CH. 7 Erosional Forces Flashcards
erosion
process that wears away surface materials and moves them from one place to another by agents such as gravity, glaciers, wind, and water
deposition
dropping of sediments that occurs when an agent of erosion loses its energy of motion and is no longer able to carry its load
mass movement
type of erosion in which gravity alone causes loose materials to move downslope and that can happen quickly or slowly
slump
mass movement that happens when loose materials or rock layers slip down a slope, and a carved scar is left where the slumped materials originally rested
creep
mass movement that occurs when sediments slowly inch their way down a hill and that is common in areas of freezing and thawing
glacier
moving masses of ice and snow that are responsible for creating many landforms on Earth through erosion and deposition
plucking
process that adds boulders, gravel, and sand to a glacier’s bottom and sides as water freezes and thaws and breaks off pieces of surrounding rocks
till
mixture of different-sized sediments dropped from the base of a slowing glacier and that can cover huge areas of land
moraine
ridge of material deposited in the middle and along the sides of a glacier
deflation
erosion caused by wind blowing across loose sediments, eroding only fine-grained particles such as clay and sand, and leaving behind coarse sediments
abrasion
erosion that occurs when wind-blown sediments strike rock, scraping that surface and wearing it away
loess
wind deposits of fine-grained, tightly packed sediments