Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.
Charles Kellogg
selected pictures
The Effects of Weathering and Erosion
Erosion is a natural process that involves the wearing away or removal of Earth’s surface materials, such as soil, rock, and sediment, through the action of various geological forces like wind, water, ice, and gravity. It is a fundamental component of the Earth’s geological cycle and plays a significant role in shaping the landscape over long periods of time. Erosion can occur in different forms and is often categorized into several types: water, glacial, wind, coastal and gravity erosion. Here, we see the effects of water and wind erosion of a sedimentary basin that started 10 millions ago during the Late Miocene Epoch.
Weathering, on the other hand, is the process by which rocks, minerals, and other geological materials are broken down and altered at or near the Earth’s surface due to various natural forces and chemical reactions. Typical agents of weathering are water, acids, salt, plants, animals, and changes in temperature. Below some examples of the shores of Galicia and Asturias.
Beautiful examples of natural erosion can be found at the Bardenas Reales of Navarra. This semedesertic landscape features striking formations, including ravines, tabular plateaus, and solitary hills known as “cabezos” which were formed through erosion by both water and wind. The sedimentary formations consist of clays, gypsum, and sandstone. The top of the cabezo is made of a harder soil layer, in this case of sandstone.

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