agents of erosion (part 1) Flashcards
breaking rock because of the exposure of processes on earths surface
weathering
removing and transporting materials by natural agents
erosion
materials or sediments settle down in another location
deposition
rock is broken into smaller pieces of the same material without changing its composition
mechanical weathering
rocks minerals change into different substances
chemical weathering
downward transportation of rocks or soil by gravity
mass movement
slow, barely noticeable movement of soil down a slope
creep
blocks of land move downhill along a surface that curves into the slope, caused when the slope is too steep
slump
mass of weathered material that has been saturated with water flows downhill
earthflows
rapid movement that contains LARGE amounts of suspended clay and silt
mudflows
movement of a mass of bedrock or loose soil and rock down the slope of a hill, mountain or cliff
landslide/rockslide
rock fragments that have been weathered from a cliff and pulled down by gravity
talus
mudflows that follow volcanic eruptions
lahar
a cloud of debris mixed with air that rushed down steep slopes at fast paces usually with snow
avalanche
these pick up and moves particles ranging from small to huge sizes
glaciers
when glaciers move they scrape on the rocks and pull pieces of rocks away what is this called
plucking
glaciers can ____ due to the weight of small grains of ice being melted which acts as a lubricant for the glacier and also bc of the flattened ice grains which can glide past other grains
move
glacier that moves within valley walls
valley glacier
glacier that covers a large part of a continent
continental glacier
glaciers erode bedrock by dragging particles and creating long parallel grooves called _________ and smooth the rock
striations
what shape do glaciers carve out on the valley floor
U
when rock material is eroded by glacial ice where can it be carried
top, inside, or below
unsorted sediment deposited by a glacier
till
a large deposit of till
moraine
large boulders left behind by a glacier
erratic
removal of loose rock particles by the wind
deflation
wearing away of rock material by windblown sand
abrasion
rocks blasted into interesting shapes by wind
ventifact
strong winds lift a lot of silt and clay from topsoil which results in a ____ _______
dust storm
unlayered silt sized particles deposited by the wind
loess
hills of sand deposited by the wind
sand dunes
when the river is carrying the silt, clay and fine sand
suspension
when the river contains dissolved mineral matter from the bedrock
solution
when the river rolls the sand, pebbles, and boulders along the bottom
bed load
what shape do rivers erode in
V
when a stream cannot erode its bed to a level any lower than the level of the largest body of water into which it flows this is called the
base level
water deposits its sediments when either the rivers ______ or the amount of water _________
energy, decreases
water deposits things faster (outside or inside) and slower (outside or inside)
outside, inside
curvy river
meanding river
river flows into a larger body of water causing sediments to deposit in a fan shape
delta
when a mountain stream meets the flat base of the mt.
alluvial fan
when rivers erode till they cut through something and then deposit sediment this is called an
oxbow lake
