Breaking Down Rocks
This is the process that breaks down rocks into smaller pieces without moving them.
What is weathering?
This natural process moves weathered rock and soil from one place to another.
What is erosion?
This is the loose material on Earth’s surface made from weathered rock and organic matter.
What is soil?
When water dissolves minerals and carries them downward through soil, it is called this.
What is leaching?
86% sand, 5% silt, and 9% clay.
What is loamy sand?
When water freezes in the cracks of rocks and expands, it causes this type of mechanical weathering.
What is frost wedging?
This agent of erosion shapes valleys, carries sediment, and can form deltas where it slows down.
What is rivers and streams?
The solid layer of rock beneath soil is called this.
What is bedrock?
The permeability of soil affects how much water can pass through it; soils with high content of this sized particle are usually very permeable.
What is sand?
53% sand, 34% silt, and 13% clay.
What is sandy loam?
Tree roots growing into rock cracks and breaking the rock apart is an example of this type of weathering.
What is mechanical weathering?
This agent of erosion can carve out U-shaped valleys as it moves downhill.
What is a glacier?
Sediments moved by wind, water, or glaciers form this type of soil.
What is transported soil?
When a river empties into a large body of water, this depositional feature is formed.
What is a delta?
31% sand, 36% silt, 33% clay.
What is clay loam?
This term describes how repeated heating and cooling can cause the outer layers of rocks to peel off like an onion.
What is exfoliation?
When rainwater cuts small channels into soil on a gentle slope, it’s called this type of erosion.
What is rill erosion?
When plants and animals die and decay, they add this dark, nutrient-rich material to the soil.
What is humus?
Heavy rains on a steep slope with little vegetation is likely to cause this type of mass movement.
What is a landslide?
12% sand, 5% clay.
What is silt?
In deserts, sandblasting from wind-driven particles wears away rock surfaces in a process called this.
What is abrasion?
This wind-formed deposit of fine dust can make very fertile farmland, such as in the Midwest of the United States.
What is loess?
Soil forms in layers called horizons. The subsoil, containing leached minerals from the topsoil, is known by this letter.
What is the B Horizon?
Farm fields will start to accumulate large amounts of salts when this is done regularly.
What is irrigation?
48% sand, 12% silt.
What is sandy clay?