erosion Flashcards
(26 cards)
the process by which wind, ice, water, or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to another
erosion
the process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical and chemical processes
weathering
the continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean
water cycle
takes place when water changes into water vapor
evaporation
takes place when water vapor cools and changes into water droplets
condensation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls from clouds onto the Earth
precipitation
precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers
surface runoff
a stream that flows into a lake or into a larger stream
tributary
the area of land that is drained by a water system
watershed
a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea
continental divide
the process in which material is laid down
deposition
a fan-shaped mass of material deposited at the mouth of a stream
delta
an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks
floodplain
the upper surface of underground water; the upper boundary of the zone of saturation
water table
a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage
sewage treatment plants
an underground chamber through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment
septic tank
a geological land form consisting of a steep, vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, made by wind erosion
sea stacks
remnants of once-continuous sea cliffs, where lava has previously met the sea and added to the size of the island
sea arches
a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea
sea caves
the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion
wave-cut terraces
a narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea
headlands
a strip of land covered with sand, pebbles, or small stones at the edge of a body of water
beach
a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles
glacier
a name for all sediment transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by glacial meltwater
glacial drift
