| 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. |
| STALACTITE | A calcite deposit that hangs from the roof of a cave. |
| STALAGMITE | A cone-shaped calcite deposit that builds up from the floor of a cave. |
| KARST TOPOGRAPHY | A type of landscape in rainy regions where there is limestone near the surface, characterized by caverns, sinkholes, and valleys. |
| 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. |
| TURBULENCE | A type of water in which, rather than moving downstream, the water moves every which way. |
| GLACIER | A huge mass of ice and snow that moves slowly over the land. |
| VALLEY 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. |
| PLUCKING | The process by which a glacier picks up rocks as it flows over the land. |
| TILL | The sediment deposited directly by a glacier. |
| MORAINE | A ridge formed by the till deposited at the edge of a glacier. |
| KETTLE | A small depression that forms when a chunk of ice is left in glacial till. |
| 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. |
| SPIT | A beach formed by longshore drift that projects like a finger out into the water. |
| 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. |
