Valley

A valley is a low area between hills or mountains typically with a river running
through it. In geology, a valley or dale is a depression that is longer than it is wide.
The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to
characterize the form of valleys. Most valleys belong to one of these two main types
or a mixture of them, at least with respect to the cross section of the slopes or
hillsides.
Volcano

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic
ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

Earth's volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major, rigid tectonic plates that float on a hotter,
softer layer in its mantle.[1] Therefore, on Earth, volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are
diverging or converging, and most are found underwater. For example, a mid-oceanic ridge, such as the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas the Pacific Ring of Fire has
volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and
thinning of the crust's plates, e.g., in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
and Rio Grande Rift in North America. This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of "plate hypothesis"
volcanism.[2] Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes. These so-
called "hotspots", for example Hawaii, are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the
core–mantle boundary, 3,000 km deep in the Earth. Volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic
plates slide past one another.

Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards, not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption. One such
hazard is that volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft, in particular those with jet engines where ash particles
can be melted by the high operating temperature; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and
alter their shape, disrupting the operation of the turbine. Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and
droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth's lower atmosphere (or troposphere); however,
they also absorb heat radiated from the Earth, thereby warming the upper atmosphere (or stratosphere).
Historically, volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines.
Mountain

A mountain is a large landform that rises above the surrounding land in a limited
area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill.
Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism. These forces can locally
raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers,
weather conditions, and glaciers. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most
occur in huge mountain ranges.

High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level. These colder
climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have
different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate,
mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction and
recreation, such as mountain climbing.
Plain

In geography, a plain is a flat, sweeping landmass that generally does not change much in
elevation. Plains occur as lowlands along the bottoms of valleys or on the doorsteps of mountains,
as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands.[1]

In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides, but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a
complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains, or by cliffs. Where a geological region contains
more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass (sometimes termed a gap). Coastal plains
would mostly rise from sea level until they run into elevated features such as mountains or
plateaus.[2]

Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, where they are present on all continents, and would
cover more than one-third of the world’s land area.[3] Plains may have been formed from flowing
lava, deposited by water, ice, wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains.
Plains would generally be under the grassland (temperate or subtropical), steppe (semi-arid),
savannah (tropical) or tundra (polar) biomes. In a few instances, deserts and rainforests can also
be plains.[4]

Plains in many areas are important for agriculture because where the soils were deposited as
sediments they may be deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanization of crop
production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock
Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit,
although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain
without a massive summitThe distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely
subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be less tall and less steep than a mountain. In the
United Kingdom, geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet
(304.8 meters) above sea level, which formed the basis of the plot of the 1995 film The Englishman
Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard
mountains as peaks 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level: the Oxford English Dictionary also
suggests a limit of 2,000 feet (610 m) and Whittow[1] states "Some authorities regard eminences
above 600 m (1,969 ft) as mountains, those below being referred to as hills." Today, a mountain is
usually defined in the UK and Ireland as any summit at least 2,000 feet or 610 meters
high,[2][3][4][5][6] while the official UK government's definition of a mountain is a summit of 600
meters (1,969 feet) or higher.[7] Some definitions include a topographical prominence requirement,
typically 100 feet (30.5 m) or 500 feet (152.4 m).[4] In practice, mountains in Scotland are
frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as the
Cuillin Hills and the Torridon Hills. In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and
appearance and has nothing to do with height.