CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE RATE OF EROSION.
In considering the rate of erosion, both the work of the stream in its valley and that of the general run-off are to be considered. The conditions which favor the most rapid erosion in a stream’s channel are not necessarily those which determine most rapid degradation in the basin outside of the valley.
The Influence of Declivity.
In general the greater the declivity the more rapid the rate of erosion, whether in the stream’s channel or on the slopes above it. The truth of this conclusion is illustrated by the great erosive power of swift streams as compared with slow ones.
It does not follow, however, that high declivity favors each element of erosion. The effect of declivity on weathering is far from simple. For example, great declivity, by allowing more of the rainfall to flow off over the surface, and by causing it to flow off more promptly, restricts the work of solution, and therefore of decomposition, both at the surface and beneath it. High declivity is also unfavorable to the growth of vegetation, and so to the wedge-work of roots. On the other hand, a given amount of wedge-work of roots and ice is more effective where the slope is steep than where it is gentle, for such materials as are loosened descend the slopes more readily. The prompt removal of weathered materials, by exposing fresh surfaces of rock, accelerates weathering. The total amount of weathering may therefore not be diminished by the increase of slope, even though certain of its processes are hindered.
The effect of high declivity on transportation, the second element of erosion, is too patent to need explanation.
Corrasion likewise is favored by high declivity, for the abrasive power of a stream increases as the square of its velocity. With corrasive power increased, corrasion will also be increased if the water has tools to work with. Since high declivity greatly increases both the transporting and the corrasive power of running water, and favors certain elements of weathering, it is clear that the aggregate effect of high declivity is to favor erosion, whether in the channel of the stream or on the general surface of its drainage basin.
The Influence of Rock.
The physical constitution, the chemical composition, and the stratigraphy of a rock formation, influence the rate at which it may be broken up and carried away. Clastic or fragmental rocks are usually stratified and made up of cemented pebbles (conglomerate), sand grains (sandstone), or particles of mud (shale). Igneous rocks, such as granite, are massive instead of stratified, and are usually made up of great numbers of interlocking crystals which bind one another together. Some crystalline rocks, such as schists, though not stratified, possess cleavage, which has much the effect of stratification, so far as erosion is concerned. All rocks are affected by systems of more or less nearly vertical cracks called joints. All these structures have their influence upon the rate of degradation.
Physical constitution.—Clastic rocks may be firmly cemented, or their constituents may be loosely bound together. The less the coherence the more ready the disintegration, and the finer the particles the more easily are they carried away. When the particles in transportation are angular they effect more wear on the bed over which they move, and on one another, than when they are round. The difference is great where the particles are large, and little where they are very small. If the materials carried be harder than the bed over which they pass, corrasion of the latter is favored.
Chemical composition.—Something also depends on the chemical composition of the rock, since this affects its solubility, and therefore its rate of decomposition. The more soluble the rock the larger the proportion of it which will be taken away in solution; but it does not follow that the most soluble rock will be most rapidly eroded, since the rate of erosion depends on abrasion as well as solution, and a rock which is readily soluble, as rocks go, may be less easily abraded than a rock which is made of discrete and insoluble particles bound together by a soluble cement. In such rocks, for example a sandstone in which the grains are cemented together by lime carbonate, the solution of the cement sets free a considerable quantity of sand, so that a small amount of solution prepares a large amount of sediment for removal. A stream might cut its valley much more rapidly in such a sandstone than in a compact limestone, though the latter is, as a whole, the more soluble. The constituent minerals of crystalline rocks resist solution and decay unequally, and when any one is dissolved or decomposed the rock crumbles and the less soluble constituents are ready for removal by mechanical means. So long as the material loosened by disintegration is removed, chemical heterogeneity favors erosion; but if the loosened débris is not removed erosion is not favored by chemical heterogeneity. In such a case erosion would be most rapid where the rock was most soluble.
Structure.—The structure of the rock has much to do with the rate of its erosion. Other things being equal, stratified rock is more readily eroded than massive rock, since stratification-planes are planes of cleavage, and therefore of weakness. Taking advantage of these planes the water has less breaking to perform to reduce the material to a transportable condition. For the same reason a thin-bedded formation is more easily eroded than a thick-bedded one.
Fig. 103 and 104.—Diagrams to illustrate the fact that a stream crosses many more cleavage-planes when the beds of rock are inclined than when they are horizontal.
The beds of stratified rock may be horizontal, vertical, or inclined, and inclined strata may stand at any angle between horizontality and verticality. In indurated formations the rate of erosion is influenced both by the position of the strata and by the relation of the direction of the flowing water to their dip and strike. On the whole the strata which are horizontal, or but slightly inclined, are probably less favorable for rapid erosion than those which are vertical or inclined at considerable angles. This is at least true where the layers are of uniform hardness and the joints infrequent.
Horizontal strata expose fewer cleavage planes to the water flowing over them than strata in any other position. In [Fig. 103] the stream which has the profile ad crosses bedding-planes at b and c. In [Fig. 104], where the beds dip up-stream, many more division-planes are crossed in the same distance. Since bedding-planes are planes of weakness, it follows that horizontal and nearly horizontal strata are not, under ordinary conditions of erosion, in a position favorable for most rapid wear. When strata are horizontal, it makes no difference which way the stream runs, for the current sustains the same relation to the cleavage-planes whatever its course.
