• A destructive force is a process that breaks down the surface features of the Earth. – Examples are: • Erosion (water-river and oceans and wind) • Weathering • Earthquakes • Volcanoes • Impact of organisms. 4. Erosion • Erosion is the movement of sediments and soil by wind, water, ice and gravity.

Weathering and erosion are destructive forces because they break apart landforms, destroying the existing features (very slowly and over time).

Destructive Force: Weathering The ocean beats against a cliff and breaks it apart. Wind causes rock to wear away as it blows sediment through the air.

Landforms are a result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Collection and analysis of data indicates that constructive forces include crustal deformation, faulting, volcanic eruption and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces include weathering and erosion.

Fun Facts about Erosion for Kids

• Flash floods, rivers and streams can slowly erode rock, carving caves and crevices.
• Small bits of rock wash into rivers.
• In the desert, high winds send tiny rock particles hurling through the air.
• Glaciers can rip away rock fragments as they move across the Earth.

THE FORCES OF EROSION: WATER, GLACIERS, AND WIND When the wind whips up a dust storm that stings our eyes, its ability to move soil is very clear. But the most powerful erosive force on earth is not wind but water, which causes erosion in its solid form — ice-and as a liquid.

Gullies

Such erosion is especially common in areas with abundant carbonate rocks and warm, wet conditions that facilitate chemical reactions, or oxidation. The most vivid examples of chemical erosion are caves and sinkholes created in areas with a lot of underground limestone that ends up dissolving from acidic groundwater.