General Studies 1

Mushroom Rocks A mushroom rock, also called rock pedestal or a pedestal rock, is a naturally occurring rock whose shape, as its name implies, resembles a mushroom. Formed by the sandblasting effect of winds against any projecting rock masses Messa … Continue reading →

Desert Desert – A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. About 1/5 of the world’s land is made up of deserts. Almost all the … Continue reading →

Outwash Plains When the glacier reaches its lowest point and melts, it leaves behind a stratified deposition material, consisting of rock debris, clay, sand, gravel etc. This layered surface is called till plain or an outwash plain and a downward … Continue reading →

Cirque Cirques are horseshoe shaped, deep, long and wide troughs or basins with very steep to vertically dropping high walls at its head as well as sides. Cirques are often found along the head of Glacial Valleys. The accumulated ice … Continue reading →

Youth Stage This stage is marked by the inward cutting activity of ice in a cirque.  Aretes and horns emerge in this stage. Mature Stage The valley glacier gets transformed into a trunk glacier and hanging valleys start emerging.  The … Continue reading →

Stalactite and Stalagmite The solution of water containing limestone seeps through the roof of caverns in the form of a continuous chain of drops. A portion of the drop hangs on from the roof and on evaporation of water, a … Continue reading →

What is it? Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum.  It is characterised by underground drainage systems. Karst is also most strongly developed where the water table is relatively low, … Continue reading →

Beaches Beaches are made up of eroded material that has been transported from elsewhere and then deposited by the sea.  For this to occur, waves must have limited energy. Constructive waves build up beaches as they have a strong swash … Continue reading →

Chasms These are narrow, deep indentations carved out through vertical planes of weakness in the rocks by wave action.  With time, further headward erosion is hindered by the chasm mouth, which itself keeps widening till a bay is formed. Sea … Continue reading →

Alluvial Fans An alluvial fan is a cone-shaped depositional landform built up by streams, heavy with sediment load. Alluvial fans are formed when streams flowing from mountains break into foot slope plains of low gradient. Normally a very coarse load … Continue reading →