In the case of incoherent material the position of the beds, or even their existence, has little influence on the rate of erosion. Such formations are weak in all directions, not simply along bedding-planes.
Fig. 105.—Diagram to illustrate the various relations a stream may sustain to the outcrop of vertical layers of rock.
When the strata are vertical, three distinct cases may arise ([Fig. 105]). The stream may flow (1) with the strike (aa); (2) at right angles to the strike (bb); or (3) oblique to it (cc) at any angle whatsoever. It is perhaps not possible to say which of these positions is most favorable for erosion, for the character of the rock, the thickness of its layers, its ability to stand with steep slopes, and the strength of the currents concerned, would influence the result. A stream which flows at right angles to the strike (bb, [Fig. 105]) would cross more cleavage-planes in a given distance than a stream flowing in any other direction, and would strike the outcropping edges of layers at the angle of greatest advantage. A stream flowing along the strike (aa), on the other hand, has better opportunity to sink its channel on cleavage-planes, and the current oblique to the strike (cc), has some of the advantages of each of the others.
Fig. 106.—Diagram to illustrate the various relations a stream may sustain to the outcrops of inclined layers of rock.
When the strata are inclined five cases may arise. (1) The stream may be parallel to the strike (aa, [Fig. 106]), when it makes no difference which way the current flows; it may be at right angles to the strike (bb′), and (2) flowing with the dip (toward b′), or (3) against it (toward b); it may be oblique to the strike, and flowing (4) in the general direction of dip (toward c′); or (5) in the opposite direction (toward c). As before, the stream flowing at right angles to the strike would cross the largest number of layers in a given distance, and so have an opportunity to take advantage of more cleavage-planes than a stream in any other position. But in the case of inclined strata a new element enters into the problem. When the stream flows parallel to the strike, the valley which is in process of deepening is not sunk vertically, but is shifted more or less in the direction of the dip ([Fig. 107]). This is called monoclinal shifting. The result is that there is a constant tendency to undermine (sap) the valley bluff on the down-dip side, and this process of sapping will, according to its rate, accelerate the growth of the valley, especially in width. Monoclinal shifting is favored by the presence of a hard layer (H), as shown in [Fig. 107], if this stratum is the bed of the stream.
Fig. 107.—Diagram to illustrate monoclinal shifting. The valley abc, as seen in cross-section, becomes deb, as the stream lowers its channel.
In the second and third cases mentioned above, the only difference is in the angle at which the current strikes the outcropping edges of layers and laminæ. The mechanical advantage is with the stream which flows with the dip. In the fourth and fifth cases something will depend on the angle which the stream’s course makes with the strike. In all these cases, as in those where the strata are vertical, much will depend on the thickness and resistance of the layers and on the strength of the currents concerned.
The Influence of Climate.
Climate has both a direct and an indirect effect on erosion. Its direct influence is through precipitation, evaporation, changes of temperature, and wind; its indirect, through vegetation. Like declivity and rock structure, climate does not affect all elements of erosion equally.
The chief elements of climate are temperature, moisture, and atmospheric movements; the principal factors which influence it are latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, direction of prevailing winds, and topographic relations.
The effects of variations in temperature on rock weathering have already been discussed ([p. 43]). They are chiefly mechanical, and are seen at their best where the daily range is great.
High temperature favors chemical action, and the weathering of rock by decomposition is at its best in the presence of abundant moisture in regions where the temperature is uniformly high. Furthermore, a warm moist climate favors the growth of vegetation, the decay of which supplies the water with organic acids which greatly increase its solvent power. The climatic conditions favoring mechanical weathering are therefore different from those favoring chemical weathering. High temperature and abundant moisture and vegetation are found in many tropical regions, and here the rock is often decomposed to greater depths, on the whole, than in high latitudes. How far this is the result of rapid weathering, and how far of slow removal, due in part to the protective influence of the plants, cannot be affirmed. If the weathered material is not removed, it will presently become a mantle thick enough to retard the processes which brought it into existence.
So long as the water of the surface and that in the soil remains unfrozen, temperature affects neither corrasion nor transportation. But in middle and high latitudes the surface is frozen for some part of each year. During this time corrasion is at a minimum, for although the streams continue to flow there is relatively little water running over the surface outside the drainage channels, and that little is relatively ineffective. Under some conditions, therefore, temperature affects both corrasion and transportation.
The humidity of the atmosphere has an influence even more important than that of temperature on the rate of erosion, and its influence is exerted on each of the elements of that complex process. A moist atmosphere favors oxidation, carbonation, hydration, and the growth of vegetation, all of which promote certain phases of rock weathering. On the other hand, humidity tends to prevent sudden and considerable variations in temperature, thus checking the weathering effected by this means. Precipitation, the most important single factor in determining the rate of erosion, is dependent on atmospheric humidity. Its amount, its kind (rain or snow), and its distribution in time, are the elements which determine its effectiveness in any given place.
