Land

Land is the dry part of Earth.

It is not under the ocean. Most land is covered by rock and soil.

Land can look very different. It has tall mountains and flat plains. Some land has many trees. Other land is a dry desert.

Water helps shape the land. Rivers flow over the ground. They can carve rocks and move dirt.

Moving pieces deep inside Earth make new land. This can create mountains or cause shakes.

Land is a very important home. It holds the food we grow. It is where we live.

Land is the solid, dry surface of Earth. It is not under the ocean.

Land makes up about 29.2% of the surface. Most land is covered by regolith. This is a layer of rock, soil, and minerals.

Land comes in many shapes. These shapes are called landforms. You might see tall mountains or flat plains. Some land is covered in trees. One-third of all land has trees. Another third is used for farming. Some land is very dry. About 30 percent of land has a dry climate. This happens when water evaporates faster than rain falls.

Moving parts deep inside Earth shape the land. These parts are called tectonic plates. They move over the Earth's mantle. This movement can make mountains or cause earthquakes.

Water also changes the land. Rivers flow over the ground. They carve rocks and move dirt. This is called erosion. Over millions of years, water can make big canyons.

Land is the solid, dry surface of our planet. It is the part of Earth not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.

This surface makes up 29.2% of the Earth's total area. It includes all the continents and every island. Most of this surface is covered by regolith. Regolith is a layer of rock, soil, and minerals that sits on the outer crust.

Land is very important for our world's climate. It helps move carbon, nitrogen, and water around the planet.

Nature shapes the land in many different ways. One way is through plate tectonics. This is a process where large pieces of the Earth's outer shell move over the mantle. This movement can create huge mountain ranges or flat areas called cratons.

Another way is through erosion. This happens when wind, water, or ice move pieces of land from one place to another. For example, the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon over 70 million years.

Even heavy glaciers can change the ground. They can be so heavy that they warp the Earth's crust.

Scientists have studied how our world formed for a long time. The Earth began to form about 4.54 billion years ago.

Early in its history, the planet was very different. Volcanic activity and gases helped create the atmosphere and oceans. As the molten outer layer of the Earth cooled, the solid crust formed. Over millions of years, life began to move from the water onto the land. This allowed many different kinds of plants and animals to grow and change.

There are many different types of land across the globe. Some areas are very high, like Mount Everest at 8,848 metres. Other areas are very low, like the Dead Sea at minus 418 metres.

The land is also divided into different climates. About 30% of land has a dry climate. This happens because water evaporates faster than it falls as rain. We also see different uses for land, like one-third being covered in trees.

Another third is used for agriculture to grow food.

Land is more than just dirt and rocks. It includes all the natural resources like rivers, lakes, and groundwater. It also includes the biosphere, which is the zone where life exists.

Humans have changed the land a lot through building and farming. Because land is so important, scientists work hard to protect it. They try to restore soil and protect endangered species. Keeping the land healthy helps keep the whole planet healthy too.

Land is the solid, terrestrial surface of Earth that is not submerged by oceans or other bodies of water. It accounts for 29.2% of the planet's total surface area and includes all continents and islands.

Most of this surface is covered by regolith. Regolith is a layer consisting of rock, soil, and minerals that forms the outer part of the crust. Land is not just a physical surface; it also represents the collective natural resources of the planet. This includes rivers, lakes, groundwater reserves, and the biosphere, which is the zone where life exists.

The formation of Earth and its land began approximately 4.54 billion years ago.

The process likely started with the gravitational collapse of a solar nebula. This nebula contained gas, ice grains, and dust. As particulate matter accumulated through cohesive clumping and gravity, planetesimals began to form. The primordial Earth assembled over a period of 10 to 20 million years. Eventually, the molten outer layer of the planet cooled. This cooling allowed the solid continental crust to form. Volcanic activity and outgassing also helped create the atmosphere and oceans.

Plate tectonics is the primary mechanism that shapes the Earth's large-scale landforms. This theory explains that the lithosphere is divided into several tectonic plates. These plates move over the mantle due to the continuous loss of heat from the Earth's interior. This movement causes continental drift, where continents move relative to one another.

When plates meet at boundaries, they create different geological phenomena. For example, the Ring of Fire contains two-thirds of the world's volcanoes. This area is also home to over 70% of the world's seismological activity. These processes have caused supercontinents to form and break apart three times over hundreds of millions of years. One early supercontinent was Rodinia, which began to break apart roughly 750 million years ago. Later, Pannotia formed, followed by the well-known supercontinent Pangaea, which broke apart 180 million years ago.

Landforms are categorized by their terrain and elevation. Terrain refers to the specific features of an area, such as mountains, deserts, plains, or plateaus. Elevation is the vertical distance between a point and sea level. The land surface varies significantly in height. The highest point is Mount Everest, which reaches an altitude of 8,848 metres.

Conversely, the lowest point is the Dead Sea, situated at -418 metres. Most dry land, about 98.9%, sits above sea level. Geologists also study relief, which is the difference in elevation within a landscape. High relief describes areas with large elevation changes, while low relief describes flatter areas.

Natural processes constantly reshape the landscape through weathering and erosion. Weathering wears away rock and solid land without moving the material. Erosion, however, involves the transport of land from one location to another. This occurs via wind, water, ice, and gravity. Streams are a major part of the water cycle and help shape the land. They carve rocks, transport sediments, and replenish groundwater.

Glaciers also play a role, especially at high elevations or latitudes. Over hundreds or thousands of years, snow compacts and recrystallizes into ice. These glaciers can become so heavy that they actually warp the Earth's crust.

Land cover is distributed into several distinct types based on climate and biology. About one-third of the world's land is covered by trees. Another third is utilized for agriculture to support human needs. Approximately one-tenth of the land is covered by permanent snow and glaciers. The remaining areas consist of deserts, savannahs, and prairies. About 30% of the land has a dry climate. This occurs because the area loses more water through evaporation than it receives from precipitation. This imbalance, along with Earth's rotation and uneven sun distribution, helps generate winds.

Human activity has a profound impact on the Earth's land and its stability. Humans manipulate the land through architecture and large-scale agriculture. However, these activities can also lead to rapid environmental changes. For example, human actions have caused erosion to occur 10 to 40 times faster than normal. In the last 150 years, half of the Earth's surface topsoil has been lost.

Because land is essential for survival, scientists now focus on sustainable management. This includes restoring degraded soil, protecting endangered species, and preserving biodiversity. Managing the land and the biosphere is critical to addressing global climate change.