Erosion

thumb|right|An actively eroding rill on an intensively-farmed field in eastern [[Germany. This phenomenon is aggravated by poor agricultural practices because when ploughing, the furrows were traced in the direction of the slope rather than that of the terrain contour lines.]] Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distinct from weathering which involves no movement. Removal of rock or soil as clastic

upright=1.2|thumb|A stream bed following a tilted valley. The maximum gradient is along the down-valley axis represented by a hypothetical straight coast channel. Meanders develop, which lengthen the course of the stream, decreasing the gradient. thumb|Meanders of the Cauto River|Rio Cauto at [[Guamo Embarcadero, Cuba]] thumb|The Jordan River, near the [[Dead Sea, 1937]]

process of wearing down or wearing away of rocks by the hard particles carried by rivers, glaciers, wind and waves

geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope

Corrasion is a geomorphological term for the process of mechanical erosion of the earth's surface caused when materials are transported across it by running water, waves, glaciers, wind or gravitational movement downslope. An example is the wearing away of rock on a river or seabed by the impact or grinding action of particles moving with the water. The resultant effect on the rock is called abrasion. thumb|278x278px|Stone Tree, a mushroom-shaped rock sculpted by the phenomenon of corrasion, in the Bolivian [[Altiplano.]] Corrasion is different from corrosion which is due to chemical and solv

idealized model that explains the development of relief in landscapes

form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous

erosion at the origin of a stream channel, moving the origin upstream

Nivation is the set of geomorphic processes associated with snow patches. The primary processes are mass wasting and the freeze-and-thaw cycle, in which fallen snow gets compacted into firn or névé. The importance of the processes covered by the term nivation with regard to the development of periglacial landscapes has been questioned by scholars, and the use of the term is discouraged.

type of weathering joint

thumb|Sponge borings ([[Entobia) and encrusters on a modern bivalve shell, North Carolina.]]

aeolian landform

catastrophic channeling in earth dams caused by water flow

Lowest limit for erosion processes

glacial quarrying

erosion caused by a river or stream

coastal protection project in South Holland, the Netherlands

removal of sediment near an obstruction by swiftly moving water

erosion of sediment near bridge foundations by water

wearing away of rocks in the sea

measure of frictional resistance water experiences when passing over land and channel features

a geologic term referring to the solid matter carried by a stream