Erosion

Question 1

erosion

Answer 1

the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water

Question 2

weathering

Answer 2

the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface

Question 3

water cycle

Answer 3

the cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.

Question 4

evaporation

Answer 4

the process that changes liquid water to gaseous water

Question 5

condensation

Answer 5

the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water

Question 6

precipitation

Answer 6

water that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface

Question 7

surface runoff

Answer 7

water “running off” the land surface

Question 8

tributary

Answer 8

a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.

Question 9

watershed

Answer 9

an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.

Question 10

continental divide

Answer 10

a divide separating river systems that flow to opposite sides of a continent

Question 11

deposition

Answer 11

the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice

Question 12

delta

Answer 12

wetlands that form as rivers empty their water and sediment into another body of water

Question 13

floodplain

Answer 13

an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge

Question 14

water table

Answer 14

an underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock

Question 15

sewage treatment plant

Answer 15

is part of the field of sanitation

Question 16

septic tank

Answer 16

a tank, typically underground, in which sewage is collected and allowed to decompose through bacterial activity before draining by means of a leaching field.

Question 17

sea stacks

Answer 17

Isolated outcrops of rock standing in the ocean

Question 18

sea arches

Answer 18

forms as the result of different rates of erosion typically due to the varied resistance of bedrock

Question 19

sea caves

Answer 19

are formed primarily from erosion caused by waves

Question 20

wave-cut terraces

Answer 20

a shallow-water shelf inclining gently away from the base of an eroded sea cliff

Question 21

headlands

Answer 21

a narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea.

Question 22

beach

Answer 22

a strip of land covered with sand, pebbles, or small stones at the edge of a body of water, especially by the ocean between high- and low-water marks.

Question 23

glacier

Answer 23

a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.

Question 24

glacial drift

Answer 24

material, as gravel, sand, or clay, transported and deposited by a glacier or by glacial meltwater.

Question 25

till

Answer 25

unsorted glacial sediment

Question 26

stratified drift

Answer 26

predominantly sorted sediment laid down by or in meltwater from glaciers and includes sand, gravel, silt, and clay arranged in layers