Geoforming Processes | Part 2 | A Changing Surface
The molding of the Earth's crust is the product of two great destructive forces: weathering and erosion. Through the combination of these processes, rocks merge, disintegrate, and join again. Living organisms, especially plant roots and digging animals, cooperate with these geologic processes. Once the structure of the minerals that make up a rock is disrupted, the minerals disintegrate and fall to the mercy of the rain and wind, which erode them.
exposed rocks = an area of a rock formation or geologic structure that is visible
loess [ˈləʊɪs],[ləːs]= a fine usually yellowish brown soil found in North America, Europe, and Asia and believed to be chiefly deposited by the wind
inexorable = impossible to stop or prevent
expand and contract = to get bigger and then smaller
rupture = break apart
See also