Present day Earth altimetry (and bathymetry). EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to Hypsometry. The name comes from Greek βαθυς deep, and μετρον measure. Data from the National Geophysical Data Center's TerrainBase Digital Terrain Model. The National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC provides scientific stewardship products and services for Geophysical Data describing the solid Earth,

Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used. Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of Water where the water exists in a natural feature (called a body of water) such as an Ocean Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to Hypsometry. The name comes from Greek βαθυς deep, and μετρον measure. Topography has recently become an additional synonym, though in many parts of the world it retains its original more general meaning of description of place. Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets

Terrain is used as a general term in physical geography, referring to the lie of the land. Physical geography (also known as geosystems or physiography) is one of the three major subfields of Geography. Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. Slope is used to describe the steepness incline gradient or grade of a straight line. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution. Over a large area, it can affect weather and climate patterns. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of

Importance of terrain

The understanding of terrain is critical for a number of reasons.

• The terrain of a region largely determines its suitability for human settlement: flatter, alluvial plains tend to be better farming soils than steeper, rockier uplands.

• In terms of environmental quality, agriculture, and hydrology, understanding the terrain of an area enables the understanding of watershed boundaries, drainage characteristics, water movement, and impacts on water quality. See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Hydrology (from Greek Yδωρ hudōr, "water" and λόγος logos, "study" is the study of the movement distribution and quality of A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Water quality is the physical chemical and biological characteristics of Water in relationship to a set of standards Complex arrays of relief data are used as input parameters for hydrology transport models (such as the SWMM or DSSAM Models) to allow prediction of river water quality. An hydrological transport model is a Mathematical model used to simulate river or Stream flow and calculate water quality parameters The United States Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model ( SWMM) is a dynamic Rainfall - runoff - subsurface runoff The DSSAM Model (Dynamic Stream Simulation and AssessmentModel is a Computer simulation developed for the Truckee River to analyze water quality Water pollution is the contamination of Water bodies such as Lakes Rivers Oceans and Groundwater caused by human activities

• Understanding terrain also supports on soil conservation, especially in agriculture. Soil conservation is set of management strategies for prevention of Soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse Contour plowing is an established practice enabling sustainable agriculture on sloping land; it is the practice of plowing along lines of equal elevation instead of up and down a slope. A contour line (also Level set, isopleth, isoline, isogram or isarithm) of a function of two The plough ( American spelling plow; both plaʊ is a Tool used in Farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals environmental Stewardship, Farm Profitability and prosperous Farming communities

• Terrain is militarily critical because it determines the ability of armed forces to take and hold areas, and to move troops and material into and through areas. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking For the military meaning see Armed forces. For the Soviet sports society see Armed Forces (sports society Armed Forces A troop is a Military unit, originally a small force of Cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron and headed by the troop leader An understanding of terrain is basic to both defensive and offensive strategy.

• Terrain is important in determining weather patterns. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. Two areas close to each other geographically may differ radically in precipitation levels or timing because of elevation differences or a "rain shadow" effect. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric For the Australian television series see Rain Shadow (TV series.

Geomorphology

Geomorphology is in large part the study of the formation of terrain or topography. Geomorphology (from Greek: γη ge, "earth" μορφή morfé, "form" and λόγος Logos, "knowledge" Terrain is formed by intersecting processes:

• Geological processes: migration of tectonic plates, faulting and folding, volcanic eruptions
• Erosional processes: water and wind erosion, landslides
• Extraterrestrial: meteorite impacts

Tectonic processes such as orogenies cause land to be elevated, and erosional (and weathering) processes cause land to be worn away to lower elevations. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere In Geology a fault, or fault line, is a planar rock fracture which shows evidence of relative movement See also Folding The term fold is used in Geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces such as Sedimentary Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind A meteorite is a natural object originating in Outer space that survives an impact with the Earth 's surface This article discusses the geologic usage for the philosophical or architectural usage see Architectonics ' Or see Plate tectonics. Orogeny (Greek for "mountain generating" is the process of natural Mountain building and may be studied as a tectonic structural event as a geographical event and Weathering is the decomposition of earth rocks, Soils and their Minerals through direct contact with the planet's Atmosphere.

Land surface parameters are quantitative measures of various morphometric properties of a surface. Morphometrics is a field concerned with studying variation and change in the form (size and shape of organisms Commonly the measurements taken are of little significance in terms of The most common examples are used to derive slope or aspect of a terrain or curvatures at each location. Slope is used to describe the steepness incline gradient or grade of a straight line. These measures can also be used to derive hydrological parameters that reflect flow/erosion processes. Hydrology (from Greek Yδωρ hudōr, "water" and λόγος logos, "study" is the study of the movement distribution and quality of Climatic parameters are based on the modelling of solar radiation or air flow. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of

Land surface objects or landforms are definite physical objects (lines, points, areas) that differ from the surrounding objects. The most typical examples are lines of watersheds, stream patterns, ridges, break-lines, pools, borders of specific landforms etc. A drainage divide, water divide, divide or (outside North America) watershed is the line separating neighbouring Drainage basins A stream is a body of Water with a current, confined within a bed and stream-banks A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance In Geomorphology, a fall line (at times referred to as a fall zone) marks the area where an upland region (continental Bedrock) and a Coastal plain A stream pool, in Hydrology, is a stretch of a River or creek in which the water depth is above average and the stream velocity is quite low

See also

• Geomorphometry
• Cartographic relief depiction (2-D relief map)
• Raised-relief map (3-D relief map)
• Relief ratio
• Subterranea