big Island of Tierra del Fuego and the Island of the States are the main ones.

It borders the Strait of Magellan, which serves communication between the Pacific and the Atlantic.

References

1. Central America Geography. (sf). In WorldAtlas. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In WorldAtlas at worldatlas.com.
2. Canadian Shield. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.
3. American geography. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.
4. Landforms of North America, Mountain Ranges of North America, United States Landforms, Map of the Rocky Mountais. (sf). In WorldAtlas. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In WorldAtlas at worldatlas.com.
5. Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.
6. South America Geography. (sf). In WorldAtlas. Retrieved: March 7, 2018. In WorldAtlas at worldatlas.com.