erosion Flashcards
erosion
the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.
weathering
the process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere
water cycle
shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.
evaporation
the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
condensation
the process of gas or vapor turning into a liquid
precipitation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground
surface run off
the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
tributary
a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.
watershed
an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas
continental divide
a naturally occurring boundary or ridge separating a continent’s river systems
deposition
the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.
delta
wetlands that form as rivers empty their water and sediment into another body of water
floodplain
an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding.
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation.
sewage treatment plants
a place where sewage is cleaned so that it is not harmful or dangerous to the environment.
septic tank
a tank, typically underground, in which sewage is collected and allowed to decompose through bacterial activity before draining by means of a leaching field
sea stacks
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion.
sea arches
. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering
sea caves
cave formed in a cliff by wave action of an ocean or lake.
wave-cut terraces
A wave-cut platform, shore platform, coastal bench, or wave-cut cliff is the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion
head lands
a narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea
beach
a pebbly or sandy shore, especially by the ocean between high- and low-water marks
glacier
a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.
glacial drift
A general term applied to all rock material (clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders) transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by running water emanating from a glacier
till
unsorted material deposited directly by glacial ice and showing no stratification.
stratified drift
predominantly unconsolidated, sorted sediment composed of layers of sand, gravel, silt or clay deposited by meltwaters from glaciers.
