Weathering and Erosion

Weathering and Erosion — page 1 — earth’s awesome Landforms Have you ever seen a mountain Have you ever stood at the rim of a canyon These are just two of Earth’s Vocabulary Landforms are the natural features of the surface of Earth 4 awesome landforms There are many different kinds of landforms Mountains and volcanoes are high rocky landforms Valleys and canyons are deep cuts or low areas in Earth’s surface Harbors Weathering and erosion by water and wind formed this natural arch

Weathering and Erosion — page 2 — Water flows down this rocky landscape Over time the flowing water will shape the rocks over which it runs and dunes are landforms along the coasts of oceans and lakes How are Earth’s landforms created They all start with weathering and erosion Weathering is a process that happens when forces such as wind and water slowly wear down and break apart rock Erosion happens when the wind or water move bits of rock and soil to new places This movement changes the shape of Earth’s surface creating new landforms over time 5

Weathering and Erosion — page 3 — the roCk CyCLe Weathering and erosion are parts of the rock cycle The rock cycle is the process of rocks being formed worn down and formed again The rock cycle doesn’t happen overnight It takes millions of years to break down and build up the landforms you see today There are three main types of rock Igneous This hot lava is starting to cool Once it hardens it will make new igneous rock 6

Weathering and Erosion — page 4 — This sedimentary rock is called sandstone It’s made of layers of sand pressed together over time rock forms when melted rock called magma cools down and hardens The magma comes from deep within Earth Igneous rock can be formed deep underground or when magma erupts from a volcano as lava Sedimentary rock forms from other pieces of rock Weathering and erosion bring small bits of rocks together to form sedimentary rock Finally metamorphic rock forms when igneous or sedimentary rocks change under great heat or pressure Compare and Contrast Compare the three types of rocks How are they similar How are they different 7

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