ABSTRACT
The wide range of conditions found in different parts of the globe at present reflects the variety of natural processes that operate to shape the surface of the Earth. Land areas are continually being reduced and their shape modified by weathering and erosion. Agents of erosion – rivers, wind, moving ice, water waves – make a large contribution to the denudation of the land. They also transport the weathered material, the detritus, away from the areas where it is derived. The speed and severity of weathering in wet climates depends essentially upon the activity of the root zone, and the frequency with which percolating rainwater can flush weathered constituents from the weathering profile. The effect of chemical weathering on the more resistant rocks can be clearly seen where deep weathering has occurred and a thick cover of rotted material lies above the irregular surface which bounds the solid rocks beneath the weathered zone.
