Chapter 3 Class 7th NCERT Geo

Our Changing Earth
The lithosphere is broken into a number of

plates known as the Lithospheric plates
Lithospheric plates:
The earth’s crust consists of several large and

some small, rigid, irregularly shaped plates
(slabs) which carry continents and the ocean
floor.
These plates move around very slowly – just a
few millimetres each year.
This is because of the movement of the

molten magma inside the earth.
Lithosphere Over Asthenosphere (Molten

Magma)
The molten magma inside the earth moves in

a circular manner.
As the water warms up, you will observe that the
paper pellet is moving upward along with the warm
layers of water and then sinks back along with the
cooler layers of water.
The molten magma inside the earth moves in a

similar manner. (Convectional Current)
The movement of these plates causes
changes on the surface of the earth.
The earth movements are divided on the

basis of the forces which cause them.
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
Endo (inside) Endogenic
+ Genic (Origin)
Exo (outside) Exogenic
1) Endogenic forces:
The forces which act in the interior of the earth.
Ex- Earthquakes and Volcanoes
2) Exogenic forces:
The forces that work on the surface of the earth.
Ex- River ,Wind Etc

Diastrophic Forces – Not Sudden
( Slowly)
Endogenic forces sometimes

produce sudden movements ( Like
earthquakes and volcanoes- cause
mass destruction over the surface
of the earth ) and at the other
times produce slow movements (
Like Building Mountains)
1)Endogenic forces:
Volcano
A volcano is a vent (opening) in the
earth’s crust through which molten
material erupts suddenly.
Earthquakes
When the Lithospheric plates move, the surface of the

earth vibrates whose vibrations can travel all round the
earth. These vibrations are called earthquakes.
Focus /Hypocentre
The place in the crust where the movement

starts is called the focus.
Epicentre
The place on the surface above the focus is

called the epicentre.
Greatest damage is usually closest to the
epicentre and the strength of the earthquake
decreases away from the centre.
Earthquakes cannot be predicted however,
the impact can certainly be minimised if we
are prepared before-hand.
Some common earthquake prediction

methods adopted locally by people include
studying animal behaviour; fish in the ponds
get agitated, snakes come to the surface.
Earthquake Preparedness
Where to take shelter during an Earthquake
1) Safe Spot – Under a kitchen counter, table or desk, against an

inside corner or wall.
2) Stay Away from – Fire places, areas around chimneys, windows

that shatter including mirrors and picture frames.
3) Be Prepared – Spread awareness amongst your friends and

family members and face any disaster confidently.
Seismograph & Richter scale
An earthquake is measured with a machine

called a Seismograph (Device)
The magnitude of the earthquake is

measured on the Richter scale (Scale)
An earthquake of 2.0 or less can be felt only a little.
An earthquake over 5.0 can cause damage from

things falling.
A 6.0 or higher magnitude is considered very strong
7.0 is classified as a major earthquakes.

Major Land Forms
The landscape is being continuously worn away by two processes
1) Weathering
2) Erosion
1) Weathering
It is the breaking up of the rocks on the
earth’s surface. (Temperature , Time Period)
2) Erosion
It is the wearing away of the landscape by different
agents like water, wind and ice.
The eroded material is carried away or transported

by water, wind, etc. and eventually deposited.
This process of erosion and deposition create

different landforms on the surface of the earth
A) Work of a River
Role Of River in the Formation Of Waterfall
When the River bed changes from

hard rock to Soft Rock.
The Running Water in the River

Erodes the Landscape,resulting in
the formation of Waterfall.
The running water in the river erodes the
landscape.
When the river tumbles at steep angle over

very hard rocks or down a steep valley side it
forms a waterfall.
NOTE
There are thousands of small waterfalls in
the world.
The highest waterfall is Angel Falls of

Venezuela in South America.
The other waterfalls are Niagara falls located

on the border between Canada and USA in
North America
Victoria Falls on the borders of
Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa
As the river enters the plain it twists and turns
forming large bends known as meanders. (Less
Slope)
Due to continuous erosion and deposition along

the sides of the meander, oxbow lake is created
over time.
Floodplain
When the river overflows its banks, it leads to
the flooding of the neighbouring areas.
The flooding results in deposition of layers of

fine soil and other material called sediments
along its banks which leads to the formation
of a flat fertile floodplain.
The raised banks are called levees.

