Deposition and Depositional Landforms

The process of weathering, mass wasting, erosion and deposition are responsible for the
continued reshaping of the earth surface. The agents of erosion are also agents of deposition.

Deposition is the aggradation or accumulations of weather and sediments to create different

landform.

Water and Landforms

Whenever streams velocity decreases, it deposits sediments it carries.

*Alluvium- is the material deposit by a stream.

Some may be temporary because the materials may be carried again and eventually carried to
the ocean. Materials like sand and gravel may be deposited in the longer life.

Delta is a low, watery land formed at the mouth of a river. It is formed from the silt, sand and
small rocks that flow downstream in the river and are deposited in the delta. When river loses
energy as it flows in to an area of slow-moving water such as a lake or the sea. When the river
meets the sea , clay particles coagulate and settle in the seabed (flocculation). The water flows
into a delta through distributaries. Distributaries are part of a stream that leaves the main flow.

Alluvial fans are formed when a stream reaches a flat area(piedmont) or gently sloping plain.
When the velocity slow it loses its capacity to carry it sediment material and deposits them at
the junction of the hill and piedmont forming fan shaped deposits.

Flood plain is a flat wide expanse of alluvium covering flat areas prone to flooding. A sheet of
silts is deposited after successive flood, increasing the richness of the soil as well as its height.

Levees are formed by successive flood over many years. When a river overflow its back, its
velocity decreases, leaving coarse sediments deposited to form a small, natural
embankment( levees) alongside the channel. As the water spreads out, fine sediments over a
valley gentle slope of levees.

Glacier and Landforms

Glacier -as they moved across the land, pick up and transport huge load of debris. Ultimately,
these materials are deposited when glaciers melt. In general, all unsorted deposits of rock
formed directly by the ice are called glacial till.
Moraines-material left behind when glacier recedes. Layers or ridges of till. A long pile of rocky
material at the edge of a glacier is called lateral moraine while at the middle of the glacier is
called medial moraine.

Ekser -a long, winding ridge formed when sand and gravel fill melt water tunnels beneath a
glacier.

Drumlins -are streamlined asymmetrical hills composed of till. They may occur for clusters
called drumlin fields.

Kame- small, cone-shaped, steep sided hill of stratified sand and gravel formed at a glacial front
by melt water carrying sediment off the glacier’s surface.

WIND and LANDORMS

Eolian Landforms are found in regions of the earth where erosion and deposition by wind are
dominant geomorphic forces shaping the face of the landscape.

Wind can also cause erosion and deposition in environments where sediments have recently
deposited been or disturbed. Such environments include lake and ocean coastline beaches,
alluvial fans, and farmland where topsoil has been disturbed by cultivation.

Wind has the ability to transport sediment up-slope as well as down-slope. The relative ability
of wind to erode materials is slight when compared to the other major erosional mediums,
water and ice.

2 Types of Wind-Landforms

Loess - is a blanket of silt carried by wind in suspension and deposited over broad areas. When
loess is out by streams in road building, it tends to maintain a vertical cliff.

Loess ranges in thickness from a few centimeters to more than 91 meters (300 feet). Unlike
other soils, loess is pale and loosely packed. It crumbles easily; in fact, the word “loess” comes
from the German word for “loose.” Loess is soft enough to carve, but strong enough to stand as
sturdy walls.

Sand Dunes- dune is a wind-blown pile of sand. Over time, dunes become well-sorted deposits
of materials by wind. Dunes form different characteristic shapes depending on the amount of
sand, amount of moisture, and the strength and prevailing direction of the wind.

A dune is a mound of sand formed by the wind, usually along the beach or in a desert. Dunes
form when wind blows the sand into a sheltered area behind an obstacle. Dunes grow as grains
of sand accumulate.