| A | B |
|---|
| ablation | The reduction of glacial ice by melting and evaporation |
| abrasion | Wearing away of rock by rubbing action of particles carried by water. |
| alluvium | Fertile sediment deposited by river water |
| aquifer | Underground water source stored in porous and permeable rock layers |
| arch | Ocean erosional feature created when headland caves join to form a tunnel. |
| arete | A sharp ridge created by the action of two cirques eroding the mountain between them |
| attrition | Pebbles and rocks strike together breaking and wearing into small pieces |
| backwash | The return of water back into the ocean. |
| bajada | Alluvial fans may grow so large that they join together to create one huge depositional feature. |
| barchan | A desert sand dune that is crescent-shaped with its point facing down wind |
| cirque | A hillside hollow created by glacial plucking and abrasion |
| col | As two cirques eroe the wall of rock between them, a mountain pass is created. |
| corrosion | Disolving of soluble minerals in water |
| crevasses | As a glacier moves over uneven surfaces, cracks may appear in the ice |
| cutbank | The side of a meandering river where the water moves the fastest and greatest erosion occurs. |
| dendritic drainage pattern | A pattern of drainage that resembles the veins of a leaf, with many tributary streams joining together to create one main river |
| drainage basin | Area below a divide from which all water drains down into the same river system |
| drumlin | Small hill-like deposits of debris left behind by continental glaciers |
| erg | Great expanse of desert sand |
| erratic | Isolated boulders carried by glaciers and deposited far from their source of origin. |
| esker | A stratified ridge of glacial deposits left behind by glacial melt water |
| exfoliation | Weathering process in which thin sheets of layers of rocks are broken away from the main rock body in response to pressure released. |
| flood plain | Area along a meandering river |
| frost shatter | A form of physical weathering in which water seeps into cracks in rocks, freezes and expands, breaking the rocks. |
| groynes | Artificial barriers built into the ocean to stop the movement of sand by longshore drift. |
| hamada | An exposed desert area in which wind has removed all loose debris leaving behind only the bedrock |
| horn | The sharp peak formed when several cirque glaciers erode a mountain from more than two sides. |
| hydraulic action | Wearing away of the banks by the weight and force of the moving water. |
| kettle lake | A small lake resulting from the melting of a block of glacial ice in a depression. |
| lateral moraine | Debris carried along and deposited at the side of a glacier as it melts. |
| levees | Ridges of deposits along river banks left behind by numerous floods |
| loess | Wind blown dust which accumulates on the leeward side of great deserts. Very fertile farming soil. |
| longshore drift | The movement of sediment along a beach caused by waves and currents. |
| mass wasting | Movement of materials downslope caused by gravity. |
| meander | A lateral river curve in lowland regions |
| medial moraine | Strrands of debris in the middle of the main glacier |
| moraine | Rock, gravel, and sand debris once carried by a glacier and deposited when the glacier retreats or melts away. |
| oxbow lake | A lake formed when a river straightens by cutting through a meander. |
| oxidation | Oxygen dissolved in water transforms iron into iron oxide. |
| parabolic dune | A desert sand dune that is crescent-shaped with its points facing upwind |
| playa lake | A dry desert lake that contains water for a short while after a sudden downpour causing flooding |
| plucking | The breaking off of rock particles caused by glaciation |
| plunging wave | A wave that breaks close to the shore and carries sand off the beach. |
| polje | A large gorge created by a collapse of a cavern in Karst landscape |
| pro glacial lake | A lake formed behind a terminal moraine which acted as a natural dam when a glacier melted. |
| recessional moraine | As a glacier recedes, ridges of debris are left behind. |
| ribbon lake | Glaciers create many depressions along valley bottoms. |
| saltation | The movement of rock particles by bouncing and hopping. |
| slipe off slope | The side of a meandering river where silt deposits are left behind. |
| slump | A form of mass wasting in which the section or sections of slope break loose, slide downhill slowly a short distance. |
| soil creep | The slow downhill movement of loose rock and soil. |
| solution | Rock, such as limestone, dissolves completely in water and transported away. |
| spit | A long depositional feature of sediment created by longshore drift. |
| stack | A pillar of rock formed when an arch collapses. |
| stalctite | Deposit of calcium carbonate protruding from the ceiling of a limestone cave. |
| stalagmite | A depositional feature found on the floor of limstone caves. These pedestal shaped formations are the result of deposited calcium carbonate. |
| striations | Scratches and grooves left in the bedrock by debris frozen in the glacier. |
| suspension | A method of sediment transport where the particles being transported do not touch the bottom as them move with the water.(or wind) |
| terminal moraine | Mound of debris left at the farthest advance of a glacier |
| till | Unsorted and unstratified glacial drift |
| toadstool rock | Rock in desert regions are abraded by windblown sand. The result is a feature which resembles a mushroom. |
| tombolo | A sand ridge that connects an island to an island or an island to the mainland. |
| traction | The rolling and dragging of rock particles by wind and water. |
| transverse dune | A desert sand dune that is a continuous ridge of sand that forms at right angles to the wind. |
| trellis drainage pattern | A drainage pattern in which secondary streams enter a main stream at right angles |
| truncated spur | Hills cut off by a valley glacier as it formed a U shaped valley |
| uvala | In Karst landscapes when sinkholes join together a large depression is created. |
| wadi | A dry desert ditch which only contains water during a flash flood. |
| wave cut platform | The final stage of cliff erosion. |
| Zone of aeration | Area above the water table. |
