Chapter 3

Vocabulary

20 cards·by pdunphy

erosion

the process by which water, wind, ice or gravity moves weathered rock and soil

sediment

Earth materials deposited by erosion

deposition

process in which sediment is laid down in new locations

mass movement

any one of several processes by which gravity moves sediment downhill

tributary

a stream that flows into a larger stream

meander

a looplike bend in the course of a river

delta

a landform made of sediment that is deposited where river flows into a lake or ocean

groundwater

water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers

karst topography

A type of landscape in rainy regions where there is limestone near the surface, characterized by caverns, sinkholes, and valleys

energy

the ability to do work or cause change

abrasion

the grinding away of rock by other rock

deflation

wind erosion that removes surface materials

friction

the force that opposes the motion of one surface as it moves across another surface

turbulence

a type of movement of water in which, rather than moving downstream, the water moves every which way

glacier

a large mass of moving ice and snow on land

till

the sediments deposited directly by a glacier

moraine

a ridge formed by the till deposited at the edge of a glacier

loess

a wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt

kinetic energy

the energy an object has due to its motion

headlands

a part of the shore that sticks out into the ocean