click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
ch fourteen
Question | Answer |
---|---|
mechanical weathering | breaking down rock into smaller pieces without changing its composition |
chemical weathering | breaking down rock into smaller pieces by chemical interactions which change the rock's composition |
soil | a complex mixture of minerals, water, gases, and organic matter |
residual soil | soil that forms "in place" directly over its parent rock |
transported soil | soil with different characteristics from the parent rock beneath |
parent rock | the rock from which the soil was weathered |
soil profile | a cross section of the soil and its bedrock |
horizon | a horizontal layer of soil |
humus | dark, organic material produced from decay of plants and animals |
erosion | the movement or transport of rock or soil |
contour plowing | plowing soil in curved bands that follow the shape of the land |
strip-cropping | planting crops in alternating bands |
terracing | construction of steplike ridges that follow the slope of the land |
crop rotation | planting one type of crop one year, and another type the next year |
mass movement | movement of fragments down a slope as a result of gravity |
rockfall | sudden fall of rock from a steep cliff |
landslide | sudden fall of rock and soil down a steep slope |
mudflow | rapid movement of mud down a slope |
slump | a block of soil that becomes unstable on a slope and slides down along a curved surface |
solifluction | water-saturated soil slowly moving over frozen layers |
creep | extremely slow movemnet of soil down a slope due to freezing and thawing |
plain | relatively flat land near sea level |
plateau | flat land at high elevations |
mesa | smaller table-like areas formed as a plateau is dissected by weathering |
buttes | narrow-topped formations formed as mesas are weathered |
talus | piles of rock fragments at the base of a slope |