Rainbow Rocks
Rain pounds the ground. Streams turn into raging rivers. Floods race through a valley in ancient China. Water isn’t the only thing on the
move here. So are sand, dirt, and rocks. As the water rushes over them, it picks them up. T e water swirls specks of sand
and mud. It tumbles pebbles. It pushes big boulders. T is movement is called erosion. T e water slows. Some of the sand, mud, and rocks settle on the bottom of lakes.
T e weight of sand and rocks
presses down. Over time, this pressure glues the pieces together. T ey turn into layers of new rock. At first, these layers are hidden.
T en chunks of Earth’s crust shiſt . Some of the crust rises. It pushes the layers upward. T ey form mountains. Rain, ice, and wind change these
mountains. T ey break the rocks into smaller pieces. T is is called weathering. What’s leſt today are wavy, colorful hills.
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