Endogenic and exogenic earth

processes

Geomorphic Processes:
II. Exogenous

Gradation Processes –
Weathering, Mass Wasting, Erosion, Transportation
and Deposition
What is a Landform?

•
Land is any part of the earth’s surface that is not
covered by water. It is believed to cover about
30% of the earth’s surface.
• A landform is simply any natural geographic
feature that can be found on the earth’s surface,
such as valleys, hills, mountains and plateaux
• Landforms are all not the same. Some may be very high
above sea level and other parts may be deep below sea
level. Some of them are made of very hard material and
other parts may be made of very soft material. Some
landforms are covered by vegetation whiles some are
void of any plant at all. Some are very large and others
are small. Most important of all, landforms are
constantly changing because the factors that
form them are in action everyday!
Formation of Landforms
Landforms are created by many factors but are all
grouped into two main processes: Constructive
and Destructive Processes. Landforms can be
created within a short period, but some can take
many decades to form. Some quick processes
include landslides, volcanic eruptions, and
earthquakes
• Constructive Processes

This process involves the building (addition of land

material) of features either by natural action. The three
main areas of constructive processes include Crustal
Deformation, Volcanic Eruptions, and Sediment
Deposition.

• Destructive Processes

This involves the breakdown or tearing down of land

surface to form new features. The process may be seen as
‘carving out’ parts of the land to form new
features. Weathering and Erosions are the two main
destructive forces that create and shape landforms.
Geomorphic Processes:

 Physical processes which create and modify landforms

on the surface of the earth

 Endogenous (Endogenic) [Link] (Exogenic) Processes

 Rock Cycle 
A. Endogenous Processes
Endogenous Processes are large-scale landform
building and transforming processes
– they create relief.

1. Igneous Processes

a. Volcanism: Volcanic eruptions  Volcanoes

b. Plutonism: Igneous intrusions

2. Tectonic Processes (Also called Diastrophism)

a. Folding: anticlines, synclines, mountains

b. Faulting: rift valleys, graben, escarpments
c. Lateral Faulting: strike-slip faults

Earthquakes  evidence of present-day tectonic activity

B. Exogenous Processes
Also called Gradational Processes, they comprise
degradation and aggradation – they modify relief

 a continuum of processes – Weathering  Mass

Wasting  Erosion  Transportation  Deposition
 these processes are carried through by Geomorphic
Agents: gravity, flowing water (rivers), moving ice
(glaciers), waves and tides (oceans and lakes), wind,
plants, organisms, animals and humans

1. Degradation Processes  Also called Denudation Processes

a. Weathering , b. Mass Wasting and c. Erosion
and Transportation
2. Aggradation Processes
a. Deposition – fluvial, eolian, glacial, coastal
Relationship:
Weathering
Mass Wasting
Erosion
and
Transportation

Together,
these processes are
responsible for
Denudation
of Earth’s surface
 WEATHERING

Weathering is disintegration and decomposition of rocks in situ –

no transportation involved  produces regolith
regolith : the layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering
bedrock.
 More precisely, it involves the mechanical or physical
disintegration and/or chemical decomposition that fragments
rock masses into smaller components that amass on-site, before
being moved by gravity or transported by other agents
 The processes begin in microscopic spaces, cracks, joints,
faults, fractures, lava vesicles and other rock cavities
Types of Weathering:

Physical or Mechanical Weathering

Chemical Weathering

Biological Weathering
 Physical or Mechanical Weathering
 Disintegration and decay of rocks via weather elements:
High temperatures, extreme cold and freeze-thaw cycles
 No change in chemical composition of rocks
• Exfoliation – due to thermal expansion/contraction and/or release of
pressure when buried rocks are uplifted and exposed
e.g., Exfoliation Dome (Stone Mountain, GA) and Exfoliation Sheets (Sierra Nevada)
• Frost Wedging

• Salt Wedging
 Chemical Weathering
 decomposes rocks through a chemical change in its minerals

Oxidation – important in iron-rich

rocks – reddish coloration like rust

Hydrolysis – igneous rocks have

much silica which readily combines
with water

Carbonation and Solution –

carbon dioxide dissolved in water
reacts with carbonate rocks to
create a soluble product (calcium
bicarbonate)
 Biological Weathering
– plants and animals contribute to weathering.

 Roots physically break or wedge rock

 Lichens (algae and fungi living as single unit),

remove minerals and weaken rock by releasing acids

 Burrowing animals can increase weathering.

