1. Wind and Water

2. Two main factors of erosion
Wind
Water

3. Wind
Causes erosion by deflation, which is picking up objects and moving them from one place to another
The stronger the wind, the heavier the objects moved
Mainly seen where there are few to no plants to hold down soil
Responsible for sand dunes

4. Water The major agent of erosion that has shaped the Earth’s surface
Erodes by process of abrasion
Water carves the Earth as it moves through it
As water moves, it deposits sediment

5. Plain Area of very flat land
Includes prairies, grasslands, and forests

6. How are Plains formed?
Formed primarily be the erosion and deposition of sediment
Moving of sediment from one area to another flattens the land over time
Both water and wind contribute to plain formation

7. Valley
Large depressions in the Earth’s surface surrounded by hills or mountains
Most common landform on Earth

8. How are valleys formed?
Formed by water carving away the land

9. Canyons A very deep valley formed between cliffs
Occur over a very long period of time

10. How are they formed? Formed over a VERY long period of time
Water erosion (rivers and streams) leads to the formation of canyons
Wind plays a small part in canyon formation

11. Deltas
Landforms created at the mouth of a river where that river flows into another body of water and slows down
Causes water to fan out in triangular shape

12. How are they formed?
Formed by deposition of sediment carried by the river as the water reaches the mouth of the river

13. Alluvial Fan Wide, sloping deposit of sediment
Formed where a stream leaves a mountain range
Stream gets wider and shallower as it leaves the mountain

14. Swamps Places where the part or most of the land is under water
Can be temporary or permanent
Referred to as wetlands

15. How are they formed?
Where water spreads out over a large area and remains due to an inability to drain into the ground
Occur mainly on flat surfaces