Lesson 5: Weathering

Where does the soil and rock in a delta come from, and where does it go? Does the rock and soil ever change?

Smaller rocks were once part of bigger rocks. Rock breaks down all over the land because of rain, ice, vegetation, and wind. Weathering is a set of processes that cause rock to break into smaller and smaller pieces. Rocks that are carried away due to erosion previously came from bigger rocks. Rock and other weathered materials are transported between different land and water features. As rocks continue to be carried away (erosion) by gravity, water, and/or wind, the rocks continue to break down into smaller pieces (weathering). These smaller pieces can be deposited in different places, building up the surface of Earth.

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