erosion Flashcards
erosion
action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust, and then transport it away to another location
weathering
the breaking down of rocks, soil, and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, waters, and biological organisms
water cycle
the continuous movement of water on the Earth
evaporation
vaporization of a liquid that occurs from the surface of a liquid into a gaseous phase
condensation
gas phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of evaporation
precipitation
any form of water falling from the sky
percolation
process of liquid slowly passing through a filter
run off
the draining of water
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
drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea
deposition
process in which sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or land mass
delta
a nearly flat plain of alluvial deposit between diverging branches of the mouth of a river
alluvial fan
a fan-shaped mass of alluvium deposited as the flow of a river decreases in velocity
flood plain
Flat land bordering a river and made up of alluvium (sand, silt, and clay) deposited during floods
water table
the level below which the ground is saturated with water
sewage treatment plant
process of removing contaminants from wastewater, primarily from household sewage
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 pillar-like mass of rock detached by wave action from a cliff-lined shore
sea caves
a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea
sea arches
a natural opening eroded out of a cliff face by marine processes
wave-cut terraces
a shallow-water shelf inclining gently away from the base of an eroded sea cliff
headlands
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
material, as gravel, sand, or clay, transported and deposited by a glacier or by glacial meltwater
till
the part of glacial drift deposited directly by the glacier
stratified drift
Well‐sorted layers of sand and gravel that have been deposited by glacial meltwater
