Lesson III: Building up the Earth’s Surface

Main Idea !
Constructive forces, such as deposition and volcanic
activity, build up the Earth’s surface features.
 Deposition

Deposition: is the dropping, or releasing,

of sediments that have been moved from
one place to another.
 Deposition
Erosion carries away
sediments. It is a
destructive force.
Deposition deposits,
or drops them off
somewhere. It is a
constructive force. It
builds up the land.
Deposition
Deposition helps
create a variety of
surface features,
especially in
rivers:
• meanders
• alluvial fans
• deltas
 Deposition
As water moves
across flat regions,
the river begins to
curve in meanders.
Meanders increase in
size as the water
erodes the outside of
each curve and
deposits sediment on
the inside.
Deposition

When water rushes

down a steep slope
and then spreads out
over a flat plain, a
deposit called an
alluvial fan occurs.
 Deposition

When a river flows into an ocean, deposition at the

end of the river forms a delta. The Mississippi
River has a delta that extends well into the Gulf of
Mexico.
 Pushing up the Earth’s Surface
Not far below the
Earth’s surface,
temperatures are
hot enough to melt
rock! Melted rock
below the surface is
called magma.
 Pushing up the Earth’s Surface

Pressure below the surface can cause magma to push up

on the crust, creating dome-shaped mountains.
 Pushing up the Earth’s Surface

In some places, magma works its way to the surface

as lava. As the lava flows and cools, it hardens into
rock, creating gentle slopes called shield cones.
Pushing up the Earth’s Surface

Shield cones often

form on the ocean
floor, but sometimes
they rise above the
water. The Hawaiian
Islands are the tops of
giant shield cones.
 Pushing up the Earth’s Surface
A different constructive
force creates some
mountain chains, like
the Himalaya
Mountains. They were
formed when huge
sections of the Earth’s
crust moved into each
other.
Glacial Deposits

As giant glaciers
slowly move, they
both erode and
deposit Earth.
 Glacial Deposits
The rock material that is deposited by a glacier is
known as till. Till can be dumped behind or in
front of a glacier. When the glacier deposits till
in the front, the deposits are called moraines.
Moraines are typically very fertile lands.
Glacial Deposits
Streams flowing
through melting
glaciers can also
deposit sediment,
usually into
winding ridges.
These are called
eskers.
 Other Deposition

The white cliffs of Dover, England are an example

of animal deposition. The cliffs were formed from
the shells of tiny sea animals that rose out of the
water when the crust moved.
 Other Deposition

Coral reefs are also formed from living things.

As the animals that live on the reefs die, their
skeletons build up the reef.
What are some ways in which the
Earth gets built back up?