MEPX
Chapter 4 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Inside the Earth
  2. 2Plate tectonics
  3. 3Rocks and minerals
  4. 4Shaping the surface
  5. 5Water on Earth
  6. 6Earthquakes
  7. 7Volcanoes
  8. 8The atmosphere
  9. 9Geological time
  10. 10Resources and hazards

Chapter 4 of 10

Shaping the surface

Weathering and erosion.

Breaking down

Weathering breaks rock in place through frost, chemistry and roots. Erosion carries the pieces away by water, wind and ice. Deposition drops them somewhere else.

  • Rivers cut valleys, glaciers carve U-shaped ones.
  • Soil forms over centuries and can be lost in a season.

Landscapes

Every landscape is a balance between uplift building it and erosion wearing it down. Mountains exist where uplift is currently winning.