Mass, Movement, Wind, and Glaciers

ES Module 6

mass movement

Any one of several processes by which gravity moves sediment downhill.

creep

the slow downhill movement of weathered rock material

mudflow

Quickly moving downhill flow of soil and rock fragments containing a large amount of water

landslide

a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff

slump

A type of mass movement that occurs when a mass of material moves down a curved slope

rock avalanche

A very rapidly moving, turbulent mass of broken-up bedrock.

Deflation (erosion by wind)

Action of wind when it picks up or remove loose particles from an area and leaves a denuded surface covered with coarse material too large for wind transport.

abrasion

The grinding away of rock by other rock particles carried in water, ice, or wind

ventifact

any rock that is pitted, grooved, or polished by wind abrasion

dune

A hill or ridge of sand piled up by the wind

loess

A wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt

glacier

A large mass of moving ice and snow on land

valley glacier

A long, narrow glacier that forms when snow and ice build up in a mountain valley

continental glacier

A glacier that covers much of a continent or large island

cirque

A bowl shaped basin carved by a glacier (erosional)

moraine

A ridge formed by the till deposited at the edge of a glacier.

outwash plain

area in front of a glacier in which melt water from the glacier has carried & deposited an abundance of sorted material

drumlin

A long mound of till that is smoothed in the direction of the glacier's flow

esker

long ridge of material deposited by a meltwater stream flowing beneath a glacier

kame

a steep-sided mound of sand and gravel deposited by a melting ice sheet.

kettle

A small depression that forms when a chunk of ice is left in glacial till