Erosion By Water Processes

In the next few chapter we will examine erosion, and its effect on the landscape. Erosion takes place when materials in the landscape are moved from one location to another. This might happen as dust is blown off the side of a cliff face by wind, or as silt is carried downstream by a river.

In previous chapters we have studied what happens when rocks are weathered, breaking down into smaller pieces, and also what happens as soil, rocks, and boulders mass waste, falling down the side of a mountain. We will now look at the final force that force that effects the landscape.

Once rocks have been broken down by weathering, and by mass wasting the final fate of all materials is to be carried away to another location by erosion.

The most influential force in erosion is water. Water’s ability to move materials from one location to another, along with the fact that it is found everywhere along the surface of the earth, make it a superb tool for erosion.