EROSION AND CHAPTER 6

DEPOSITION
 THE EROSION- LESSON 1
DEPOSITION PROCESS
 OBJECTIVES

To determine how erosion can shape and sort sediments.

To identify the relationship between erosion and deposition.
To determine the features that distinguish a landform created
by erosion or by deposition.
 WHAT IS A PROCESS?

An ongoing event or a series of related events.

The reshaping of the Earths surface is a constructive and
destructive process.
This constructive and destructive process produces landforms on
Earths surface.
 CONSTRUCTIVE VS. DESTRUCTIVE

CONSTRUCTIVE DESTRUCTIVE
Building up the Tears down the
features on the Earths features on Earths
surface. surface.
Ex. When lava erupts Ex. A hurricane
from a volcano and it washing part of the
hardens, forming new shoreline into the sea.
land.
 Constructive and destructive processes continuously shape
the Ear ths surface.
 WHAT ARE THE PROCESSES
INVOLVED IN THE RESHAPING
OF THE EARTHS SURFACE?
WEATHERING
WEATHERING
 WEATHERING

It is a destructive process that changes the Earths surface by

the breaking down of rocks.
Chemical Weathering Changes the composition of the rock
Physical Weathering Breaks down the rock into pieces called
sediments but it does not change the composition.
 WEATHERING AGENTS

The causes of weathering.

Weathering Agents:
1. Water Can dissolve minerals in the rocks.
2. Wind Can grind and polish rocks
3. Ice Can crack the rocks by ice wedging
4. Plants and Animals
 DIFFERENT RATES OF WEATHERING

The dif ferent rates in weathering can produce unusual

landforms.
Weathering can break away less resistant parts and leave the
more resistant parts of the rocks.
 What happens to the weathered material?
EROSION
 EROSION

It is a destructive process.
It is the removal of weathered material from one location to
another.
Agents of Erosion:
1. Water
2. Wind
3. Glaciers
4. Gravity
 DIFFERENT RATES OF EROSION

Like weathering, erosion occurs at different rates .

Factors of dif ferent rates of erosion:
Weather and Climate
Topography
Type of Rock
 WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Compare a gentle breeze to a strong breeze. Which can erode

a rock more easily?
 TOPOGRAPHY

Which will erode weathered rocks more easily, a flat surface

or a surface going down hill?
What about barren land vs. land with vegetation?
 T YPE OF ROCKS

Which is easier to erode, a big sized rock or a small sized

rock?
Rock types can determine the size of the end product of
weathered rocks.
If the rock types arent easily weathered, they can produce larger
sized rocks which are hard to erode.
If rock types can be easily weathered, they can produce smaller sized
rocks which are easy to erode.
WHAT HAPPENS TO ROCKS
WHEN THEY ERODE?
 ROUNDING

When rock fragments bump into each other during erosion,

the shapes of the rock fragments can change.
It can range from a poorly rounded rock to a well -rounded
rock.
Well-rounded Has been more polished during erosion.
Poorly rounded Has not gone through erosion for a long time.
ROUNDING
 SORTING

It is the process of separating of items into groups according

to one or more proper ties.
Ex. As sediments are transported, it can be sorted by grain
size.
Well-sorted sediments Have been moved a lot
Poorly sorted sediments Result of rapid transportation.
DEPOSITION
 DEPOSITION

Happens after rock materials are eroded.

It is a constructive process.
It is the laying down or settling down of eroded material.
As water or wind slows down, it has less energy and can hold less
sediments.
Some sediments can be laid down or deposited.
 DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Where sediments are deposited.

Locations include land, along coasts, or in oceans.
Examples:
Swamps A wet land occasionally or partially covered with water.
Deltas An area of land which a river divides into smaller rivers and
empties into a large body of water.
Beaches
Ocean Floor
 DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

HIGH ENERGY LOW ENERGY

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT
Where sediments are Areas of slow moving
transported and environments.
deposited quickly.
Small grains of sediment
Usually large grains of
sediments are deposited are usually deposited
here. here.
Examples: Examples:
Rushing rivers Deep lakes
Ocean shores with large Areas of slow moving air
waves.
Swamps
Deserts with strong winds.
 Sediments deposited in water often form as layers called
beds.
They usually appear as stripes.
Beds often form as layers of sediment at the bottom of rivers,
lakes, and oceans.
They can be preserved in sedimentary rocks.
INTERPRETING
LANDFORMS
 Just by observing the characteristics of landforms, you can
determine whether they were formed by either erosion or
deposition.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY EROSION

The land forms produced by erosion are often tall, jagged

structures with cuts in layers of rock.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY EROSION

1. Landforms created by erosion can expose several layers of

rocks.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY EROSION

2. Dif ferent rates of erosion can result in unusual landforms

erode.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY EROSION

3. Glacial erosion and coastal erosion also form unique

landforms.
Ex. U-shaped valley carved by ice for glacial erosion.
Ex. Sea cliffs, caves and sea arches for coastal erosion.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY DEPOSITION

These are often flat and low -lying.

Examples
Wind deposition can form deserts of sand.
Deposition can occur where mountain streams reach the gentle
slopes of wide, flat valleys.
ALLUVIAL FAN
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY DEPOSITION

Examples:
Traveling water in a river can slow down due to the friction of the
edges and the bottom of the river channel.
Deposition occurs on the river bed when the flow starts to slow.
Can form a sand bar.
 LANDFORMS CREATED BY DEPOSITION

When glaciers melt, they leave behind sediments.

These can create long and narrow deposits called eskers and
moraines.
 COMPARING LANDFORMS

Looking back, there are big dif ferences between landforms

created by erosion and deposition.
Erosion Tall and jagged landforms
Deposition Flat and low landforms