ShareChanging Earth's Surface - A Weathering Wonderland!
From
a geological standpoint, Utah is truly a weathering wonderland. Geology is the branch of science that deals with the crust of Earth's. Geological means having to do with geology. So in short, if you're looking for some
cool crust features, this is the place!
Many people are surprised to learn that ice plays a very important role in the weathering of the rocks in Bryce Canyon.
In the winter, snow falls in Bryce Canyon. During the day the sun melts some of the snow and water gets into small cracks in the rocks.
Steps of Ice Weathering
- At night, the temperatures get colder and the water in the cracks freezes. When water freezes it expands or gets bigger.
- The ice pushes against the sides of the cracks and makes the cracks bigger.
- The next day, the ice melts and a little more water gets into the cracks.
- This process repeats itself day after day, winter after winter.
Eventually the cracks in the rocks get so big that a piece of the rock breaks off. It may take thousands of years for this to happen. Watch the rock at the right. See an example of how this process happens.
A more beautiful world - by
making
less of it!
When you think of nature's wonders, geological images come to mind: valleys, canyons, buttes, arches, and sandy beaches. Each is crafted through weathering and erosion.
Canyon - a narrow valley
with steep sides, usually with a river in the
bottom. They can be cut by river action, or frost and ice wedging. A v-shaped
one is cut by river action (running water again!) A u-shape, like the photo
of Little Cottonwood Canyon, indicates a valley cut by a glacier. A glacier
is like river of slow-moving ice.
Valley - a lowland between
hills.
Butte - a steep, flat-topped hill created by erosion. Buttes and their
bigger brothers, mesas, are found in dry climates, so they are eroded more
by wind and gravity action. They have soft rock layers topped by a harder
cap.
Arch - over time water seeps into cracks in the sandstone. Ice forms
expanding the surrounding rock and breaking pieces off. Winds clean out
the loose particles. The process repeats.
Beach - a collection of sand, pebbles and small rocks. Beach material
was weathered and eroded from materials on the land or washed up by waves
from sea bottoms.
| Start
it!
Create a landforms field guide. Each page should have a small sketch, the name of the landform, and how it was created. You can add pages throughout this unit of Sciber-text! If you would like to make a mini-book, here's how. |
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Figure I |
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Figure M |
Figure N |
Figure O |
Figure P |
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