Lichens
Talus Cones
in the Canadian Rockies
Talus – pieces of rock at bottom of a rock fall

Landslides
Can cause much destruction

A massive 300-ton boulder blocks

a road in Southern California
La Conchita Landslide, January 10, 2005
Monterey Park Debris Flow, 1980
PCH near Pacific Palisades, November 1956
EROSION and TRANSPORTATION

– Various Geomorphic Agents, associated Processes,

and resulting Erosional Features

• Flowing Water – Fluvial Morphology

Humid regions:
Perennial streams and entrenched
channels, rapids, waterfalls, plunge
pools, potholes, meandering streams,
bank erosion, oxbow lakes, etc.
• Wind – Eolian Landscapes
deflation hollows, ventifacts, yardang, etc

• Tides and Waves – Coastal Morphology

Sea cliffs, sea caves, sea arches, sea stacks,
wave-cut beaches, etc..

• Moving Ice – Glacial Morphology

glacial troughs (U-shaped valleys), hanging

valleys, glacial lakes,.
DEPOSITION
– Various geomorphic agents, associated processes and
resulting Depositional Features
• Fluvial – Humid regions: Braided streams, sand bars, floodplains
(alluvium deposits), natural
levees, distributaries, deltas
Arid regions: Alluvial fans, bajadas,
piedmont alluvial plains, playas,
playa lakes, Salinas (salt flats)

• Eolian – Sand dunes (Barchans, Parabolic, Transverse,

Longitudinal, Star), and sand sheets

• Coastal – Sea beaches and coral reefs

• Glacial – Alpine: Glacial drifts, tills, moraines (lateral, medial, end,

terminal, recessional, and ground)
Continental: Till plains, outwash plains, drumlins, eskers,
kames, erratic
The rock cycle
3 Types of Rocks
There are 3
different
types of
rocks;
• Igneous
• Sedimentary
• Metamorphic
Igneous Rock
Igneous rocks are formed by magma and lava as it
cools. Igneous rocks form in two different ways.

▫ Rock that comes from lava cools very fast and can
either be very light and airy or the rocks can be
glassy.

▫ Rocks that come from magma are formed under

ground. They are often times very hard and have
more colors.
Igneous rock
Sedimentary Rock
• Sedimentary rock is made when sediments
(sand, gravel, and dirt) are pressed together over
time and become a rock
• Sedimentary rock is formed in layers.
Sedimentary Rocks Limestone

Shale

Sandstone

Granite
Metamorphic Rock
• Metamorphic rocks are made from other rocks.
• Heat and pressure help change an igneous or
sedimentary rock into a new kind of rock (think
about how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly)
The Rock Cycle
Parts Of Rocks
 Rocks have many different parts

• Rocks can be sorted into groups

by looking at their parts. Some
rock parts are:
▫ Crystals
▫ Grains
Crystals
• Crystals are different atoms that are formed in a
pattern. They can be big or small, fat or thin.
Grains
• Grains are smaller pieces of rock or sediment.
Grain size is something that is used a lot to help
decide the rock type.
Rock Explorers

• Lets look at some rocks!

• Get a partner and a magnifying glass
• Come and pick up a rock (you will be looking at
one rock at a time)
• You and your partner will take turns looking at
the rock. Decide if you think that crystals are
large or small. Look to see if it has grains.
3 types of rocks
3 types of rocks
• There are 3 types of rocks
found on Earth:
▫ Igneous
▫ Sedimentary
▫ Metamorphic
• Knowing the differences
between these 3 types of rocks
allows us to learn about
Earth’s past.
Igneous Rocks - Formation
• Igneous Rocks are formed by melting, cooling,
and crystallization of other rocks.
• Igneous rocks form as a result of volcanic
activity, hot spots, and melting that occurs
in the mantle.
Igneous rocks
• Igneous rocks are common along plate boundaries or
mantle hot spots
 Igneous Rocks - Classification

• Igneous rocks are classified using

their texture in the following ways:
▫ Glassy
▫ Aphanitic (no visible crystals)
▫ Phaneritic (visible crystals)
▫ Porphyritic (Some visible and some
not visible crystals)
Igneous Rocks - Texture
• Crystal size is used to classify
igneous rocks.
• Crystals form as the rock cools,
and the crystal size can tell us
a lot about its cooling history:
▫ The larger the crystals,
the slower it cooled.
Igneous Rocks - Texture

• Glassy igneous rocks have no

crystal structure, and probably
formed by very rapid cooling
(such as on the surface of a
lava, or when a lava enters the
water.)
Igneous Rocks - Texture
• Aphanitic rocks have no
visible crystals, and probably
formed by fast cooling above
ground.
 Igneous Rocks - Texture
• Phaneritic rocks have visible
crystals, and probably formed
by slow cooling below ground.
Igneous Rocks - Texture

• Porphyritic rocks have both

visible and nonvisible crystals,
and probably formed by two
different cooling events.
 Igneous Rocks - Classification

