Analyzing the Processes of Weathering and Erosion on Earth's Terrain

This essay examines the crucial roles of weathering and erosion in shaping Earth's landscapes, using examples such as the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Arches National Park to illustrate these processes. Weathering, which includes both chemical and mechanical breakdown of rocks and soil, weakens the earth's surface, while erosion involves the transportation of these broken materials by wind, water, and ice. The formation of the Grand Canyon by the Colorado River demonstrates water's erosive power over millions of years, exposing layered rocks valuable to geologists. Similarly, the Antelope Canyon's unique formations result from flash floods and sub-aerial weathering of soft red sandstones. Arches National Park showcases wind and water's mechanical weathering, creating over 2000 natural arches and other rock formations. The continuous nature of these processes is highlighted by the fall of Wall Arch in 2008, underscoring the dynamic impact of weathering and erosion on our planet's terrain.

Running head: WEATHERING AND EROSION
Weathering and Erosion
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Weathering and erosion
Weathering and erosion are two very important factors, which play major roles in shaping
the earth’s landscape. The most spectacular landscapes on the earth, such as, the canyons, arches
or hoodoos, seen in the Colorado plateau and in the badlands region of the USA are all examples
of weathering and erosion. As stated by Christopherson, Hall & Thomsen (2012), weathering
refers to the process of dissolving or wearing away of the rock and soil. When the rock and soil
are broken down by the force of wind, water or ice and break into smaller particles, it is known
as weathering. Once the weathering is done, the rock becomes weak and the natural forces, that
is, wind and water pick up the loose rocks and sediments and move them away from their
sources. This process is known as erosion. Weathering and erosion happen almost
simultaneously.
There are two types of weathering, chemical and mechanical. Chemical weathering is the
process of decomposing of rocks due to chemical reactions, such as, when the rain creates
weathering through its acidic component and oxidation creates rust on the metals. On the other
hand, mechanical weathering is the process of decomposing the rock by mechanical forces, such
as, pull and push. The natural forces, such as, air, water, gravity, ice or frost, compression,
expansion and contraction mostly create mechanical weathering (Moses, Robinson & Barlow,
2014). Due to this type of weathering, various formations on the rock can be seen, depending on
the type of soil and rock. For example, soft sandstones formed arches, lime stones generated
spires, and the sedimentary rocks and soil created canyons.
Grand Canyon, created by the Colorado River, is the biggest canyon on earth, created by
water weathering and erosion. The canyon display the layered rock, exposed due to weathering

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and erosion which is highly valuable for geologists. The history of the canyon goes back to
almost 1200 million years ago, when the river started to curve the rocks and erosion started on
the sedimentary rocks (Newsome, Dowling & Leung, 2012). Another example of water
weathering and erosion is the formations found in the Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Flashfloods
and sub-aerial weathering processes created a canyon in the soft red sandstones for millions of
years, creating a canyon of beautifully carved and layered rocks (Powell, 2012).
Arches National Park in Utah display one of the most magnificent landscapes, which is
created by weathering and erosion. The national park contains more than 2000 natural arches of
various sizes. Along with the arches, there are other rock formations also, such as, balanced
rocks, sand dunes, spires, slickrock domes and pinnacles, all created by wind weathering and
erosion for millions of years, creating a spectacular site (Nationalgeographic.com., 2018).
Situated in the rugged lands in the Mid West of the USA, the area is prone to very strong force of
wind, which created an impact on the rock from millions of years (Bertzky et al., 2015). Hence,
the arches are an example of mechanical weathering and erosion by the force of wind, water and
gravity. As per the information by the National Park Services (NPS), the arches were begun to be
formed around 65 million years ago. It was a dry sea bed, and the geologic forces folded and
wrinkled the sandstone, deposited above the dry salt bed. Thus, ridges and domes were formed
along with the valleys in between. In this process, the entire region got elevated thousands of feet
from the sea level and weathering by wind and water continued and forces of erosion carried
away the particles, which created the rock structures (Nps.gov, 2018). Apart from the wind,
water also played a major role in creating the arches. When the groundwater started to dissolve
the underlying salts, the domes, made of sandstones, collapsed and water and wind wore away
the rocks and created a maze of vertical slabs of rock, called fins. Parts of these slender walls

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gradually wore through by the wind. It created a big impact on the soft rocks by forming various
types of holes and arches, such as, the Turret Arch, Landscape Arch, Double-O Arch, North and
South Window Arch, and the most famous monolith, Delicate Arch.
The fall of Wall Arch in 2008 proves that the process of weathering and erosion is a
continuous process and the landscape is getting changed incessantly (Nationalgeographic.com.,
2018). Currently, water and wind shape these arches. Both these forces erode the rocks and carry
away the particles. Although the impact takes millions of years to be visible, yet, weathering and
erosion are major geological process that creates significant impact on the earth’s landscape.

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References
Bertzky, B., Bertzky, M., Worboys, G. L., & Hamilton, L. S. (2015). Earth’s natural
heritage’. Protected area governance and management, 43-80.
Christopherson, R. W., Hall, P., & Thomsen, C. E. (2012). Introduction to Physical
Geography. Montana.
Moses, C., Robinson, D., & Barlow, J. (2014). Methods for measuring rock surface weathering
and erosion: a critical review. Earth-Science Reviews, 135, 141-161.
Nationalgeographic.com. (2018). These Spectacular Rock Sculptures Reveal Millennia of
History. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/arches-national-park/
Newsome, D., Dowling, R., & Leung, Y. F. (2012). The nature and management of geotourism:
A case study of two established iconic geotourism destinations. Tourism management
perspectives, 2, 19-27.
Nps.gov. (2018). Geologic Formations - Arches National Park (U.S. National Park Service).
Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/arch/learn/nature/geologicformations.htm
Powell, J. W. (2012). The exploration of the Colorado River and its canyons. Courier
Corporation.