Various external forces affect the earth's surface, such as different climates and the amount of rainfall. Freezing, thawing, and running water all contribute to weathering and erosion, processes that break rock down into tiny particles. These particles are then transported by water, ice, or wind as sediment. The processes of erosion reduce mountains to hills, create canyons, valleys, and soils, and deposit huge amounts of sediments that either become eroded again or are preserved and lithified into sedimentary rock.
Geology
- Introduction to Physical Geology
- The Earth's Components
- Igneous Rocks
- Sedimentary Rocks
- Metamorphic Rocks
- Geologic Structures
- Weathering and Erosion
- Mass Wasting
- Running Water
- Glaciers and Glaciation
- Groundwater
- The Shorelines
- Deserts and Winds
- Earthquakes
- Inside the Earth
- The Ocean Floor
- Plate Tectonics
- Mountain‐Building
- Geologic Time
- Earth Resources We Depend On
- Our Solar System
- The Earth's Exterior
- Geologic Time
- The Earth Today
- History of Physical Geology
- The Earth's Origin
- The Earth's Structure
- Mineral Properties
- The Rock Cycle
- Chemical Composition
- Minerals and Rocks
- Extrusive Rock Types
- Rock Textures
- Intrusive Rock Types
- Intrusive Structures
- How Different Magmas Form
- Igneous Rocks and Plate Tectonics
- Magmatic Differentiation
- Volcanoes and Lavas
- Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
- Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
- Organic Sedimentary Rocks
- Sedimentary Features
- Sedimentary Environments
- How Sedimentary Rocks Form
- Factors Controlling Metamorphism
- Types of Metamorphism
- Metamorphic Rock Types
- Hydrothermal Rocks
- Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics
- Metamorphism Defined
- Interpreting Structures
- Mapping in the Field
- Folding
- Fracturing
- Unconformities
- Geologic Structures Defined
- Tectonic Forces
- Processes of Mechanical Weathering
- Processes of Chemical Weathering
- Soil
- Weathering
- Prevention of Mass Wasting
- Introduction to Mass Wasting
- Mass‐Wasting Controls
- Types of Mass Wasting
- Stream Dynamics
- Stream Erosion
- Sediment Load
- Stream Deposition
- Stream Valleys
- Regional Erosion
- Types of Water Flow
- How Glaciers Develop
- Glacier Movement
- Glacial Erosion
- Glacial Landforms
- Glacial Deposits
- Glaciers in the Past
- Introduction to Glaciation
- Types of Glaciers
- North American Glaciation
- Permeability
- The Water Table
- Streams and Springs
- Effects of Groundwater Flow
- Groundwater Pollution
- Geothermal Energy
- Groundwater and Infiltration
- Porosity
- Beaches
- Shoreline Features
- Tides
- Waves
- Desert Features
- The Effects of Wind
- Distribution and Causes of Deserts
- Monitoring Earthquakes
- Effects of Earthquakes
- Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
- Control and Prediction
- How Earthquakes Form
- Seismic Waves
- The Crust
- The Mantle
- Isostatic Equilibrium
- The Core
- Magnetic Fields
- Geophysics Defined
- Gravity
- Seismic Waves: Methods of Detection
- The Structure of the Earth
- Geothermal Gradients
- Continental Margins
- Ocean Floor Sediments
- Active Continental Margins
- Passive Continental Margins
- Reefs
- Investigative Technologies
- Midoceanic Ridges
- Oceanic Crust
- How Plates Move
- Types of Plate Boundaries
- Why Plates Move
- Mantle Plumes
- Pangaea
- Early Evidence for Plate Tectonics
- Paleomagnetic Evidence
- Sea Floor Evidence
- Features of Mountain Belts
- Types of Mountains
- How Mountains Form
- How Continents Form
- Introduction to Mountains
- Geologic Correlations
- Absolute Age
- A Summary of Earth's History
- Geologic Time Defined
- Relative Time
- Metallic Deposits
- Energy Resources
- Nonmetallic Resources
- Recycling and Conservation
- Resources and Reserves
- Earth's Moon
- Mars
- Jupiter and Saturn
- Introduction to the Solar System
- Mercury
- Venus
Top