1. Guided Notes on Erosion and Deposition
Section 7.2

2. Erosion
Erosion is the process that transports Earth materials from one place to another.

3. Deposition
Deposition occurs when the movement of transported materials stops and they are dropped in one location.

4. Gravity
Gravity influences the erosional and depositional process because it causes materials to move downslope or downstream. When gravity stops acting on weathered materials, they become deposited.

5. There are 4 major agents of erosion:
Running Water
Wind
Glaciers
Living Things

6. Running Water
Running water is the most common agent of erosion. Streams and rivers carry materials from higher to lower elevations and can move a large amount of material for a long distance.

7. Rill and Gully Erosion
Rill erosion is the erosion by small channels of water on a slope. Gully erosion occurs when a rill channel becomes deep and wide.

8. Deltas
When a river enters a large body of water, such as a lake or ocean, it slows down and deposits eroded material in a delta.

9. The constant movement of water in an ocean and the availability of accumulated weathered material result in a continuous erosional process along ocean shorelines.

10. Glaciers
Glaciers scrape and gouge out large sections of the Earth’s landscape. They have the capacity to carry large rocks over great distances. Glaciers create landscape features such as waterfalls, lakes, and valleys.

11. Wind
Wind is a major erosional agent in areas of the Earth that experience limited precipitation. Wind can easily move the fine particles of sediment in these areas. One farming method that reduces the effects of wind erosion is the planting of wind barriers, which are usually a line of trees.

12. Living Things
Plants, animals, and human beings also play a role in erosion. As they carry on their life processes, they move Earth’s surface materials from one place to another.