Weathering Study Guide

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Schimmel
Weathering Study Guide

• Weathering
• Weathering is the slow breaking apart or wearing
  away of rock into smaller pieces.
• Four causes of weathering
• Moving water the cause of most of weathering in
  Georgia. Rocks are moved along by river and
  stream water and rub against other rocks making
  them smooth.
• Wind causes weathering when it picks up small
  rock particles and blows them against larger
  rocks.
• Ice water seeps into the cracks of rocks and
  can freeze. When the water freezes it expands
  making the crack larger.
• Growing plant roots plants sometimes grow in
  the cracks of rocks. As the plant roots grow the
  cracks widen.

Erosion Erosion is the movement of weathered rock
material from one place to another. Causes of
Erosion Wind bits of rock and soil are blown
against other rocks causing them to break off and
be carried away by the wind. Moving water
rivers and streams can move bits of rock and soil
from the sides and bottom of a river
bed. Glaciers large mass or slow-moving
ice that flows down a slope.
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Caverns form by weathering and erosion. A cavern
is a large cave that is underground. When acid
rain drains into the Earth the acid carries away
the rock and makes a cave.

• Deposition
• Deposition is the dropping of sediment by wind,
  water, ice, or gravity.
• Deposition takes place when moving water slows
  down.
• A delta is formed at the mouth of river when
  sediments are dropped.

Weathering Erosion
Deposition Rocks are broken apart. Rocks
are moved to Rocks are dropped
another location. into the new

location.