Erosion — Earth science, 7–10 years
Erosion is the wearing away and carrying of rock and soil by moving water, wind, ice or gravity. It slowly reshapes the land.
Land can be carried away
Rainwater can pick up loose soil, wind can move dust, and ice can drag stones as it creeps. This wearing away and carrying of material is called erosion. It may be hard to notice one day, but its effects can be clear after many years.
Why does erosion matter?
People needed to explain why cliffs become smaller, valleys deepen and soil disappears from fields. Erosion connects these changes to moving water, wind, ice and gravity. Understanding it helps people protect fertile soil and plan roads, bridges and buildings more safely.
A muddy stream
After heavy rain, a stream turns brown. First, raindrops loosen bare soil on a slope. Next, flowing water carries the tiny particles into the stream. Later, when the water slows, some mud settles on the bank. The soil has moved: that is erosion and deposition.
The common mix-up
It is easy to call every crack in a rock erosion, because both can make a rock look damaged. A crack made by heating and cooling may only break the rock in place. Erosion needs material to be carried away; breaking without movement is weathering, not erosion.
Protecting soil
Plants help hold soil with their roots, and their leaves soften the force of falling rain. Farmers may leave plant cover, plant across a slope or make terraces. These methods slow water, but they cannot stop every kind of erosion, especially during powerful storms.
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