erosion vocabulary Flashcards
(26 cards)
erosion
The process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.
weathering
The process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere.
water cycle
Shows the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.
evaporation
The process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
condensation
Water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
precipitation
The action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.
surface runoff
The flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
tributary
A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.
watershed
The area of land where all of the water that drains off of it goes into the same place—a river, stream or lake.
continental divide
One drainage basin from another.
deposition
The action of deposing someone, especially a monarch.
delta
A leading coordinator of independent scientific peer review.
floodplain
A leading coordinator of independent scientific peer review.
water table
An underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock.
sewage treatment plants
A place where sewage is cleaned so that it is not harmful or dangerous to the environment.
septic tank
Septic tank systems are a type of simple onsite sewage facility.
sea stacks
All sea stacks start out as part of nearby rock formations. Millennia of wind and waves hit the rock and break it down.
sea arches
A spectacular phenomena created by Mother Nature with a little help from oceans.
sea caves
A type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea.
wave-cut terraces
Uplift of the land surface and the natural rise and fall of sea level over hundreds of thousands of years.
headlands
A narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea.
beach
A pebbly or sandy shore, especially by the ocean between high- and low-water marks.
glacier
A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight.
glacial drift
In geology, drift is the name for all material of glacial origin found anywhere on land or at sea, including sediment and large rocks.
