Wearing Down and Building Up
- WEARING DOWN AND BUILDING UP:A mudflow is a great example of erosion . Erosion is the process by which natural forces move weathered rock and soil from one place to another. You may have seen water carrying soil and gravel down a driveway after it rains. That's an example of erosion. A mudflow is a very rapid type of erosion. Other types of erosion move soil and rock more slowly. Gravity, running water, glaciers, waves, and wind are all major agents of erosion. In geology, an agent is a force or material that causes a change in earth's surface.
- The material moved by erosion is sediment. Sediment may consist of pieces of rock or soil or the remains of plants and animals. Deposition occurs when the agents of erosion, deposit, or lay down sediment.
- Weathering, erosion, and deposition act together in a cycle that wears down and builds up Earth's surface. Erosion and deposition are at work everywhere on Earth. As a mountain wears down in one place, new landforms build up in other places. The cycle of erosion and deposition is never-ending.
- MASS MOVEMENT: Gravity is the force that moves rock and other materials downhill. Gravity causes mass movement, any one of several processes that move sediment downhill. The different types of mass movement include, landslides, mudflows, slump,and creep. Mass movement can be fast or slow.