Rivers and Mountains
By Gianna, Garrett, Costel, and
Sabrina
Weathering and Erosion
• Weathering and erosion change the shape of
mountains over time.
• Weathering is a process by which rock is
broken up into smaller pieces.
• Weathering and erosion slowly chisels,
polishes, and buffs Earth’s rock into ever
evolving works of art.
• Weathering wears down rock by flowing over
it.
Mountain Erosion
• Old mountain ranges are eroded flat. However,
there are also forces creating new mountains. For
example, the Himalayas are still rising.
• Present rates of erosion are particularly high due
to more mountain building and higher mountains
than usual in earth’s history.
• The reasoning behind this claim directly
contradicts the reasoning behind the claim that
volcanoes build too much material for an old
earth.
Facts About River Erosion
• Rivers usually start out as mountain streams.
• Mature rivers flow across wide river valleys
and meander or snakes across the flat plains.
These meandering streams create large loop
meanders that develop into oxbow lakes and
adjacent to the stream.
Can Natural Disasters Affect River Erosion?
• Yes, erosion explains how rivers form. When rain
falls, they cut through sediment and even rock to
form channels where water can flow more freely.
The path eventually becomes more pronounced,
making a path, which other raindrops can follow.
Over long periods of time, erosion continues to
do this to form waterways.
How do Rivers and Mountains Change the Earth’s Surface?
• Rivers erode material from one place, and
then it deposits that material in another place.
• Mountains change the earth’s surface because
they form when two plate tectonics collide
into each other, which is called the convergent
boundary.
The Results of Too Much Weathering
and Erosion
• If there was too much erosion, rivers would
overflow and cause floods. This would disturb
and damage people’s homes.
• If there was too much weathering, there
wouldn’t be any mountains, and there would
be lots of flatlands on earth.
Questions
• Does Weathering and Erosion change the
shape of mountains?
• What is the process of Weathering and
Erosion?
• What does weathering do?
Answers
• Yes, because Weathering wears down
mountains to water level.
• Weathering wears down rocks into small
particles over time, and erosion moves the
small particles around.
• Weathering buffs Earth’s rock into ever
evolving works of art, and wears down rock by
flowing over it.
Resources
• http://www.google.com
• http://www.easybib.com/cite/view
• http://www.wiki.answers.com/