Other things being equal the greater the amount of precipitation the more rapid the corrasion and transportation. Much, however, depends on its distribution in time. A given amount of rainfall may be distributed equally through the year, or it may fall during a wet season only. The maximum inequality of distribution would occur if all the rainfall of a given period were concentrated in a single shower. With such concentration the volume of water flowing off over the surface immediately after the down-pour would be greater than under any other conditions of precipitation, and since velocity is increased with volume, and erosive power with velocity, it follows that the erosive power of a given amount of water would be greater under these circumstances than under any other. Furthermore, a larger proportion of the precipitation would run off over the surface under these circumstances than under any other, for less of it would sink beneath the surface and less would be evaporated. If erosive power and rate of erosion were equal terms, this would therefore be the condition for greatest erosion; but erosive power and rate of erosion do not always correspond. If the water falling in this way could get hold of all the material it could carry, extreme concentration of precipitation would be the condition favorable for most rapid erosion. But if the amount of available material for transportation is slight, a large part of the force of the water could not be utilized in erosion. It follows that if there were a large amount of disintegrated material on the surface, erosion would be greater the greater the concentration of precipitation. If, on the other hand, there were but little disintegrated material on the surface, frequent showers, with intervening periods when conditions were favorable for weathering, that is, for preparing material for transportation, might be more favorable for rapid erosion. While the total energy of running water available for erosion under these conditions would be less than before, there might in the long run be more material for transport; for weathering in the presence of moisture, and all that goes with it, might be more effective in preparing material for transportation, than weathering during the long periods of drought which would occur if the precipitation were concentrated to its maximum. Temperature favoring, the uniform distribution of moisture through the year would allow the growth of vegetation, which, although favoring some processes of weathering, retards erosion in general. While therefore it is not possible to say what distribution of rainfall favors most rapid erosion without knowing the nature of the surface on which it is to fall, enough has been said to show that the problem is by no means a simple one. Some of the most striking phases of topography developed by erosion, such as those of the Bad Lands (Figs. [75 to 78], and [108]), are developed where the rainfall is unequally distributed in time, and too slight or too infrequent to support abundant vegetation.
Fig. 108.—Bad-land topography developed under conditions of aridity and unequal distribution of rainfall. Slope of Pinal Mountains, Ariz. (Ransome, U. S. Geol. Surv.)
During its fall, and immediately after, rain is more effective than an equal amount of snow; but the snow may be accumulated through a considerable period of the year, and then melted rapidly, when it has an effect comparable to that which would be produced by the concentration of the rainfall into a limited period of the year. If the ground beneath be frozen when the snow melts (and this is often the case) the erosion accomplished by the resulting water will be diminished.
Except in dry regions, where wind-work sometimes exceeds water-work, the movements of the atmosphere are of less importance directly than precipitation in determining the rate of erosion. But even in regions which are not arid the winds have much to do with the rate of evaporation and the distribution of rainfall, so that their indirect effect is great. Even their direct effects in moist climates are not to be lost sight of, for even here the surface is sometimes dry enough to yield dust and sand, and the uprooting of trees so disturbs the surface as to make earthy débris more accessible to wind and water. Where trees gain precarious footholds on steep slopes, as they often do, they are likely to be overturned as soon as they are large enough to offer considerable resistance to the wind, and in the overturning, large quantities of rock are sometimes loosened and carried down the slope by gravity. This phase of destructive work is seen at its best on the walls of gorges, where trees often flourish until their tops project above the rim of the valley.
Through vegetation, climate influences erosion in ways which are easily defined qualitatively, but not quantitatively. Both by its growth (wedge-work of roots) and by its decay (supplying CO2, etc., to descending waters) it favors certain phases of weathering; but, on the other hand, it retards corrasion and transportation both by wind and water. This is well shown along the banks of streams and on the faces of cliffs, in clay, sand, etc. Its aggregate effect is probably unfavorable to erosion by mechanical means, and favorable to that by chemical processes.
Fig. 109.—Characteristic cliffs of high arid regions. Right wall of Snake River canyon, nearly opposite the mouth of Salmon River, Id. Two spring-formed coves, with “Castle Rock” between. (Russell, U. S. Geol. Surv.)
Erosion in high arid regions differs from that in regions of abundant rainfall in several ways. It is obvious that the valleys will develop more slowly in the former, that they will remain young longer, that the period necessary for the dissection of the surface is greater, that the watercourses will be less numerous, and that fewer of them will have permanent streams. There are certain other differences which are less obvious. If the arid region be high and composed of heterogeneous strata, the topography which erosion develops is more angular ([Fig. 83]) than that of the humid region. This is because there is less rock decay, and less vegetation to hold the products of decay. The more resistant beds of rock therefore come into greater prominence, especially on slopes, where they develop cliffs (Figs. [109] and [110]). These general principles find abundant illustration in the plateaus of the western part of the United States,[48] where the cliffs are by no means confined to the immediate valleys of the streams ([Fig. 1, Pl. XII]).
Fig. 110.—A Butte. A characteristic feature of the arid plateau region of the West. (Dutton, Mono. II, U. S. Geol. Surv.)