Geography Chapter 03: Our Changing Earth

The lithosphere is broken into a number of plates known as the Lithospheric plates. The movement of these plates causes changes on the surface of the earth. The forces which act in the interior of the earth are called as Endogenic forces and the forces that work on the surface of the earth are called as Exogenic forces.

Sudden movements like earthquakes and volcanoes cause mass destruction over the surface of the earth. A volcano is a vent (opening) in the earth’s crust through which molten material erupts suddenly.

The landscape is being continuously worn away by two processes - weathering and erosion. Weathering is the breaking up of the rocks on the earth’s surface. Erosion is the wearing away of the landscape by different agents like water, wind and ice.