Wind and Gravity Erosion

​Abrasion= wearing down of a surface by rock or other particles

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​- Leaves behind a smooth, polished surface

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​Deflation= removal of sediment by wind

​ - Leaves behind a desert pavement (mostly pebbles and rocks that are too heavy for wind to carry

• ​When wind slows down, it starts to drop it's sediment.

  • ​Dunes= mounds of sand deposited by wind.

    • ​Usually steeper on one side.

• Loess= very fine sediment that can be carried very far.​

  • ​Forms very rich soil that is good for growing crops

• ​Glacier= mass of moving ice formed by compacted snow

• ​Large glaciers slowly move downhill.

  • ​They pick up materials as they move, which they later drop as they melt

    • ​Glacial drift= movement of materials by glaciers

• ​They also cause scratches and abrasions on the rocks they pass.

• ​Alpine glacier-forms in a mountainous area.

  • Often form in a V-shaped valley.

  • ​Widen it into a U-shape.

• ​Alpine landforms:

  • ​Cirque= bowl-shaped depression

  • ​Arete= ridge between 2 cirques

  • ​Horn= 3 or more aretes joined together

• ​Form over a large, mostly flat area

• ​Flatten and smooth the land as they move

• ​Continental landforms:

  • ​Erratics= large boulders deposited by a glacier

  • ​Kettle lakes= lakes formed by chunks of ice left behind by a glacier