What is the term for the wearing away of the landscape by natural forces?

What is the term for the wearing away of the landscape by natural forces?

• A. Weathering
• B. Erosion
• C. Deposition
• D. Abrasion

Answer: (B)

Wearing away of the landscape by natural forces is erosion. Erosion describes the removal and transport of material that has been weathered away, driven by agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity. It’s different from weathering, which breaks rocks down in place without moving the material, and from deposition, which is the laying down of eroded material somewhere else. Abrasion is a specific way erosion happens—particles grind against rocks and wear them down. So erosion is the overall process that causes the landscape to be worn away.

Wearing away of the landscape by natural forces is erosion. Erosion describes the removal and transport of material that has been weathered away, driven by agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity. It’s different from weathering, which breaks rocks down in place without moving the material, and from deposition, which is the laying down of eroded material somewhere else. Abrasion is a specific way erosion happens—particles grind against rocks and wear them down. So erosion is the overall process that causes the landscape to be worn away.