As the river approaches the sea, the speed of the
flowing water decreases and the river begins to
break up.
The breaking of river into a number of streams

called distributaries.
The river becomes so slow that it begins to
deposit its load.
Each distributary forms its own mouth.
The collection of sediments from all the

mouths forms a delta.
Delta is a landform created at Mouth of the

river by the deposition of sediment that is
carried by the river .
Work of Sea Waves
The erosion and deposition of the sea waves gives

rise to coastal landforms.
Seawaves continuously strike at the rocks. Cracks

develop and with they become larger and wider.
Thus, hollow like caves are formed on the rocks

which are called sea caves.
Over time, these cavities become bigger and
bigger only the roof of the caves remain which
results in formation of sea arches.
Further, erosion breaks the roof and only walls
are left. These wall like features are called stacks.
The steep rocky coast rising almost vertically
above sea water is called sea cliff.
The sea waves deposit sediments along the
shores forming beaches.
Work of Ice
A Glacier is a large mass of ice continuously

moving over land surface which too erode the
landscape by bulldozing soil and stones to expose
the solid rock below.
Glaciers carve out deep hollows. As the ice melts,

they get filled up with water and become beautiful
lakes in the mountains.
The material carried by the glacier such as rocks
big and small, sand and silt gets deposited.
These deposits form glacial moraines.
Work of wind
An active agent of erosion and deposition in the deserts is

wind.
In deserts, rocks are present in the shape of a mushroom,

commonly called mushroom rocks.
Winds erode the lower section of the rock more than the
upper part.
Therefore, such rocks have narrower base and wider top.

When the wind blows, it lifts and transports sand
from one place to another.
When it stops blowing the sand falls and gets

deposited in low hill – like structures which are
called sand dunes.
When the grains of sand are very fine
and light, the wind can carry it over very
long distances.
When such sand is deposited in large

areas, it is called loess.
Large deposits of loess is found in China.

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Our Changing Earth

The lithosphere is broken into a number of

The earth’s crust consists of several large and

This is because of the movement of the

Lithosphere Over Asthenosphere (Molten

The molten magma inside the earth moves in

The molten magma inside the earth moves in a

The earth movements are divided on the

The forces which act in the interior of the

Ex- Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Ex- River ,Wind Etc

Endogenic forces sometimes

When the Lithospheric plates move, the surface of the

The place in the crust where the movement

The place on the surface above the focus is

Some common earthquake prediction

1) Safe Spot – Under a kitchen counter, table or desk, against an

2) Stay Away from – Fire places, areas around chimneys, windows

3) Be Prepared – Spread awareness amongst your friends and

An earthquake is measured with a machine

The magnitude of the earthquake is

An earthquake over 5.0 can cause damage from

A 6.0 or higher magnitude is considered very strong

7.0 is classified as a major earthquakes.

The landscape is being continuously worn away by two processes

The eroded material is carried away or transported

This process of erosion and deposition create

When the River bed changes from

The Running Water in the River

When the river tumbles at steep angle over

The highest waterfall is Angel Falls of

The other waterfalls are Niagara falls located

Due to continuous erosion and deposition along

The flooding results in deposition of layers of

The raised banks are called levees.

The breaking of river into a number of streams

Each distributary forms its own mouth.

The collection of sediments from all the

Delta is a landform created at Mouth of the

The erosion and deposition of the sea waves gives

Seawaves continuously strike at the rocks. Cracks

Thus, hollow like caves are formed on the rocks

A Glacier is a large mass of ice continuously

Glaciers carve out deep hollows. As the ice melts,

An active agent of erosion and deposition in the deserts is

In deserts, rocks are present in the shape of a mushroom,

Therefore, such rocks have narrower base and wider top.

When it stops blowing the sand falls and gets

When such sand is deposited in large

Large deposits of loess is found in China.

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