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Ch 7-9 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
weathering | surface processes work to break down rock |
Mechanical Weathering | occurs when rocks are broken apart by physical processes |
Ice Wedging | occurs in temperate and cold climates where water enters the cracks in rocks and freezes |
Chemical Weathering | occurs when chemical reactions dissolve the minerals in rocks or change them into different minerals |
Oxidation | occurs when some materials are exposed to oxygen and water |
Climate | the pattern of weather that occurs in a particular area over many years |
Soil | moisture of weathered rocks, decayed organic matter, mineral fragments, water, and air |
Humus | dark-colored, decayed, organic matter that serves as a source of nutrients foe plants |
horizon | different layers of soil |
Soil Profile | all the horizons of a soil |
Litter | leaves, twigs, and other organic material that eventually can be changed to humus by decomposers |
Leaching | the removal of minerals that have been dissolved in water |
No-Till Farming | farmers leave plant stalks in the field over the winter months and plant seed crops without destroying the stalks or plowing the soil |
Contour Farming | on gentle slopes, planting along the natural contours of the land |
Terracing | method in which steep-sided, level topped areas are built onto the sides of steep hills and mountains so that crops can be grown |
Erosion | process that wears away surface materials and moves them from one place to another |
Deposition | when agents of erosion drop the sediments they are carrying as they lose energy. When sediments are eroded, they are not lost- they are just relocated |
Mass Movement | any type of erosion that happens as gravity moves materials down a slope |
Slump | when a mass of materials slips down along a curved surface |
Creep | occurs when sediments slowly shift their positions downhill |
Glacier | a large mass of ice and snow moving on land under it’s own weight |
Plucking | 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 |
till | jumble of boulders, sand, clay, and silt left behind after a glacier retreats |
Moraine | large ridge of rocks and soil deposited by a glacier when it stops moving forward |
Outwash | materials deposited by the meltwater from a glacier, most often at the end of the glacier |
Deflation | when wind blow across loose sediment, removing the small particles such as silt and sand |
Abrasion | when windblown sediment strikes rock, the surface of the rock gets scraped and worn away |
Loess | wind deposits of very fine-grained sediments |
Dune | a mound of sediments drifted by the wind |
Runoff | water that doesn’t soak into the ground or evaporate but instead flows across the Earth’s surface |
Channel | groove created by water moving down the same path |
Sheet Erosion | when water that is flowing as sheets picks up and carries away sediments |
Drainage Basin | the area of land from which a stream or river collects runoff |
Meander | broad bend in a river or stream |
Groundwater | water that soaks into the ground collects in pores and empty spaces |
Permeable | having pore spaces that allow water to pass through |
Impermeable | water cannot pass through |
Aquifer | layer of permeable rock that lets water move freely |
Water Table | the upper surface of the zone of saturation |
Spring | place where the water table is so close to Earth’s surface that water freely flows out |
Geyser | hot spring that erupts periodically, shooting water and steam into the air |
Cave | natural opening in rock created by chemical weathering of limestone |
Longshore Current | created by waves colliding with the shore at slight angle |
Beach | deposits of sediments that are parallel to the shore |