Weathering and erosion key definitions

Question	Answer
Weathering	The breakdown of rock in situ by elements of the weather.
Erosion	The breakdown and transportation of rock.
Transportation	The moving of rock from one place to another.
Mechanical Weathering	The physical weathering of rock without chemical alteration.
Chemical Weathering	The chemical breakdown of rock by the weather.
Biological Weathering	The breakdown of rock by creatures and plants.
Mass Movement	The movement of mass amounts of rock by gravity.
Sliding	When rock slides quickly down the side of a slope.
Soil Creep	Soil moving slowly down a hill due to gravity.
Abrasion	The scraping away of a rock by another during transport.
Attrition	When the load of a river/sea is eroded by colliding with itself.
Hydraulic Action	The erosion of rock by the force of water.
Solution	The breakdown of rock by the chemicals carried in water.
Slumping	Movement of material downslope with a concave slip plane.
Rockfall	Bare rocks (scree) moving down a slope.

Resource summary

	Created by Antonia Blankenberg almost 7 years ago