True or False: The Earths

surface has stayed the same for

thousands of years

True or False: The Earths surface

has stayed the same for thousands of
years

The Earths surface is always

changing!

Weathering
The breakdown do the materials of Earths
crust into smaller pieces.

Water causes weathering

What evidence of
weathering do you see
in this picture?

Wind causes weathering

Why wasnt this mass

of land weathered
away?

What evidence of
weathering do you see
in this picture?

Ice causes weathering

Describe how ice

causes weathering?

Erosion
The process by which water, ice, wind or
gravity moves fragments of rock and soil.

What evidence of
erosion do you see in
this picture?

Erosion is Movement of
Sediment!
This process, known as
Erosion, is gradually
wearing down the
surface of the earth.
Erosion is the process
by which weathered rock
and soil (sediment) are
moved from one place
to another.
Erosion carves the
Earth's surface creating
canyons, gorges, and
even beaches.

What do you think has caused

this rock to look this way?

Wind Erosion
As the wind blows it picks up
small particles of sand/
sediment and blasts large
rocks with the abrasive
particles, cutting and shaping
the rock.
The intensity of wind erosion
is determined by:
Sum (amount)
Speed
Slope
Surface

Wind Erosion

Water Causes Erosion

runoff, rivers and, streams

Water causes Erosion

When rain falls to the Earth
it can evaporate, sink into
the ground, or flow over
the land as Runoff.
When it flows over land,
erosion occurs.

Runoff picks up pieces of

rock and "runs" downhill
cutting tiny grooves
(called rills) into the land.

Water causes Erosion

How much erosion
takes place is
determined by the:
Sum (amount)
Slope
Speed
Surface
Can you act increasing
and decreasing the
four Ss?

Ice Causes Erosion

Glaciers wear down the

landscape; by picking up and
carrying debris that moves
across the land along with
the ice.

Ice Causes Erosion

Glaciers can pick up and carry sediment that ranges in size
from sand grains to boulders bigger than houses.

Moving like a conveyor belt and a bulldozer, a single

glacier can move millions of tons of material!

Ice Causes Erosion

How much erosion
takes place is
determined by
the:
**Sum (Glaciers are
massive!)

Slope
Speed
Surface

Gravity causes erosion

Creep, Slump, Landslides, Mudslides, and Avalanches.

Slower

Faster

These are examples of mass movement

landslide clip.mpeg
(or called mass wasting)

Gravity causes Erosion

How much erosion takes
place is determined by
the:

Sum
**Slope
Speed
**Surface

Plants CAN CAUSE weathering

Plants CAN PREVENT erosion

Deposition
Rock particles that are picked up and transported
during erosion will ultimately be deposited
somewhere else
Deposition is the process by which sediments (small
particles of rock) are laid down in new locations.
Together, Erosion and Deposition build new
landforms.
Deltas
Canyons
Meanders
Floodplains

Delta
Where rivers meet the
ocean is called the
mouth of the river.
Soil and dirt carried
by these rivers is
deposited at the
mouth, and new land
is formed. The new,
soil-rich land is known
as a Delta

Canyons
This simple animation provides
you with a visualization of how the
Colorado River has "downcut"
into the rock layers of the Grand
Canyon.

Canyons are large

valleys created by a
river or stream.

How long it took to carve the

Grand Canyon is debated by
geologists.
Some estimates are between 6
and 8
million years, which is very recent
by comparison.

Meanders

Meandering streams wander side to side as they

constantly seek out the lowest elevation.
This constant motion creates a series of S-shaped
loops.

Meanders

Stream Velocity varies from one side to the other side

of the S, resulting in erosion in some places and
deposition of sediments in others.

Floodplains
Floodplains form along
the banks of mid-order
streams and larger rivers.
These are low-lying
areas along the sides of
a river channel that have
regular times of heavy
waterflow to cause the
river to spill over and
flood the land.