Scribd
Upload
21 views1 page

Landforms Weathering Rock Fluvial Glacial Processes: Degradation

Uploaded by

roberto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
21 views1 page

Landforms Weathering Rock Fluvial Glacial Processes: Degradation

Uploaded by

roberto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

The broadest application of the term 

erosion embraces the general


wearing down and molding of all landforms on Earth’s surface,
including the weathering of rock in its original position, the transport
of weathered material, and erosion caused by wind action and fluvial,
marine, and glacial processes. This broad definition is more correctly
called denudation, or degradation, and includes mass-movement
processes. A narrow and somewhat limiting definition of erosion
excludes the transport of eroded material by natural agencies, but the
exclusion of the transport phenomenon makes the distinction between
erosion and weathering very vague. Erosion, therefore, includes the
transportation of eroded or weathered material from the point of
degradation (such as the side of a mountain or other landform) but not
the deposition of material at a new site. The complementary actions of
erosion and deposition or sedimentation operate through the
geomorphic processes of wind, moving water, and ice to alter existing
landforms and create new landforms.

Erosion will often occur after rock has been disintegrated or altered
through weathering. Weathered rock material will be removed from its
original site and transported away by a natural agent. With both
processes often operating simultaneously, the best way to distinguish
erosion from weathering is by observing the transportation of
material.

You might also like