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erosion

Cheddar Gorge in the Mendip Hills - Click to enlarge
coastal erosion - Click to enlarge
eroded sandstone - Click to enlarge
Grand Canyon, South Rim - Click to enlarge
Hoodoos - Click to enlarge
human impact on sand dunes - Click to enlarge
rock erosion - Click to enlarge
waterfall - Click to enlarge
weathering and erosion of limestone - Click to enlarge
Click images to enlarge

Wearing away of the Earth's surface by a moving agent, caused by the breakdown and transport of particles of rock or soil. Agents of erosion include the sea, rivers, glaciers, and wind. By contrast, weathering does not involve transportation.

The most powerful forms of erosion are water, consisting of sea waves and currents, rivers, and rain; ice, in the form of glaciers; and wind, hurling sand fragments against exposed rocks and moving dunes along. People also contribute to erosion by poor farming practices and the cutting down of forests, which can lead to increased overland water run-off.

There are several processes of river erosion including hydraulic action, corrasion, attrition, and solution.

© RM 2010. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.


 
 

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