Physical Processes
Erosion
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Erosion is the movement and removal of weathered rock, soil and sediment by wind, water, ice or gravity, distinct from weathering because it displaces material rather than merely breaking it down in place. Rain, rivers, ocean waves and glaciers all erode continuously, from the daily wearing of a coastline to the slow deepening of a river canyon over geologic time. Landslides are erosion driven by gravity alone, moving material already loosened by weathering.
Facts
Process Type TimescaleContinuous and ongoing at every scale: waves rework a beach many times a minute, while a river-cut canyon deepens over millions of years. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Demonstrated By
A major river actively eroding and reworking its channel and banks today.
Shaped
The canyon's depth is the product of sustained fluvial erosion by the Colorado River system over millions of years.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Nature Atlas: Erosion, the same subject.
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