9/14/2020 Weathering and Erosion Information and Effects | National Geographic

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SCIENCE R EFER EN CE

Erosion and Weathering

These natural forces are responsible for the shape of our environment.

The Influence of Weather

Weathering and erosion slow ly chisel, polish, and buff Earth's rock into ev er ev olv ing w orks of art—and then w ash the
rem ains into the sea.

The processes are definitiv ely independent, but not exclusiv e. Weathering is the m echanical and chem ical ham m er that
breaks dow n and sculpts the rocks. Erosion transports the fragm ents aw ay .

Working together they create and rev eal m arv els of nature from tum bling boulders high in the m ountains to sandstone
arches in the parched desert to polished cliffs braced against v iolent seas.

Water is nature's m ost v ersatile tool. For exam ple, take rain on a frigid day . The w ater pools in cracks and crev ices. Then,
at night, the tem perature drops and the w ater expands as it turns to ice, splitting the rock like a sledgeham m er to a
w edge. The next day , under the beating sun, the ice m elts and trickles the cracked fragm ents aw ay .

Repeated sw ings in tem perature can also w eaken and ev entually fragm ent rock, w hich expands w hen hot and shrinks
w hen cold. Such pulsing slow ly turns stones in the arid desert to sand. Likew ise, constant cy cles from w et to dry w ill
crum ble clay .

Bits of sand are picked up and carried off by the w ind, w hich can then blast the sides of nearby rocks, buffing and polishing
them sm ooth. On the seashore, the action of w av es chips aw ay at cliffs and rakes the fragm ents back and forth into fine
sand.

Plants and anim als also take a heav y toll on Earth's hardened m inerals. Lichens and m osses can squeeze into cracks and
crev ices, w here they take root. As they grow , so do the cracks, ev entually splitting into bits and pieces. Critters big and
sm all tram ple, crush, and plow rocks as they scurry across the surface and burrow underground. Plants and anim als also
produce acids that m ix w ith rainw ater, a com bination that eats aw ay at rocks.

Precipitation
Rainw ater also m ixes w ith chem icals as it falls from the sky , form ing an acidic concoction that dissolv es rock. For
exam ple, acid rain dissolv es lim estone to form karst, a ty pe of terrain filled w ith fissures, underground stream s, and cav es
like the cenotes of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

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9/14/2020 Weathering and Erosion Information and Effects | National Geographic

Back up on the m ountains, snow and ice build up into glaciers that w eigh on the rocks beneath and slow ly push them
dow nhill under the force of grav ity . Together w ith adv ancing ice, the rocks carv e out a path as the glacier slum ps dow n
the m ountain. When the glacier begins to m elt, it deposits its cargo of soil and rock, transporting the rocky debris tow ard
the sea. Ev ery y ear, riv ers deposit m illions of tons of sedim ent into the oceans.

Without the erosiv e forces of w ater, w ind, and ice, rock debris w ould sim ply pile up w here it form s and obscure from v iew
nature's w eathered sculptures. Although erosion is a natural process, abusiv e land-use practices such as deforestation and
ov ergrazing can expedite erosion and strip the land of soils needed for food to grow .

      

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