Geology PPT 1
Geology PPT 1
Geology PPT 1
Mrs. Degl 1
There are two primary types of weathering:
Chemical and Physical
What type of weathering occurs in an area that has about 140 cm of precipitation each
year and an average temperature of 5°C? _________________________
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Erosion (transport)
There are 5 main agents of erosion:
1. *Running Water*
2. Glaciers
3. Wind
4. Gravity Weathering has to happen before erosion.
5. Man The rocks have to be broken into smaller
sediments before they can be eroded away.
Wind Erosion
Glacier
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Stream erosion is the greatest at waterfalls.
Erosion at waterfalls is called undermining.
Which rock layer appears to be the least resistant (weakest)? _______
Which rock layer appears to be the most resistant (strongest)? _______
Resistant rocks usually form steep cliffs and waterfalls, by sticking out
further than the lower layers.
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There are 4 basic products of weathering, that can be eroded:
1. Soils
2. Solid Sediments (boulders, cobbles, pebbles, sand, silt)
3. Colloids/Clay Particles (not visible to your eye)
4. Ions (very small electrically charged particles)
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There is a pile of weathered
Mount Rushmore material at the bottom. It is
slowly being eroded down hill
It will not be there forever!! by gravity.
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You can identify which agent of erosion transported each sediment by looking at
a few characteristics:
Running Water – sediments that have been transported through
running water appear rounded and smooth and are deposited in
sorted piles.
Glaciers – sediments that have been transported by glaciers appear
scratched, grooved, and are deposited in completely unsorted
piles, because they were dropped during melting. Also, boulders
can only be transported by glaciers.
Wind - sediments that have been transported by wind are appear
pitted (random holes) and frosted (glazed look) and are deposited
in sorted piles. Only very small particles can be transported by
wind.
Gravity – sediments that are transported by gravity are found in
piles at the bottom of cliffs or steep slopes. They appear angular
and unsorted.
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Extreme Wind Erosion Melbourne dust storm, 1983
The rocks to the right were transported by running
water. How can you tell? _______________
Glacial Striations
(scratches)
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Running water can transport sediment in three ways:
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Erosion vocabulary and facts:
The sediments that are being transported by the river/stream are
traveling a little bit slower than the water. This is because of
friction.
Stream/River Bed – the bottom of a stream or river.
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This is how
water drains
off of
mountains
that are made
of many
different
rocks.
Stream Drainage Patterns
Sediments
are Straight Flowing River/Stream Running
traveling
the fastest Water
in the
center
directly
below the
surface. Mrs. Degl 18
Mrs. Degl 19
Mrs. Degl 20
There are 5 ways that man can cause erosion:
1. Forestry – all vegetation of removed,
and without roots, the soil will erode
away.
2. Strip Mining – removing rock cover to
get to the resources below, which causes
the loose sediments to erode away.
3. Construction – the clearing of land to
build buildings/houses also causes all
loose soil to erode away.
4. Improper Farming – not plowing the
land at right angles to slopes causes soil
to erode away.
5. Salting Highways – the salt is washed
off the road to the sides, where it
prevents vegetative growth along the
sides.
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Deposition – the process where sediments are
released/dropped by their agent of erosion.
Most deposition happens in standing/still bodies of water
(oceans/lakes).
Deposition is caused by the slowing down (loss of kinetic energy)
of the agent of erosion.
There are 3 factors that influence the rate of sediment deposition:
1. Sediment size –
2. Sediment shape –
3. Sediment density -
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Graded Bedding/Vertical Sorting – a situation where larger
particles settle on the bottom and smaller particles settle towards the
top. This happens naturally when a fast moving river/stream meets a
large standing body of water. This happens because the velocity of
the water decreases very quickly. (A waterfall emptying into a lake)
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Horizontal Sorting – a situation where moving water enters a
larger, still body of water slowly, and causes the larger particles to
be deposited closer to the shoreline. Particle size decreases as you
move away from the shore.
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Delta – a fan shaped deposit that forms at the mouth of a
river/stream when it enters a larger body of water. This is seen
under the water. The particles are horizontally sorted.
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Alluvial Fan - a fan shaped deposit of sediments that forms
when a stream/river flows out of a mountain on to flat, dry plains.
These are not under water and are very visible. This only
happens on the land. You can call it a “land delta”.
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Cross-Bedding – a situation where
layers of sediments are deposited
at angles to one another as a result
of a change of direction of the
erosional agent.
These are usually found in sand
dunes, deltas, and alluvial fans.
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