Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and

Deposition

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Crushers!
What is weathering?
• Weathering is this process by which rock breaks
down into smaller pieces or changes composition.

• Weathered rock pieces, known as sediment, are

an important component of soil.

• Differential weathering describes how different

rocks in the same environment can weather at
different rates.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What is weathering?
• Physical weathering is the breakdown of rock
into smaller pieces. Physical weathering does not
change the chemical makeup of a rock.

• Chemical weathering changes the chemical

makeup of a rock.

• Physical weathering and chemical weathering

often work together in nature.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What causes physical weathering?

• Abrasion is a process where agents, such as wind,
water, and ice, carry particles that scrape against
rock.

• Plant roots can grow into the cracks of a rock and

break the rock into pieces. Water accomplishes a
similar feat by seeping into cracks, freezing, and
expanding.

• Digging animals can expose buried rocks to agents

of physical weathering.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What causes chemical weathering?

• Two main agents that cause chemical weathering
are oxygen and acids.

• Oxidation occurs when certain chemicals in a rock

react with oxygen to form new chemical
compounds.

• Acid precipitation can speed up chemical

weathering.

• Microscopic organisms, lichens, and mosses can

also cause chemical weathering.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Earth Movers
What are erosion and deposition?
• Erosion transports rock, sediment, and soil from
one place to another.

• Deposition lays down rock, sediment, and soil.

• Erosion and deposition work together, constantly

reshaping Earth’s surface.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What causes erosion and deposition?

• Wind, water, ice, and gravity are agents of both
erosion and deposition.

• Flowing water moves millions of tons of sediment

every day.

• A glacier is a large mass of ice that exists year-

round and flows slowly over land.

• Alpine glaciers can erode land to form jagged

ridges and peaks. Continental glaciers can leave
depressions in the land in which lakes form.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What causes erosion and deposition?

• Wind can move soil and sediment. Wind erosion
and deposition creates sand dunes.

• Gravity causes rocks and soil to move down a

slope, a process known as mass movement.

• Gravity also determines the movement of other

agents of erosion, such as water and ice.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Shore Shapers
How can weathering and erosion shape
coastal features?
• Ocean waves and currents play a large role in
shaping Earth’s shoreline.

• Weathering and erosion along a shoreline can

form sea cliffs, wave-cut platforms, sea caves, sea
arches, and sea stacks.

• Some parts of a shoreline may erode faster than

others, leaving behind headlands.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

How can deposition shape coastal

features?
• Waves and currents deposit material to form
features, and beaches are the main features of
coastal deposition.

• Longshore currents can deposit materials offshore

to create features such as sand spits, tombolos,
and barrier islands.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Drip, Drop
How can flowing water shape land?
• Weathering and erosion by flowing water form
various land features, such as valleys, cliffs, and
canyons.

• Acids in groundwater can slowly dissolve rock to

form caves.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

How can flowing water shape land?

• Deposition by flowing water forms features such
as alluvial fans, deltas, and floodplains.

• Cycles of flooding cause layers to build up along

rivers, forming a flat floodplain.

• Groundwater can deposit dissolved minerals in

new locations to form stalactites and stalagmites.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Ice Sculptures
How can glaciers weather and erode
Earth’s surface?
• As glaciers move, they pick up material and
scrape out the land beneath them.

• Several land features characteristic of glacial

weathering and erosion are cirques, glacial horns,
and arêtes.

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Unit 7 Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

What can melting glaciers deposit?

• Glaciers also shape Earth’s surface by leaving
behind lakes and deposits of rock and sediment.

• Glacial deposition can create land features, such

as glacial till, moraines, drumlins, erratics, and
kettle lakes.

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