In Earth Science, what does 'High Relief' mean?

Question

I'm studying for a MAJOR exam right now, so if someone could please tell me what 'High Relief', and 'Relief' in general, I would be extremely grateful!!

Thank-you!

Answer 1

Higher mountains and tend to have steeper slopes at high relief where hills of low relief are more rounded and less steep definition- The variations in elevation of an area of the earth's surface.


If you want to know more about it geologically it is also used with minerals.

for minerals- Relief is what makes the surface of a mineral grain in a thin section stand out even when the mineral is colorless. It is the result of the contrast between a mineral's index of refraction and that of the mounting medium, usually the epoxy by which the rock chip was glued to the glass slide.

A colorless, low relief mineral will be practically invisible, unless you reduce the light being transmitted by adjusting the iris diaphragm.

Answer 2

Define High Relief

Answer 3

High Relief Definition

Answer 4

Well that all depends. You could have a mineral which has high relief when viewed under a petrographic microscope. If a mineral has high relief than they are very easily seen along with their characteristics because they have refractive indices which are quite different than what they are mounted on. Low relief minerals, like quartz have refractive indicies close to the same of the mounting medium and therefore are hard to see.

Answer 5

In Earth Science Relief is height; as in the height of a mountain or the height of the land under the ocean. It is usually shown on a 3D map called a relief map or a 2D topographic map. The tops of the mountains are the areas of high relief. In a map of the ocean any dry land would be an area of high relief. In an elevation map Death Valley the lowest place on Earth (in the US) would be an area of low relief, and Pikes Peak, a mountain top, would be an area of high relief.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrain
"Terrain, or relief, is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used. 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.

Terrain is used as a general term in physical geography, referring to the lie of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution. Over a large area, it can affect weather and climate patterns."

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief
"A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modeled form projects out from a flat background."
The relief is the height of the sculpture from the flat surface. In the case of sculpture it is the amount of marble or wood removed. In the case of Earth Science or geology it is the amount of earth that makes up those mountains.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas-relief
"Bas-relief (French for "low relief") is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal creating a sculpture portrayed as a picture. This expression is probably derived from the Italian basso rilievo, the literal translation meaning "low contrast" as opposed to "alto rilievo" ("high contrast") and "haut-relief" ("high relief") in French."

So high relief is comes from the French world "haut-relief."

The most common use of the words "high relief" would be with a relief map, a map of the height and depths of the mountains, the land, or the ocean floor.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised-relief_map
"A raised-relief map or terrain model is a three-dimensional representation, usually of terrain. When representing terrain, the elevation dimension is usually exaggerated by a factor between five and ten; this facilitates the visual recognition of terrain features."

The most common form of these 3D maps is the topographic map (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_map). The map uses contour lines as lines of the same elevation; the higher the land the higher the value of the contour line. Every ten contour lines or lines that represent every 100' feet would be darker and bolder. The areas of "high relief" would be the tops of mountains or the high area between two hill tops called a saddle. The saddle is high, with a hill top on each side, but a clear view to the front and rear; this makes it a common geographic feature.