Catch a Wave


Deep in Earth’s mantle, magma bubbles. It moves through a crack in Earth’s crust and rises. Up and up it goes. Suddenly, the crack widens into a large underground chamber. T e magma fills it. In some places, a magma chamber like this


forms the bottom of a volcano. Not here. It’s a dead end for this molten rock. Slowly, the pool of magma cools. It turns into a solid chunk of granite, a kind of igneous rock. It stays buried beneath soil and rock for a


long time. Yet even here, it begins to weather. Water seeps through the soil. Acids and salts in the water begin to eat away at the rock. T ey weaken parts of the granite slab. High above the rock, a wide river forms. It


drains water to the sea. As it flows, the water digs into the land. It carries away bits and pieces of dirt and rock.


Bit by bit, this erosion uncovers the


granite. It washes away bits of weakened rock. T e exposed rock curves over the land like a giant wave. Today, the top of this wave rises about 15 meters above the ground. Water drips down the wave, streaking it


red and gray. Algae grow on it. T ese forces will slowly continue to break the rock apart. T e same thing is still happening under the ground, too. Water weathers the buried rock. It builds a bigger wave. Weathering and erosion create an endless


cycle. Giant rocks rise as soil washes away. Rugged mountains wear down into rolling hills. Hot springs carry chemicals that build new rock. T ese powerful forces keep changing the


land. T ey will continue to create some of the weirdest and most wonderful places on Earth.


WORDWISE


erosion: the process in which rock is moved from one place to another


igneous rock: a kind of rock formed from molten rock


sedimentary rock: a kind of rock formed when bits of rock, sand, shells, and mud are pressed together


weathering: the process in which rocks are broken down into smaller pieces


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