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Glaciers smooth and round out V-shaped river valleys, leaving behind a rounded U-shaped valley floor.

Erosion

This GCSE Geography quiz explores erosion, looking at how rivers, coasts, glaciers and wind wear landscapes away and create dramatic landforms over time.

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Fascinating Fact:

Wind erosion is most effective in dry, sparsely vegetated areas, where loose sand and dust can be picked up and blasted against rock surfaces.

In GCSE Geography, erosion explains how material is worn away and moved by rivers, waves, ice and wind. You will link these processes to real landforms, case studies, and changing landscapes.

Key Terms

Erosion: The wearing away and removal of rock and soil by moving agents such as rivers, waves, ice or wind.
Weathering: The breakdown of rock where it is, usually by chemical, physical or biological processes.
Deposition: When transported material is dropped because the river, sea, ice or wind has lost energy.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is erosion in geography for GCSE?

In GCSE Geography, erosion is the process where rock and soil are worn away and moved by rivers, waves, ice or wind, gradually reshaping the landscape.

What are the main types of erosion processes?

In rivers and at the coast, key erosion processes include hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution, each breaking rocks down in slightly different ways.

How is erosion different from weathering?

Weathering breaks down rock in its original place, while erosion both wears rock away and then transports the broken material to another location.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which of the following is not a way that climate change will increase erosion?

Due to warmer conditions trees and other plants may be able to grow further north

Rising sea levels will allow waves to attack new areas of beaches and cliffs

Increased rainfall will lead to greater erosion by rivers

More extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, will lead to greater force of waves and wind on the coastal areas

Whilst trees and plants may increase weathering, in general they decrease erosion by holding material in situ

2 .

Weathering and erosion are a key part of the rock cycle. Which class of rocks are formed after weathering and erosion have attacked other rocks?

Sedimentary

Igneous

Metamorphic

Oolitic

Sedimentary rocks are made up of the sediments from the weathering and erosion other rocks and minerals. These are deposited by the agents of erosion such as rivers, the wind and glaciers. Examples include sandstone and mudstone

3 .

Which of the following is not a method by which deforestation increases erosion?

Trees and forests may encourage large scale tourism

Trees no longer take up water, increasing run off and through flow

Trees are no longer able to stabilise river banks leading to uncontrolled meandering

Tree roots no longer stabilise and protect the soil, leading it to be washed away

Tourism if well managed can have little or no impact on erosion, but sometimes the footpaths, car parks and general traffic lead to an increase in erosion

4 .

Glaciers carve out landforms as they move across the landscape. What is the valley shape that is commonly cut by a glacier?

U-shaped

V-shaped

Truncated

Braided

Glaciers smooth and round out V-shaped river valleys, leaving behind a rounded valley floor with steep sides

5 .

What type of coastal wave causes erosion?

Constructive

Destructive

Swash

Backwash

Waves can be either destructive or constructive. Destructive waves have a stronger backwash than swash and are normally created in storm conditions

6 .

Which are the four main types of river transportation of eroded material?

Hydraulic, abrasion, attrition and solution

Hydraulic, attrition, traction and saltation

Solution, suspension, attrition and abrasion

Solution, suspension, saltation and traction

These four transportation methods are in order of size of particles they carry. In solution the particles are dissolved in the water, in suspension, particles are carried in the water (it's why most rivers look brown), saltation is where small rocks and pebbles bounce along the bank and traction sees larger rocks tumble and roll along the river bed

7 .

South Stack in Anglesey is an example of a stack - a type of coastal erosional landform. What was this landform before it was eroded to form a stack?

A stump

An arch

A cave

A wave cut platform

Caves in headlands can become arches, which when they collapse may leave a stack behind. This stack in turn will erode to a stump

8 .

When river velocity slows the larger particles fall out of suspension. Which of these examples shows when velocity may drop leading to silting up of a part of the river?

The outside of a meander bend

Where a narrow river channel enters an open lake

When water runs over rapids

The entrance to an artificially straightened channel

When the river goes from a narrow channel to a wider channel, such as entering a lake or the sea, the velocity falls. It's the opposite of what happens when you put your thumb over the end of a garden hose

9 .

Rivers are one of the most powerful forces of erosion on land. What are the four main types of river erosion?

Hydraulic, attrition, traction and saltation

Solution, suspension, saltation and traction

Hydraulic, abrasion, attrition and solution

Solution, suspension, attrition and abrasion

Hydraulic action is the force of the river on the bank, abrasion is the wear of the rocks as they are carried across the river bed, attrition is the damage done to the rocks as they bang together and solution occurs as particles are dissolved by the water

10 .

Some rocks show that a glacier has eroded them by scratch marks across their faces. What are these scratches known as?

Pluck marks

Striations

Abrasions

Névé

Striations occur when angular fragments are dragged across the rock by the glacier

Author: Ruth M