WIND EROSION

Where is wind erosion most common?

Deserts Beaches Plowed

Fields

Deflation• Erosion caused

by wind as it wears away sediments such as clay, silt, and sand

• Wind will pick up small sediments and move them

ABRASION• A type of erosion caused when

windblown or waterborne sand grains strike other sand grains and rocks, breaking off small sediments.– Similar to sandblasting– Sand grains and the rocks they

strike become pitted and polished when small fragments are broken off.

LOESSo A thick deposit of very fine, wind

eroded sedimentsoOne of the larges deposits is near

Mississippi River.oFine as talcum powderoFertile soil can evolve from loess

depositsoFound in China, where sand and

silt are blown from the deserts.

DUNES

Build up of sediments due to the sediments settle behind obstacles.

Most common wind deposits.

Form in deserts and beaches where sand is abundant.