1. Wearing Down and Building Up
Changes in the Earth’s Surface
By Holly Connor

2. Does the surface of the Earth change?
Yes!
-The Earth’s surface is
always changing.
-Some changes are slow.
-Some changes are sudden.

3. Weathering…A Gradual Wearing Down
-Weathering is the breaking up or wearing away of rocks.
-It is caused by water or strong winds.
-Erosion is the breaking up and moving of weathered rocks from one place to another.

4. Glaciers…A Slow Moving Mass
-A glacier is a large mass of slow moving ice.
-As it moves and melts it changes the surface beneath it.
-It can pick up and move large rocks and the soil beneath it.
-This is another form of erosion.

5. Volcanoes…A Sudden Blast
-In some parts of the world, magma is close to the surface.
-If it shoots out of the ground it is called a volcano.
-Liquid rock, called lava, burns everything in its path. When it cools it adds a layer of rock to the Earth’s surface.

6. Earthquakes…A Quick Shake Up
-An earthquake is a sudden movement of large sections of rock beneath Earth’s surface.
-Hills and boulders can appear or disappear suddenly.
-Sections of the ground may drop or crack.

7. Show What You Know! What causes weathering?
How do glaciers cause erosion?
How does lava change the Earth’s surface?
What is an earthquake?

8. Works Cited
Badders, William, Bethel, Lowell J., Fu, Victoria, Peck, Donald, Sumners, Carolyn, Valentino, Catherine. “How Do the Forces of Nature Change Earth’s Surface?” Discovery Works, Houghton Mifflin, Volume 1, 2000.