8.4 Landforms and Florida Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

8.4 Landforms and Florida

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Unit 8 Lesson 4 Landforms and Florida

Florida Benchmark


• SC.6.E.6.2 Recognize that there are a variety of different landforms on Earth’s surface such as coastlines, dunes, rivers, mountains, glaciers, deltas, and lakes and relate these landforms as they apply to Florida.

Build, Break, and Move


What is a mountain?

A mountain is a region of increased elevation on Earth’s surface that rises to a peak.

• Mountains form through the collision of tectonic plates and from volcanic eruptions.

• Mountains have elevations of at least 300 meters.


What is a mountain?

Florida does not have any mountains.

• Mountains are important sources of sediment, which is pieces of rock that have been broken down from existing rock over time.



What is a glacier?

A glacier is a mass of gradually moving or flowing ice.

An ice sheet is a very large glacier that covers a large area.

About 18,000 years ago, a large ice sheet in North America caused changes in sea level and created sediments.



Let’s Hit the Water!


What is a lake?

A lake is a body of fresh or salt water that is surrounded by land.

• Lakes can be a part of a larger water system called a watershed.

• Sinkhole lakes can form when underground caverns collapse and later fill in with water.


Several natural factors influence the change in the level of a lake. They include rainfall, drainage of surface waters such as rivers and streams, exchange of water with underground aquifers, and evaporation.

The collapse of lakebed would be the cause of the disappearance of a lake.

What is a river?

• Rivers transport sediment.

A river is a large natural stream of water that flows into an ocean or other large body of water, such as a lake.

• Rivers change course over time as they break down river banks and deposit sediment.



What is a delta?

A delta is a deposit, formed by sediment, that accumulates at the mouth of a river.

• Deltas form as rivers slow down when they reach other bodies of water. Sediments that were carried in the water are deposited.

Most Florida rivers do not form large or significant deltas. The Apalachicola River in the Florida panhandle is an exception.



When there has been little rain and the water level of the river is low there is little movement of the sediments.

Surf’s Up


What is a coastline?

• Coastlines are constantly changing, or dynamic.

A coastline is a dynamic boundary between land and the ocean.

• Waves, wind, sediment supply, tides, and the geology of the region can affect the characteristics of coastlines.


What is a dune?

A dune is a mound of wind-deposited sand.

• Dunes are found in desert and coastal regions.

The shape of a beach, the sand supply, the wind direction, and the type of sand can determine the types of dunes formed along coastlines.



What is a dune?

• Dunes offer protection for many species of plants and animals.

• Human activities and natural processes can cause dunes to disappear.

• Conservation efforts are often used to protect dunes from disappearing.



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8.4 Landforms and Florida Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company