Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
WEATHERING AND MASS
MOVEMENT
C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N
It is useful to think of the various geomorphic processes described in the rest of the text as part of a continuum of
landscape evolution that begins with the tectonic processes covered in Chapter 13. Those large-scale processes
elevate large blocks of land above sea level and, in so doing, provide high topographic relief. Once this relief is
attained, other forces begin to gradually wear down the landscape over a long period of time. These smaller-scale
processes produce the more subtle rolling hills, valleys, and floodplains that are common throughout the world.
Before these landscapes can be investigated, however, we first need to examine the mechanisms that break apart
rock and loosen sediment so that they can be subsequently eroded, transported elsewhere, and deposited. This
chapter investigates the major components of this process: weathering and mass movement.
