Relief and Tectonics
Building relief
Relief is shaped by internal forces (tectonism, volcanism) and external forces (weathering, erosion, deposition). Endogenic processes raise land; exogenic processes wear it down. Know the main tectonic structures: shields and platforms (stable, old), fold belts (compressed strata, anticlines and synclines), fault blocks (horsts and grabens) and rift valleys.
Landform families
Mountains (fold, block, volcanic), plateaus, plains, hills and depressions each have characteristic profiles and origins. Fluvial landforms include valleys, gorges, meanders, floodplains, terraces, deltas and alluvial fans. Glacial landforms include cirques, arêtes, U-shaped valleys, moraines and drumlins. Karst features (sinkholes, caves, poljes) form by solution of limestone. Coastal landforms include cliffs, wave-cut platforms, spits and lagoons.
Reading relief and profiles
Be able to interpret contour maps, cross-sections, spot heights, and hypsometric (elevation) maps. Distinguish absolute elevation from relative relief (the difference between high and low points).
Traps
Watch for: calling any high area a mountain (plateaus and hills differ); confusing a graben (dropped block) with a horst (raised block); mixing erosion with deposition in explaining deltas; and assuming karst needs volcanic rock rather than soluble limestone.
Rule of thumb
Ask which process dominates: uplift creates the feature, erosion shapes it, deposition adds to it. A delta is deposition; a gorge is erosion; a cirque is glacial erosion.