The balance between both forces draws the landscape

2009/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia
• Hidrologia

There are reasons for the landscape to be as it is. That is clear, but what are those reasons? Some MIT geologists have answered this question during an investigation. The starting point of the research is a simple and surprising idea: the distribution of rivers and valleys is very similar in all parts of the planet. It follows a pattern, which means that there is a solid reason to create landscapes as they are created. The researchers have found that the balance between both forces shapes the relief of an area.

The first force is the erosion of water, which defines the basins of the rivers and size the valleys. The second is the tendency to slip the earth in slope; the force that tends to fill the valleys carved. For this reason, they are opposing forces in many cases.

If two streams are formed nearby, the one with higher speed, since the other will not receive enough water to face the slider. If they are generated very far, on the contrary, between the two more streams will appear. It is a global effect. And so the distance between streams and valleys is very similar in all places.