Wind Erosion - Planetary
Winds
Supporting Details:
● Wind is gas in motion and
exists only on planets with
atmospheres
Wind Erosion - Martian Winds
Supporting Details:
● Mars' surface has been
eroded by winds that swept
away surface particles and
left behind boulders
● The thinner or less dense
the atmosphere the harder
it is for the wind to make
an impact on a planet's
surface
Wind Erosion - Winds on
Venus
Supporting Details:
● Upper atmosphere is very
windy (350 km/hr)
● Lower atmosphere the
winds decrease to almost 0
● Winds could be caused by
the sun heating the
planet's surface and
causing the air to rise
● The thicker the
atmosphere the easier it is
for the wind to make an
impact on a planet's
surface
Water Erosion
Water On Mars
Tectonics
Supporting Details:
● Water flows from highlands
to lowlands
● Flowing water
erodes(wears away) at
rock and land
● Water erosion can create
canyons, valleys, and
stream networks
Supporting Details:
● Valles Marineris, a huge
canyon on Mars, was
formed partly by flowing
water
● Valles Marineris is the size
of the U.S.
Supporting Details:
● Study of how the outer
layer of a planet can shift
and break
● Faults occur when outer
layers move past each
other
● When rock on the outer
layer of a planet collide
(push together) the rock
folds
● Rocks can be stretched
which produces large
valleys
Tectonics
Continued
Volcanism: Volcanoes on Planets and Moons
Supporting Details:
● Asteroids or comets can fracture a
planet's surface
● Extreme temperature changes
can cause fracturing of a planet's
surface
Supporting Details:
● Magma found deep inside a planet erupts and forms
lava
● Lava can create landforms ex. lava plains and
volcanoes
● Lava plains called Maria cover 17% of the moon's
surface
● There are shield volcanoes (low, flat volcanoes) on Io
(Jupiter's moon), Venus, and Mars
● Olympus Mons is the largest shield volcano in the solar
system
● Shield volcanoes are larger on planets other than Earth
because these planets do not have moving tectonic
plates