Download Guided Notes on Erosion and Deposition—Section 7

Guided Notes on Erosion and Deposition—Section 7.2
1. Erosion is the process that transports Earth materials from one place to another.
2. Deposition occurs when the movement of transported materials stops and they are
dropped in one location.
3. Gravity influences the erosional and depositional process because it causes
materials to move downslope or down stream. When gravity stops acting on
weathered materials, they become deposited.
4. There are 4 major agents of erosion: (1) Glaciers
(2) Wind
(3) Running water
(4) Living things
5. Running water is the most common agent of erosion. Streams and rivers carry
materials from higher to lower elevations and can move a large amount of
material for a long distance. Rill erosion is the erosion by small channels of water
on a slope. Gully erosion occurs when a rill channel becomes deep and wide.
6. When a river enters a large body of water, such as a lake or ocean, it slows down
and deposits eroded material in a delta.
7. The constant movement of water in an ocean and the availability of accumulated
weathered material result in continuous erosional process along ocean shorelines.
8. Glaciers scrape and gouge out large sections of the Earth’s landscape. They have
the capacity to carry large rocks over great distances. Glaciers create landscape
features such as waterfalls, lakes, and valleys.
9. Wind is a major erosional agent in areas of the Earth that experience limited
precipitation. Wind can easily move the fine particles of sediments in those areas.
One farming method that reduces the effects of wind erosion is the planting of
wind barriers, which are usually lines of trees.
10. Plants, animals, and human beings also play a role in erosion. As they carry on
their life processes, they move Earth’s surface from one place to another.
(Example: burrowing, building, clearing land).