Precedents to Geography ~ Part 4
It’s another part of Precedents to Geography, and read the last ones if you haven’t done so already.
Today’s article is going to be different. I am going to be talking about landforms and bodies of water and provide pictures of actual geographical locations to go alongside the descriptions.
Landforms such as canyons and oceans weren’t always here on earth. From the Bible, we know that the world before the Flood didn’t have any rain or environmental extremes anywhere. Additionally, creationist scientists believe that mountains or canyons were formed during the great catastrophe of the Flood. Most likely, the geographical formation of the earth changed during the Flood. Below I will begin to describe different formations of the earth. Note: I apologize for the strange formatting and placement of the pictures; this program is hard to place pictures in.
Mountains and Hills
Everyone has seen a mountain before, and it is basically a piece of land that has steep sides and rises
to over 2,000 feet. The peak or summit is basically the highest point of a mountain. Mountains have a highland climate that grows colder as one goes up. Mount Everest is commonly known as the tallest mountain in the world, but scientists dispute this fact because the bottom of Everest is under sea level. Many scientists state that Mauna Kea in Hawaii or Chimborazo in Ecuador is actually the tallest mountain in the world because they were measured from sea level. But Mount Everest is
mostly stated as the world’s tallest mountain in history and geography books. The shortest mountain is Mount Wycheproof in Victoria, Australia. Because it is so small, it’s also considered as a hill. Mountains make up mountain ranges and act as natural boundaries. The longest mountain range is actually the Mid-Oceanic Range which is mostly underwater. Mountains and mountain ranges alike have been factors that affected history. Hills are unlike mountains in that they range from 500 to 2,000 feet, have a rounded top, and have sides that are not as steep. The tallest hill is Cavanal Hill near Poteau, Oklahoma.
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| Mount Everest |
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| Mount Chimborazo |
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| Mauna Kea |
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| Cavanal Hill |
A plateau is another highland climate that has steep sides and a flat top. One can find gorges and canyons near the plateau. The largest and tallest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau in China. Mesas are smaller versions of plateaus and they are usually more rounded in shape. Buttes are even smaller than mesas.
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| Tibetan Plateau |
Valleys are located between to taller pieces of land such as mountains and hills. Any rivers or streams flowing through these will run from the upper ground (the mountains or hills) toward the lower ground (plains and eventually the sea). Plains are fertile and flat pieces of land that are used to grow crops. There are scarcely any changes in elevation on these types of formations. The West Siberian Plain in Russia is known as the largest area of continuous flat land.
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| West Siberian Plain |
Deltas and Estuaries
Some land formations are created due to the streams flowing from higher ground to lower ground. The delta is a triangular shaped land formation that is created at the mouth of the sea. Most of the times, the river separates into different streams throughout this “triangle.” Although the most commonly known delta is probably the Nile Delta in Egypt, the largest delta is actually the Ganges or Brahmaputra Delta in India. Estuary is the term for where the ocean meets the river.
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| Ganges or Brahmaputra Delta |
Peninsulas, Islands, and Isthmuses
The peninsula is a landform that is surrounded by water on three sides, and is different from an island which is completely surrounded by water. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. This peninsula is the site of many different countries and the Persian Gulf Wars. Greenland which is located in the North Atlantic is the world’s largest island, and the world’s smallest island is Bishop Rock near Sicily. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting to larger bodies of land. The location of the Panama Canal today once was the Isthmus of Panama which would be the world’s largest isthmus had it survived.
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| Arabian Peninsula |
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| Greenland |
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| Bishop Rock |
These definitions are pretty straightforward. Streams are bodies of water that flow places and they combine to make rivers. The largest river is the Amazon River in Brazil and the longest river is the Nile River in Egypt. The shortest river is the Roe River in Montana. On the way to a larger water source, streams are fed by tributaries. The Missouri River is the world’s longest tributary as it feeds the Mississippi River.
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| Amazon River |
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| Nile River |
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| Roe River |
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| Missouri River |
Lakes, Reservoirs, and Waterfalls
A lake is basically a pool of water that is completely surrounded by land. Lakes also provide a great ecosystem for many different types of animals. The world’s largest lake is the Caspian Sea. I don’t know how this body of water got named incorrectly but the Caspian Sea is actually a lake and is
located in Europe near Russia. A reservoir is a man-made lake created by damming a stream. The largest reservoir is Lake Kariba in Southern Africa. This is the last category of formations that I will discuss in this article. A waterfall is a river that falls off a shelf of rock into a pool of water below. The world’s largest waterfall is Victoria Falls in Africa. This natural wonder was discovered by the Scottish missionary, David Livingstone.
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| Caspian Sea |
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| Lake Kariba |
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That was a lot to write and, I’m sure, to read as well. I hope that each of my readers will take away a new appreciation for the geography of our world. Even the variety of formations is a testament to God’s knowledge and creativity. Just take a look around you. God created so many wonderful things that we can enjoy; we enjoy so many blessings each day. On that note, here’s a closing quote by Charles Spurgeon:
“Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?”
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