Click on the image for a larger
picture and more info.
|
Click on the image for a larger
picture and more info.
|
|
WHAT IS EROSION?
Erosion is the loosening and the
removal of earth materials by water, ice or wind. In Louisiana, erosion
is most often associated with running water in streams,rivers and bayous
or waves along the coast.
WHAT HAPPENS IN EROSION?
Erosion often involves a number of things. Weathering,
is essential to break rocks down to particles small enough to be removed.
Then mass wasting and overland runoff carry the particles to streams where
they may be transported out of the area. Undercutting of stream banks and
plucking of materials from the bottom of a stream may also be involved.
Erosion may include the process of abrasion which
is caused by friction and impact of grains being transported by the stream.
Stationary objects and whatever is being transported are reduced in size
by grinding during water movement. Grooves, pot holes and waterfalls can
develop as the stream bed is worn away. Many common sedimentary rocks are
formed when the eroded sediments are deposited and changed to rock (the
process of lithification). Stream erosion is responsible for the
topography of the Clark Creek area and some of the special features illustrated
in the accompanying photographs. Click on the images to obtain a larger
photo and more discussion. |