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Downcutting, also called erosional downcutting, downward erosion or vertical erosion, is a geological process by hydraulic action that deepens the channel of a stream or valley by removing material from the stream's bed or the valley's floor. The speed of downcutting depends on the stream's base level, the lowest point to which the stream can ...
The erosion is both downward, deepening the valley, and headward, extending the valley into the hillside, creating head cuts and steep banks. In the earliest stage of stream erosion, the erosive activity is dominantly vertical, the valleys have a typical V-shaped cross-section and the stream gradient is relatively steep.
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and animals (including humans). In accordance with these agents, erosion is sometimes divided into water ...
Stack (geology) A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. [1] Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. [2] They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by hydraulic action, which ...
Cycle of erosion. The geographic cycle, or cycle of erosion, is an idealized model that explains the development of relief in landscapes. [1] The model starts with the erosion that follows uplift of land above a base level and ends, if conditions allow, in the formation of a peneplain. [1] Landscapes that show evidence of more than one cycle of ...
In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers.
Sound – A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water. Spit – Coastal bar or beach landform deposited by longshore drift. Strait – Naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. Strandflat – Type of landform found in high-latitude areas.
Knickpoint. The Horseshoe Falls, one of the three Niagara Falls. The falls are a knickpoint, formed by slower erosion above the falls than below. In geomorphology, a knickpoint or nickpoint is part of a river or channel where there is a sharp change in channel bed slope, such as a waterfall or lake. Knickpoints reflect different conditions and ...