what effects does rain have on rocks?
110099
Not quite what the root of this question is but on it's face, rain erodes rocks. The greatest, and one of the most beautiful, examples is the grand canyon. rain feeds the colorado river which runs thru the canyon carving out of the solid rock over milenia. rain is the most corrosive force on the planet, nothing...nothing can stand against it. eventually water will get thru anything.
500664
During the process of erosion, the surface of a rock is broken down.\n\nIt can be done by one or two means...\n\nMechanical weathering: rock is broken down into smaller pieces through frost wedging, abrasion, exfoliation, etc.\n\nChemical weathering: rock is broken down into one or more new substances usually through the action of water. Water reacts w/ iron to produce iron oxide. Water also reacts w/ other elements & compounds to produce mild acids that eat away at the surfaces of rocks. Most of the acids are completely natural while some are caused by pollution.\n\nBoth of these can act together to break rock down faster. When a rock has been mechanically weathered it's surface area will increase allowing the chemical weathering to occur at a faster rate.
552288
rocks are made up of minerals
567177
Their are various ways.  One way where i live is by putting large nets to cover the area.  This holds the rocks in place.
56915
Generally, they're formed by freezing and erosion. Essentially what happens is that water gets into the cracks of larger rocks and then freezes and expands, causing pieces to fall off. Sometimes these smaller rocks end up in streams or rivers where they are carried by the current and rolled along the bottom, smoothing them out. over time, they get smaller and smoother becoming what we know as pebbles.
106400
A 3 mile wide rock hitting the ocean could cause extreme waves to travel at 6000 km/h and as high as 5 km up in the air. Such waves would flood the entire Earth, leaving total destruction. \n\nIf it hits land, then a huge earthquake would be there and it would be like a wave on land, and maybe only a continent would see the destruction.  However, this will also cause dust to rise in the stratosphere and cover the entire Earth in complete darkness.\n\nAlso note that before the rock hits, as it enters our atmosphere at 40000 km/h, it will cause a shock wave so strong that possibly the entire Earth would be destroyed.  So if that's the case, it wouldn't really matter where it hits, because total destruction occurs before the rock hits the surface.
634548
Rocks can be divided into three key different groups, which you will need to know for chemistry and geography exams.\n\nThey are:\n- igneous\ne.g. volcanic rocks\n\n- sedimentary\ne.g. those laid down by the action of water, like limestone\n\n- metamorphic\ne.g. those that have been subject to many different processes within the earth and been changed as a result
52842
A desert is defined by its low rainfall record, hence why you can get hot, cold and frigid deserts.\n\nDeserts can be caused by a number of factors, for example mountains surrounding the area cause rain to fall on their slopes rather than further inland so creating the arid conditions.(can't think of an example for this but there are several)\n\nThe area may be so far inland that the damp winds from the sea fail to reach it.  When combined with a hot climate severe desert conditions occur. (Death Valley)\n\nThere may be a cold current running along the coast which causes coastal fog and precipitation, preventing it raining inland. (Patagonian Desert)\n\nThe sand is the product of weathering on the rock, the hot temperatures during the day cause the rocks to expand, the rocks are made up of different minerls and colours of crystals (grains) due to colour some expand more than others, this can break the rock surface down. (Intergranular errosion).  The wind picks up the bits and hits them against other rocks, turning the lumps to powder (mechanical errosion).\n\nwhen rain does fall the water scours rock debris off the surface causing the pieces to rub over each other (more mechanical errosion).  When drying out in the heat the water evapourates leaving salt deposits behind, these can dissole minerals in the rock (chemical errosion) and can cause slat pillars which are capable of lifting erroded rock layers off the surface.
30785
Chemical erosion (also called weathering) occurs when rock or other materials are changed into smaller pieces by chemical processes.  These processes include direct oxidation (such as iron rusting), chemical dissolving (such as acid rain reacting with marble or limestone) and other chemical processes.  \nSome good site to look at are below:
373459
The rain drops because of gravity.
501423
Igneous rock becomes sedimentary rock by weathering and erosion which makes sediments. The sediments then is deposited and is cemented together to cause sedimentary rock.
