Coastal Erosional Landforms Quiz

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

• The Earth's landscape is shaped by three naturally occurring processes: weathering, erosion, and deposition.
• Weathering is the breakdown of larger rock fragments into smaller particles.
• It occurs through physical and chemical processes, depending on the environment.

Types of Weathering

• Freeze and thaw method: water in cracks freezes and expands, increasing the volume of cracks, and eventually leading to the breakdown of rocks.
• Exfoliation: rock expands during the day and contracts at night due to temperature changes, resulting in peeling off of rocks in layers.
• Abrasion: water, wind, and ice continuously strike rocks, breaking them down into smaller particles.
• Hydrolysis: mineral bonds break down when reacting with water.
• Oxidation: oxygen reacts with metal elements in rocks, weakening their structure.
• Acid rain weathering: acid in rainwater reacts with minerals in rocks, dissolving them.
• Biological weathering: plants and animals contribute to rock breakdown through activities like burrowing and trail-making.

Erosion

• Erosion is the process of carrying weathered rock particles away from their original location.
• Transporting agents like wind, water, and glaciers carry sediments to new locations.
• Landforms created by erosion include river valleys, oxbow lakes, waterfalls, sinkholes, and caves.

Landforms Created by Erosion

• Inselbergs: isolated hills or mountains formed by wind erosion in deserts and plains.
• Mushroom rock: tall, isolated hills with a mushroom-like shape, formed by wind erosion.
• Pediplain: a plain area formed by wind erosion in desert regions.
• Valleys: narrow structures formed by water flowing through mountains.
• Canyons: deep valleys formed by the cutting down of rocks by flowing rivers.
• Waterfalls: formed when stream water flows from softer rocks to complex and compact rocks.
• Ox-bow lakes: created by water erosion, forming an abandoned meander loop.
• Ripple marks: wavy structures formed by water flowing over soft rocks.
• Sea cliff: a cliff formed by continuous hitting of sea waves near coastal areas.
• Sea arch: an arch-like structure formed by powerful waves near coastal areas.
• Sea stacks: pillar-like structures formed by the breakdown of headlands.

Deposition

• Deposition is the process of settling and accumulating broken rock fragments or soil particles in a new environment.
• The same transporting agents that create erosional features also create depositional landforms.

Landforms Created by Deposition

• Sand dunes: formed by wind deposition in desert regions.
• Loess: formed by the deposition of silt, sand, and clay-sized particles by wind and water.
• Alluvial fan: a fan-shaped area formed by the deposition of unconsolidated materials by a flowing stream or river.
• Floodplains: areas adjacent to a down-flowing river, formed by overflow and deposition of materials.
• Deltas: large, extensive wetland areas formed by the deposition of sediments at the mouth of a river.
• Beaches: formed by the deposition of sands and gravel-like particles along shorelines.### Deltas
• Large and extensive wetland areas formed where a flowing river or stream deposits sediments before flowing into the seas and oceans
• Also known as the mouth of a river

Beaches

• Landforms formed parallel to the seas and oceans
• Waves deposit sands, gravel-like particles along the shoreline, giving rise to a beach's landform

Glacial Depositional Landforms

Moraines

• Unconsolidated, loose accumulated materials formed when a thick mass of glacier moves over a region
• Comprised of rocks and soils
• Types of moraines include:
  • Lateral moraine
  • Terminal moraine
  • Medial moraine

Eskers

• Ridge-like structures comprised of sand and gravel size particles
• Formed when moving glaciers carry particles to a low-lying area, melting and leaving accumulated materials

Kames

• Structures formed when moving glaciers recede, resulting in a mass of accumulated sediments as they flow down

Test your knowledge on the erosional landforms created by wind and water in a shallow marine environment, primarily found in sandstone sedimentary rock. Identify and understand the formation of sea cliffs and sea arches along the coastal areas.