The photo that Tara selects for evidence must support the idea that landscapes have changed over millions of years. Two of the images show rocks of different colors or sizes, but they are not showing how the landscape has changed. The photo of the forest does not include rock layers or rock formations. The correct picture is from Switzerland and shows large rock formations that have been worn away by years of weathering and erosion.

The term landscape is used in science to describe the visible features of an area. If someone were standing on the edge of a canyon, they could explain the scene in terms of appearance, texture, color, relative size, landmarks, etc.. If it is something underground or hidden within a structure, it is not considered to be part of the landscape.

Many factors go into changing a landscape, and some will accelerate the process while others will slow it down. Moisture, human activity, and temperature are all factors that will affect how a landscape changes or is formed. Regularly being beaten down by the wind, water, the hot sun, frigid temperatures, and human construction will change the landscape. As water rushes through the base of a canyon, it is breaking apart the rock and moving it. Sand striking the cliffs on a shoreline will tear it apart grain by grain. Water seeping into rocks and then freezing and unfreezing will eventually break the rocks apart. These factors make changes to the landscape.

Layers of rock and fossils are like diaries of how the landscape has changed over time. Each layer contains information about the conditions and the scene at that time. Researchers can analyze the age of the rock and build a picture of what it looked like during that stage. Fossils help scientists to know what living things were in the area at the time and whether there were changes in water levels and weather conditions.

The statement is true. Scientists know that landscapes have changed over the years due to the information collected regarding rock formations, layers, and fossils. Looking at the type of plants or animals in the layers can tell us approximately how long ago they lived. The rock formations can show researchers how the wind and water have battered the area over the year and broken the rocks down. Rock layers and fossils are vital to learning about landscapes.

Human activity such as cutting down forests and acid rain caused by pollution can cause changes to Earth’s landscapes. General construction is another example of a way in which humans can create semi-permanent changes in the landscape.

Changes to landscapes are most commonly viewed above ground; however, they are also visible underground. As shown in the picture, changes can be seen underground in the form of rocky trenches caused by tectonic plate movement, altering the topography of the ocean floor. Another way changes to landscapes can be observed underground is by studying caves and their slowly growing stalagmites, sinkholes, and shifts in their soluble rocks.

Erosion causes the removal of rock, soil, and dissolved material from one location, resulting in it being transported to a new location. Erosion can cause bits of existing structures to chip away over time, creating new structures in different places where the sediment is transported. Examples of erosion changing the landscape include caves, cracks in rocks, and riverbanks.

The text explains that many different methods of geological change have been at play in altering the topography of Zion National Park, including deposition (sedimentation), lithification, uplift, weathering, erosion, tectonics, and volcanic activity. While it does give information about the volcanic activity in the park, it does not claim that volcanic activity caused a more significant change to the landscape than any other method of change.

Most fossils are formed when an animal dies and gets buried in mud or silt. Over time, sedimentary rock forms on top of the animal’s bones, creating a fossil. This is evidence of change to the landscape because we can age the fossil-based on the different layers of sediment in which it is encased, which also gives us insight into the changes that have occurred in that area of the world over time.