| A | B |
|---|
| Mechanical or chemical surface processes that break rock into smaller and smaller pieces | Weathering |
| Physical processes that break rock apart without changing its chemical makeup; can be caused by ice wedging, animals, and plant roots. | Mechanical weathering |
| Mechanical weathering process that occurs when water freezes in the cracks of rocks and expands, causes the rock to break apart. | Ice wedging |
| Occurs when chemical reactions dissolve the minerals in rocks or change them into different minerals. | Chemical weathering |
| Occurs when some materials are exposed to oxygen in the air. | Oxidation |
| Average weathering pattern in an area over a long period of time; can be classified by temperature, humidity, precipitation, and vegetation. | Climate |
| A mixture of weathered rock and mineral fragments, decayed organic material , mineral fragments, water and air that can take thousands of years to develop | Soil |
| Dark-colored, decayed organic matter that supplies nutrients to plants and is found mainly in topsoil p. 190 | Humus |
| Each layer in soil profile-horizon A (top layer of soil), horizon B (middle layer), and horizon C (bottom layer). | Horizon |
| Vertical section of soil layers, each of which is a horizon p. 190 | Soil profile |
| Twigs, leaves, and other organic matter that help prevent erosion and hold water and may eventually be changed into humus by decomposing organisms. | Litter |
| Removal of minerals that have been dissolved in water. | Leaching |
| Method of reducing soil erosion; plant stalks are left in the field after harvesting and the next year's crop is planted within the stalks without plowing. | No Till Farming |
| Planting along the natural contours of equal elevation. | Contour farming |
| A farming method used to reduce erosion on steep slopes p. 199 | Terracing |
| A type of erosion that occurs when windblown sediments strike | Abrasion |
| A type of mass movement in which sediments move down-slope very slowly; common in areas of freezing and thawing, and can cause walls, trees, and fences to lean downhill | Creep |
| A type of erosion that occurs when wind blows over loose sediments, removes small particles, and leaves coarser sediments behind | Deflation |
| Dropping of sediments that occurs when an agent of erosion, such as gravity, a glacier, wind, or water, loses its energy and can no longer cary its load | Deposition |
| Mound formed when windblown sediments pile up behind an obstacle; common landform in desert areas | Dune |
| Process in which surface materials are worn away and transported from one place to another by agents such as gravity, water, wind, and glaciers | Erosion |
| Large, moving masses of ice and snow that change large areas of Earth's surface through erosion and deposition | Glacier |
| Windblown deposit of tightly packed, fine-grained sediments | Loess |
| Any type of erosion that occurs as gravity moves materials down-slope | Mass Movement |
| Large ridge of rocks and soil deposited by a glacier when it stops moving forward | Moraine |
| Material deposited by meltwater from a glacier | Outwash |
| Process that adds gravel, sand, and boulders to a glacier's bottom and sides as water freezes and thaws, breaking off pieces of surrounding rock | Plucking |
| A type of mass movement that occurs when a mass of mateial moves down a curved slope | Slump |
| Mixture of different-sized sediments that is dropped from the base of a retreating glacier and can cover huge areas of land | Till |
| Layer of permeable rock that allows water to flow through | Aquifer |
| Deposit of sediment whose materials vary in size, color, and composition and is most commonly found on a smooth, gently sloped shoreline | Beach |
| Underground opening that can form when acidic groundwater dissolves limestone | Cave |
| Groove created by water moving down the same path | Channel |
| Land area from which a river or stream collects runoff | Drainage basin |
| Hot spring that erupts periodically and shoots water and steam into the air - for example, Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park | Geyser |
| Water that soaks into the ground and collects in pores and empty spaces and is an important source of drinking water | Groundwater |
| Describes materials that water cannot pass through | Impermeable |
| Current that runs parallel to the shoreline, is caused by waves colliding with the shore at slight angles, and moves tons of loose sediment | Long shore current |
| Broad, c-shaped curve in a river or stream, formed by erosion of its outer bank | Meander |
| Describes soil and rock with connecting pores through wich water can flow | Permeable |
| Any rainwater that does not soak into the ground or evaporate but flows over Earth's surface | Run off |
| A type of erosion caused by runoff that occurs when water flowing as sheets picks up sediments and carries them away | Sheet erosion |
| Forms when the water table meets Earth's surface; often found on hillsides and used as a fresh-water source | spring |
| Upper surface of the zone of saturation; drops during a drought | water table |
