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8th Grade Earth Science
Chapter 9 Key Terms
Section 1
1. deposition: process in which sediment is laid down in new locations
2. erosion: the process by which water, ice, wind or gravity moves weathered rock or
soil.
3. gravity: a force that moves rocks and other materials downhill; that force that pulls
objects toward each other
4. mass movement: any one of several processes by which gravity moves sediment
downhill
5. sediment: small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or organisms; earth
materials deposited by erosion
Section 2
1. alluvial fan: a wide, sloping deposit of sediment formed where a stream leaves a
mountain range
2. delta: a landform made of sediment that is deposited where a river flows into an
ocean or lake
3. flood plain: wide valley through which a river flows
4. groundwater: water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock
layers
5. gully: a large channel in soil formed by erosion
6. karst topography: a region in which a layer of limestone close to the surface creates
deep valleys, caverns and sinkholes
7. meander: a looplike bend in the course of a river
8. oxbow lake: a meander cut off from a river
9. rill: a tiny groove in soil made by flowing water
10. runoff: water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground
11. stalactite: a calcite deposit that hangs from the roof of a cave
12. stalagmite: a cone-shaped calcite deposit that builds up from the floor of a cave
13. stream: a channel through which water is continually flowing downhill
14. tributary: a stream or smaller river that feeds into a main river
Section 3
1. abrasion: the grinding away of rock by particles carried in water, ice, or wind
2. energy: the ability to do work or cause change
3. friction: the force that opposes the motion of one surface as it moves across another
surface
4. kinetic energy: the energy an object has due to its motion
5. load: the amount of sediment that a river or stream carries
6. potential energy: energy that is stored and available to be used later
7. turbulence: a type of movement of water in which, rather than moving downstream,
the water moves every which way
Section 4
1. continental glacier: a glacier that covers much of a continent or large island
2. glacier: a large mass of moving ice and snow on land
8th Grade Earth Science
Chapter 9 Key Terms
3. ice age: time in the past when continental glaciers covered large parts of Earth’s
surface
4. kettle: a small depression that forms when a chunk of ice is left in glacial till
5. moraine: a ridge formed by the till deposited at the edge of a glacier
6. plucking: the process by which a glacier picks up rocks as it flows over the land
7. till: the sediments deposited directly by a glacier
8. valley glacier: a long narrow glacier that forms when snow and ice build up in a
mountain valley.
Section 5
1. beach: wave washed sediment along a coast
2. headland: a part of the shore that sticks our into the ocean
3. longshore drift: the movement of water and sediment down a beach caused by waves
coming into shore at an angle
4. spit: a beach formed by longshore drift that projects link a finger out into the water
Section 6
1. deflation: wind erosion that removes surface materials
2. loess: a wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt
3. sand dune: a deposit of wind-blown sand