Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Wind
Saltating
sand grains
Erosion on
upwind side
Abraded face
Unchanged
downwind face
1
2
3
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 18.14 Erosional features created by the wind.
(a) Ventifacts are individual rocks that have been streamlined by the wind.
(b) Ventifacts such as these in Death Valley form when wind sandblasts rocks. (c) These yardangs in southeastern Iran are up to 80 m
(∙263 ft) high and are some of the largest on Earth.
VISUAL CONCEPT CHECK
18.1
Imagine that you are driving through Death Valley, California,
and encounter this strange looking feature. What is it and how
did it form?
Eolian Deposition and Landforms
landforms. This part of the chapter focuses on the landforms
produced by eolian deposition.
The preceding section discussed how wind behaves as a fluid
and how it erodes and transports sediments. These processes
produce distinct erosional landforms, such as deflation hol-
lows and yardangs. Once these sediments are eroded they are
ultimately deposited someplace else, forming depositional
Airflow and the Formation
of Sand Dunes
When people are asked to consider the landforms they
believe are most associated with wind deposition in desert
