Section 1 Earth’s Changing Surface
Weathering- is the process that breaks rock into sediment.
Erosion- is moving soil/sediment from one place to another.
Deposition- deposits sediment somewhere else.
1. Weathering, Erosion and Deposition- work together to wear down and build up the surface of the
earth.
Gravity- is a force that pulls things downhill.
Mass movement- moves large amounts of sediment downhill fast or slow.
2. Gravity causes mass movement, including landslides, mudflows, slump, and creep.
Landslides
Mudflows
Slump
Creep
Most destructive-rock and soil
slide quickly
Dangerous-rock and soil and
water
Mass of rock and soil suddenly
fall
Very slow downhill movement of
rock and soil
*most destructive
Heavy rain
Water soaked soil
Freezing and thawing of water
Section 2 Water Erosion
Key Concepts
1. Moving water is the major agent of the erosion that has shaped Earth’s land surface
2. Through erosion, a river creates valleys, water-falls, flood plains, meanders, and oxbow lakes.
3. Deposition creates alluvial fans and deltas. It can also add soil to a river’s flood plain.
4. Groundwater can cause erosion through a process of chemical weathering.
Key Terms
Runoff-is water that moves over Earth’s surface. Runoff causes sheet erosion (topsoil). It is affected by
amount of grass/vegetation.
Rills- grooves in soil caused by runoff.
Gully- larger grooves come from growing rills.
Stream- a channel in which water flows down a slope.
Tributary- a stream or river that flows into a larger river.
Flood plain- flat, wide area of land along a river (banks)
Meander- loop like bend in the course of a river.
Alluvial fan- deposits dropped in a fan shaped at bottom of a mountain.
Delta- sediment deposited where a river flows into an ocean or lake.
Stalactite- a deposit that hangs like an icicle from the roof of a cave
Stalagmite-deposit on the floor
Section 3 Glaciers
Key Concepts
1. There are two kinds of glaciers-continental glaciers and valley glaciers.
2. The two processes by which glaciers erode the land are plucking and abrasion.
3. When a glacier melts, it deposits the sediment it eroded from the land, creating various landforms.
Key Terms
Glacier- a large mass of moving ice
Continental glacier- covers much of a continent, or island. Antarctica
Valley glacier- a long, narrow glacier that forms when snow and ice build up high in a mountain valley.
Plucking- glacier picks up rock as they move across land.
Till- sediment that is deposited by a glacier.
Section 4 Waves
Key Concepts
1. The energy in waves comes from wind that blows across the water’s surface.
2. Waves shape the coast through erosion by breaking down rock and transporting sand and other
sediment.
3. Waves shape a coast when they deposit sediment, forming coastal features such as beaches, spits,
and barrier beaches.
Key Terms
Beach- area of wave- washed sediment (usually sand) along a coast.
Longshore drift- sediment moves down the beach with the current.
Spit- forms from a longshore drifts deposition.
Section 5 Wind
Key Concepts
1. Wind causes erosion by deflation and abrasion.
2. Wind erosion and deposition may form sand dunes and loess deposits.
Key Terms
Sand dune- A deposit of windblown sand.
Deflation- wind removes surface material
Loess- sediment that is finer than sand. (Clay)
Glacial deposition has literally carved out landscape regions around the world and in New York State. As
glaciers move over the land they act as a "bulldozer" changing the view of the landscape. As glaciers
pass over the land they leave distinct features that are very common to New York State. New York State
was once covered by ice, miles thick.