erosion Flashcards
erosion
the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water.
weathering
the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface.
water cycle
the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.
evaporation
an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to vapor.
condensation
is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase,
precipitation
an aqueous solution, precipitation is the process of transforming a dissolved substance into an insoluble
surface runoff
water “running off” the land surface.
tributary
a freshwater stream that feeds into a larger stream, river or other body of water.
watershed
an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel.
continental divide
a boundary that separates a continent’s river systems.
deposition
the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.
delta
the flat, low-lying plain that sometimes forms at the mouth of a river from deposits of sediments.
floodplain
the flat area bordering a river, composed of sediment deposited during flooding.
water table
an arrangement of information or data, typically in rows and columns, or possibly in a more complex structure.
sewage treatment plants
a facility in which a combination of various processes
septic tank
a tank in which the solid matter of continuously flowing sewage is disintegrated by bacteria.
sea stacks
Isolated outcrops of rock standing in the ocean
sea arches
develops when a headland protruding into the ocean causes waves to refract around it.
sea caves
formed primarily from erosion caused by waves.
wave-cut terraces
a shallow-water shelf inclining gently away from the base of an eroded sea cliff.
headlands
a coastal land form, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water.
beach
a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean, lake, or river.
glacier
a large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock, sediment, and often liquid
glacial drift
A general term applied to all rock material (clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders)
till
unsorted material deposited directly by glacial ice and showing no stratification.
stratified drift
predominantly sorted sediment laid down by or in melt water from glaciers and includes sand, gravel, silt, and clay arranged in layers.
