What is erosion?

What is erosion?

• A. The movement of weathered material by wind, water, or ice.
• B. The breakdown of rocks into sediments.
• C. The weathering of rocks by freezing.
• D. The deposition of sediments in a basin.

Answer: (A)

Erosion is the process of moving weathered material from one place to another under the action of natural agents like wind, water, or ice. This transport is what sets erosion apart from weathering, which breaks rocks down in place, and from deposition, which is the settling of sediments after they’ve been moved. Weathering creates the material, and erosion carries it away, carving features like valleys and coastlines. The other statements describe weathering (breakdown of rock) or deposition (placing sediments down), not the moving of material itself.

Erosion is the process of moving weathered material from one place to another under the action of natural agents like wind, water, or ice. This transport is what sets erosion apart from weathering, which breaks rocks down in place, and from deposition, which is the settling of sediments after they’ve been moved. Weathering creates the material, and erosion carries it away, carving features like valleys and coastlines. The other statements describe weathering (breakdown of rock) or deposition (placing sediments down), not the moving of material itself.