• Dark igneous rocks are formed

from basaltic or mafic magma.
(Mafic because it contains a lot of
magnesium and iron).
• The magma that forms these
rocks is usually very hot (around
1000°C) and viscous (about the
same viscosity as ketchup.)
 Igneous Rocks - Classification
• Light colored igneous rocks are
formed from silicic (high silica
content) or felsic magmas.
• The magmas that form these
rocks is usually more cool,
(lower than 850°C), and more
viscous (about the viscosity of
peanut butter.)
 Igneous rocks - Formations

• Structures and
formations seen in
igneous rocks include:
▫ Hexagonal columnar
joints
▫ Pahoehoe lava flows
▫ Dikes, sills, and
batholiths (plutons)
▫ Pillow basalts
▫ Volcanoes
Igneous Rocks - Examples

• The most common types of

igneous rocks include:
▫ Rhyolite
▫ Andesite
▫ Basalt
▫ Granite
▫ Diorite
▫ Gabbro
Igneous rocks charted
Igneous rocks - Story

• What do you know about the

history of the Earth in the
place where this rock was
found?
Sedimentary Rocks - Formation

• Sedimentary rocks are formed

by weathering, erosion,
deposition, compaction,
and cementation of other
rocks.
• Sedimentary rocks form in
areas where water, wind, or
gravity deposit sediments.
Sedimentary rocks - formation

• Sedimentary rocks are likely to

form in areas such as:
▫ Deltas
▫ Beaches
▫ Rivers
▫ Glaciers
▫ Sand dunes
▫ Shallow seas
▫ Deep oceans
Sedimentary rocks - Classification
• Sedimentary rocks are
classified into two groups:
▫ Clastic rocks
▫ Chemically formed rocks
Sedimentary rocks – Classification

• Sedimentary rocks are Clastic

if they are made of pieces of
other rocks that have been
weathered and eroded.
• Clastic rocks are grouped
based on the size of grain that
they are made from.
Sedimentary rocks - Classification

• Very small particles make up

mudrock.
• Medium sized particles make
up sandstone.
• Large particles make up
conglomerates.
Sedimentary rocks - Classification

• Sedimentary rocks that form

from chemical processes are
called biochemical rocks
(formed from living things) or
Chemical precipitates
(formed from lakes or shallow
seas.)
Sedimentary rocks - formations

• Structures and formations

seen in sedimentary rocks
include:
▫ Stratification
▫ Cross bedding
▫ Graded bedding
▫ Ripple marks
▫ Mud cracks
▫ Fossils
Sedimentary rocks - Examples

• Some of the most common

types of sedimentary rocks
include:
▫ Conglomerate
▫ Sandstone
▫ Shale
▫ Limestone
▫ Gypsum
▫ Oolites
▫ Chert (including black flint
and red jasper)
 Sedimentary rocks - Story
• What do you know about the
history of the Earth in the
place where this rock was
found?
Metamorphic rocks - Formation

• Metamorphic rocks are formed

by heat and pressure
changing one type of rock into
another type of rock.
• Metamorphic rocks form near
lava intrusions, at plate
subduction zones, and in
deep mountain roots.
Metamorphic rocks - Formation
• Lava intrusions can provide
heat that causes metamorphic
rocks to form. These small
areas of metamorphic rock
form from contact
metamorphosis.
 Metamorphic rocks - Formation
• Rocks that metamorphose because of increasing heat and pressure found at
plate subduction zones and in deep mountain roots form large areas of
metamorphic rock through regional metamorphosis.
Metamorphic rocks - Classification

• Metamorphic rocks are

classified into 2 major groups:
▫ Foliated
▫ Nonfoliated
 Metamorphic rocks - Classification

• Foliated rocks form when

differential pressure causes
minerals to form in layers.
• These rocks will have stripes or
planes that they will break easily
along.
• These “stripes” don’t usually line
up with the original bedding
planes in sedimentary rocks.
Metamorphic rocks

• Nonfoliated metamorphic
rocks formed in areas where
the pressure from all sides was
equal, so there is no “linear”
quality to the rocks.
Metamorphic rocks - Formations

• Structures and formations

seen in metamorphic rocks
include:
▫ Folding
▫ Plastic deformation
▫ Stretching
▫ Alternating dark and light
layers (gneissic foliation)
Metamorphic rocks - Examples

• Some common types of

metamorphic rock include:
▫ Slate
▫ Schist
▫ Gneiss
▫ Amphibolite
▫ Marble
▫ Quartzite
▫ Metaconglomerate
Metamorphic rocks - Charted
Metamorphic rocks - story
• What do you know about the
history of the Earth in the
place where this rock was
found?