Erosion Flashcards
erosion
the process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to another
weathering
the process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or chemical processes
water cycle
the continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean
evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs from the surface of a liquid into a gaseous phase that is not saturated with the evaporating substance
condensation
change of state from gas to a liquid
precipitation
water falling from the clouds to the earth surface
percolation
the process of a liquid slowly passing through a filter.
runoff
Surface runoff is the flow of water that occurs when excess stormwater, meltwater, or other sources flows over the Earth’s surface
tributary
a stream that flows into a lake or into larger stream
watershed
area of land that is drained by a water system
continental divide
a 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, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea.
deposition
the process in which material is laid down
delta
a fan shaped mass of material deposited at the mouth of a stream
alluvial fan
a fan shaped mass of material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply
floodplain
an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks
water table
the upper surface of underground water; the upper boundary of the zone of saturation
sewage treatment plants
a facility that cleans the waste materials found in water that comes from sewers or drains
septic tank
a tank that separates solid waste from liquids and that has bacteria that break down solid waste
sea stacks
a column of rock standing in the sea, remaining after erosion of cliffs
sea arches
a natural opening eroded out of a cliff face by marine processes. Some arches appear to have developed from surge channels, which are created by wave refraction causing the focussing of wave fronts on the side of a headland
sea caves
formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion
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
an area of the shoreline made up of material deposited by waves
glacier
a large mass of moving ice
glacial drift
the rock material carried and deposited by glaciers
till
unsorted rock material that is deposited directly y a melting glacier
stratified drift
a glacial deposit that has been sorted and layered by the action of streams or melting water
