A | B |
EROSION | The process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves fragments of rock and soil. |
SEDIMENT | Small, solid particles of material from rocks or organisms which are moved by water or wind, resulting in erosion and deposition. |
DEPOSITION | The process by which sediment settles out of the water or wind that is carrying it, and is deposited in a new location. |
MASS MOVEMENT | Any one of several processes by which gravity moves sediment downhill. |
RUNOFF | Water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground. |
RILL | A tiny groove in soil made by flowing water. |
GULLY | A large channel in soil formed by erosion. |
STREAM | A channel through which water is continually flowing downhill. |
RIVER | A large stream. |
TRIBUTARY | A stream that flows into a larger stream. |
DRAINAGE BASIN | The land area from which a river and its tributaries collect their water. |
DIVIDE | A ridge of land that separates one drainage basin or watershed from another. |
FLOOD PLAIN | A broad, flat valley through which a river flows. |
MEANDER | A looping curve formed in a river as it winds through its flood plain. |
OXBOW LAKE | The crescent-shaped, cutoff body of water that remains after a river carves a new channel. |
ALLUVIAL FAN | A wide, sloping deposit of sediment formed where a stream leaves a mountain range. |
DELTA | A landform made of sediment that is deposited where a river flows into an ocean or lake. |
GROUNDWATER | Water that fills the cracks and pores in underground soil and rock layers. |
ENERGY | The ability to do work or cause change. |
POTENTIAL ENERGY | Energy that is stored and available to be used later. |
KINETIC ENERGY | The form of energy an object has because of its motion. |
ABRASION | The grinding away of rock by other rock particles carried in water, ice, or wind. |
LOAD | The amount of sediment that a river or stream carries. |
FRICTION | The force that opposes the motion of one surface as it moves across another surface. |
ICEBERG | large mass of floating ice |
GLACIER | A huge mass of ice and snow that moves slowly over the land. |
ALPINE GLACIER | A long, narrow glacier that forms when snow and ice build up in a mountain valley. |
CONTINENTAL GLACIER | A glacier that covers much of a continent or large island. |
ICE AGE | Cold time period in Earth's history, during which glaciers covered large parts of the surface. |
BEACH | Wave-washed sediment along a coast. |
LONGSHORE DRIFT | The movement of water and sediment along a beach caused by waves coming into shore at an angle. |
SAND DUNE | A deposit of wind-blown sand. |
DEFLATION | Wind erosion that removes surface materials. |
LOESS | A wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt. |
SLUMP | mass movement where rocks and sediment slip down in one large chunk |
CREEP | mass movement which is hardly noticeable |
LANDSLIDE | mass movement of rocks and sediment which is the most destructive |
MUDFLOW | mass movement 60% water and the most dangerous |
WIND | horizontal movement of air |
WAVES | erosion force caused by wind |
GRAVITY | force caused by an objects mass and causes mass movement |
MOVING WATER | most common cause of erosion |