Erosion Quiz

Wind can usually only pick and and blow very light sediments.

Erosion is when sediments are moved from one place to another by natural forces.

Water ultimately carries sediments to the oceans.

When wind piles up sand into large hills, they are called dunes.

Gravity pulls sediments downhill.

When sediments are blown into the air in great amounts, the large cloud of sand and dust is called a sandstorm or a duststorm.

Slump is when a section of a hillside breaks off and slides down without falling apart.

Creep is when the soil on a hill moves downhill so slowly, you cannot see it move. You can tell it has moved by looking at leaning fences and trees on the hillside.

Small channels formed from runoff carrying away sediments are called rills.

The bowl-shaped feature carved by a glacier where it starts to form on a mountain is called a cirque.

Abrasion is when sand is blown against rock and scrapes it away, similar to sandblasting used to take paint of manmade objects.

Large ditches formed from water carrying away sediments are called gullies.

When wind scrapes soil of rocks, it is called abrasion. Abrasion can create strange shaped rocks in places like the desert.

When gravity pulls loose rocks downhill, it is called a rockslide or rockfall.

When soil is blown off the ground, it is called deflation.

When water mixes with loose soil, gravity can pull it down a hillside all at once, called a mudflow.

The soil pushed to the sides of a glacier as it moves down a mountain and begins carving valleys is called a moraine.

Glaciers can carve mountains and create deep valleys as they grow.

Slump is when a section of a hillside breaks off and slides down without falling apart, creating a stair step look to the side of a hill.