Term | Definition |
abrasion | eroding action of windblown sand |
aeolian | suspension, saltation, and creep, in which wind transports sediments |
alluvial fan | fan-shaped deposit of sediments at the mouth of a dry stream bed in the desert |
barrier islands | narrow, sandy islands that lie off the coast of the mainland |
breakwater | a long pile of rocks deposited parallel to the shore to prevent erosion |
carbonic acid | natural acid, found in rainwater and ground water, promotes chemical weathering of rock |
caverns | limestone formations that have become filled with various passageways and large caves |
chemical weathering | when minerals in rock react chemically with air or water, and the minerals weaken or even dissolve away, causing the rock to crumble |
cirque | huge bowl-shaped depression dug out by a valley glacier |
continental glacier | large sheets of glacial ice that cover huge areas of relatively flat land |
creep | process in which particles too heavy to be lifted by the wind are rolled in short bursts |
crevasses | the deep cracks that develop on the surface of a glacier |
deflation | most important effect of wind erosion |
delta | fan-shaped deposit of sediments at the mouth of a river |
drainage basin | region of land drained by a stream or river system |
drumlin | a low hill formed when a glacier overruns a moraine |
erosion | the carrying away of rock fragments, such as by wind or running water |
exfoliation | type of weathering involves the breaking or peeling away or rock into layers |
fjord | fomed when a glacier-carved valley fills with seawater |
floodplain | land that borders a river and is covered by river water in flood time |
headwaters | the source of a river |
horn | sharp, steeple-shaped point of a mountain with three or more cirques |
ice caps | ice sheets smaller than continental glaciers |
ice wedging | type of weathering that occurs when rainwater soaks into cracks in a rock and freezes, splitting the rock |
karst | regions of the earth's surface where limestone is exposed and abundant |
levee | natural ridge formed along the edge of a river's channel |
limestone | type of rock most commonly associated with caverns |
load | the sediments carried by a stream |
loess | deposits of clay and silt left by a sandstorm |
meander | a winding, looping curve in a river on flat ground |
moraines | piles of debris left behind when a glacier melts |
oxbow lake | lake formed when a sharp curve in a river is cut off from the rest of the river |
physical weathering | when natural forces break down rocks |
river | a large stream that carries water from the mountains to the sea |
river system | feature formed by streams merging and flowing toward the sea as a large river |
sea arch | produced when a sea cave is eroded continually |
sea cliff | vertical face of rock that forms when the sea erodes lands |
sea stack | pillar-like structure of rock fomed when the middle of a sea arch collapses |
sinkhole | a large, funnel-shaped depression in the ground caused by cavern collapse |
stalagmite | spirelike mass of dripstone on the floor of a cave |
striae | large, deep grooves and scratches in rock, produced by glaciers |
terracing | method of erosion prevention that modifies a smooth slope into a series of level, stairlike steps |
tributary | one of numerous streams that feed into a river at various points |
valley glacier | rivers of ice that slowly flow down from mountainous regions into valleys; aka alpine glacier |
water | main agent of chemical weathering |
weathering | natural processes that break down rocks |