GEO 1111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Downcutting, Travertine, Sodium Chloride

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Geology
• Course: GEO 1111
• Professor: Donald Cummings

Document Summary

Think of unit runoff like precipitation (m/a) Lowest level to which erosion by which running water can occur. Ultimate base ow would be sea level. If you go to base level, you can no longer erode, since there is no energy (ex: owing water) Higher up in mountains, lots of owing water > higher energy. How would you form a canyon? (ex: grand canyon) Colorado plateau gets lifted up by tectonic activity 1-2 km as plates from the paci c ocean bumps into each other. Sedimentary rocks are deposited and formed into layers. As if gets lifted up, it is now way above base level. It must be eroded, so water will ow down > higher en to erode the deposit down. Sedimentary basins (to get layers), uplift, and downcutting to erode the channel. If you lift something up, you will increase the amount of erosion!