GEOLOGY | SURFACE PROCESSES
A DYNAMIC
PLANET
Planet Earth is dynamic with a surface that is always changing.
Rocks can be converted into another type of rock, for example igneous to metamorphic or metamorphic to sedimentary. These process are described in the Rock Cycle, which details the ways in which rocks are slowly recycled over millions of years and transformed between the three rock types.
WEATHERING
Weathering is the wearing down or breaking of rocks while they are in place.
EROSION
Erosion involves the removal of rock fragments through gravity, wind, rain, rivers, oceans and glaciers.
DEPOSITION
Deposition is the laying down of sediment carried by wind, water, or ice.
LANDFORMS
Landforms are features on the Earth’s surface that make up the terrain.
TOPOGRAPHIC
RELIEF
Topographic Relief is the term used for the differences in height across the land’s surface and is affected by the
underlying rocks.