The transfer of earth material down slopes by processes that include creep, slump, slide, flow, and fall. Also known as mass movement.
Boundaries betweenplates.
The name both of a theory and of a specialization of tectonics. As an area of study, plate tectonics deals with the large features of the lithosphere and the forces that shape them. As atheory, it explains the processes that have shaped Earth in terms of plates and their movement.
Large, movable segments of the lithosphere.
A general term describing a layer of weathered material that rests atopbedrock.
Material deposited at or near Earth's surface from a number of sources, most notably preexisting rock.
A variety of mass wasting in which material moves downhill in a fairly coherent mass (i.e., more or less in a section or group) along a flat or planar surface.
A form of mass wasting that occurs when a mass of regolith slides over or creates a concave surface (one shaped like the inside of a bowl).
An attractive force exerted by molecules in the interior of a liquid on molecules at the exterior. This force draws the material inward such that it occupies less than its maximum horizontal area. The surface tension of water ishigh, causing it to bead on most surfaces.
A situation in which an object remains in place, yet a relatively small disturbance would be enough to dislodge it.
The breakdown of rocks and minerals at or near the surface of Earth due to physical, chemical, or biological processes.
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