708919
Holocene Soil Development on Till and Outwash Inferred from Lake-Sediment Geochemistry in Michigan and Wisconsin \nAuthors: Ewing H.A.1; Nater E.A.2\nSource: Quaternary Research, Volume 57, Number 2, March 2002, pp. 234-243(10)\n\nParent material. Few soils weather directly from the underlying rocks. These "residual" soils have the same general chemistry as the original rocks. More commonly, soils form in materials that have moved in from elsewhere. Materials may have moved many miles or only a few feet. Windblown "loess" is common in the Midwest. It buries "glacial till" in many areas. Glacial till is material ground up and moved by a glacier. The material in which soils form is called "parent material." In the lower part of the soils, these materials may be relatively unchanged from when they were deposited by moving water, ice, or wind.\n\nSediments along rivers have different textures, depending on whether the stream moves quickly or slowly. Fast-moving water leaves gravel, rocks, and sand. Slow-moving water and lakes leave fine textured material (clay and silt) when sediments in the water settle out.\n\nClimate. Soils vary, depending on the climate. Temperature and moisture amounts cause different patterns of weathering and leaching. Wind redistributes sand and other particles especially in arid regions. The amount, intensity, timing, and kind of precipitation influence soil formation. Seasonal and daily changes in temperature affect moisture effectiveness, biological activity, rates of chemical reactions, and kinds of vegetation.\n\nTopography. Slope and aspect affect the moisture and temperature of soil. Steep slopes facing the sun are warmer, just like the south-facing side of a house. Steep soils may be eroded and lose their topsoil as they form. Thus, they may be thinner than the more nearly level soils that receive deposits from areas upslope. Deeper, darker colored soils may be expected on the bottom land.\n\nBiological factors. Plants, animals, micro-organisms, and humans affect soil formation. Animals and micro-organisms mix soils and form burrows and pores. Plant roots open channels in the soils. Different types of roots have different effects on soils. Grass roots are "fibrous" near the soil surface and easily decompose, adding organic matter. Taproots open pathways through dense layers. Micro-organisms affect chemical exchanges between roots and soil. Humans can mix the soil so extensively that the soil material is again considered parent material.\n\nThe native vegetation depends on climate, topography, and biological factors plus many soil factors such as soil density, depth, chemistry, temperature, and moisture. Leaves from plants fall to the surface and decompose on the soil. Organisms decompose these leaves and mix them with the upper part of the soil. Trees and shrubs have large roots that may grow to considerable depths.\n\nTime. Time for all these factors to interact with the soil is also a factor. Over time, soils exhibit features that reflect the other forming factors. Soil formation processes are continuous. Recently deposited material, such as the deposition from a flood, exhibits no features from soil development activities. The previous soil surface and underlying horizons become buried. The time clock resets for these soils. Terraces above the active floodplain, while genetically similar to the floodplain, are older land surfaces and exhibit more development features.\n\nThese soil forming factors continue to affect soils even on "stable" landscapes. Materials are deposited on their surface, and materials are blown or washed away from the surface. Additions, removals, and alterations are slow or rapid, depending on climate, landscape position, and biological activity.\n\nWhen mapping soils, a soil scientist looks for areas with similar soil-forming factors to find similar soils. The colors, texture, structure, and other properties are d
199212
Mountains are primarily ROCK. Most rock is non-porous and therefore holds water from rain or snow melt.
343628
figure the bottom, the top gets fed more water as it flows down river by rain, the bottom gets its water from runoff - the effect of the rain up-stream.
209347
"...Small stones to a few millimeters in size are slowed down so much by the atmosphere that they end up drifting slowly to the ground. \n\nPieces of space rock of a few millimeters to a few centimeters burn up completely in the atmosphere of the Earth before they can reach the ground, and can be seen at night as falling stars. If it is sufficiently dark and clear outside, then you can see a few falling stars every night. \n\nIf the rock is bigger, then part of it can survive the trip through the atmosphere and reach the ground as a meteorite. If the stone weighs less than a few tons, then it doesn't fall very fast anymore in the end, and it makes a small dent in the ground.   "\n\nhttp://www.phys.uu.nl/~strous/AA/en/antwoorden/meteorieten.html
723318
Wearing away of rock by means of mechanical or chemical processes.\n\nMechanical weathering is the actual physical breaking apart of rock into smaller pieces.\n\nChemical weathering is the change of rock from one substance into a new or multiple new substances.\n\nMechanical weathering aids chemical & vice versa.
165682
A complete answer to this question would require a very large book.  You will need better focus for a short answer.\n\nAcids dissolve most minerals and rocks.  Even water dissolves rocks or rock constituents over a long period of time.  There is fabulous erosion in calcium rich rocks creating tunnels and underground chambers...\n\nAcid rain enhances this process greatly.  Virtually all the salts in the oceans came by the erosion of rock salts over aeons of time spent under the never ceasing rainy seasons.\n\nSome conditions are rock forming or metamorphosing, others are rock dissolving.\n\nHeat and cold are also factors in the deterioration of rock, making it more vulnerable to water and acid rain.\n\nThere are many fabulous websites on rocks and minerals and gemstones.  Just Google some of that and you will pull up two or three super-excellent ones.\n\nTry also Googling "rock geological processes."  Keep it in quotes.