GEOLOGICAL WORK OF WIND

OR
AEOLIAN LAND FORMS
Desert
A region with a mean annual precipitation (< 250 mm) and so devoid
of vegetations. They are divided into four types-

(i)Polar or high latitude desert- or cold desert

(ii) Middle latitude desert- In the basin like interior of the continent
e.g. Gobi desert characterized by scant rainfall and high temp.
(iii) Trade wind desert or Tropical desert- A hot, dry desert lying
between latitude 15 degree and 30 degree north or south of the
equator , where sub tropical high- pressure air masses prevail,
producing conditions of very low or spordic rainfall. E.g Sahara desert-
negligible ppt. and daily large variation in temp.
(iv) Coastal desert- Peru desert- affected by cold current in west coast.
 MECHANISM-

(i) Deflation
(ii) Abrasion
(iii) Attrition
Erosional Land forms-
(i) Blow out-
Blowouts are sandy depressions in a sand dune ecosystem
caused by the removal of sediments by wind.

Blowout located 6.5 km south of Earth, Texas (1996)

 Oases
Deeper, water filled depressions formed by
deflation in desert are called Oases. It is the
place in a desert where vegetation can grow.
 Slack
It is another term used for such depressions formed by
deflation. e.g. the Quattara depression of western Egypt is
one of the biggest slacks (300km x 140km x 134m)
Hammada
It is bare rock surface in a desert from which thin cover of
sand has been swept away.

Lag deposits
Some times a layer of residual gravels, pebbles and cobbles
are strewn upon the surface while intervening finer materials
have been removed as a result of deflation. These
accumulation of gravel, pebble and cobbles form lag
deposits.
Yardangs
Yardangs are commonly developed where alternate bands of hard and soft
rocks are vertical or inclined. The intervening beds of softer rocks are abraded
and eroded materials are blown away by deflation. There results in the
development of grooved or furrowed topographic form having steep- sided
deeply under cut overhanging ridged separated by long grooves.
Pedestral rocks or Mushrooms-
The rocks having broad upper part and narrow base
resembling an umbrella or mushroom are called pedestral
or mushroom rocks.
Ventifacts
(a) Einkanters, (b) Zweikanter and (c) Dreikanter
Inselbergs
A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge,
or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or
virtually level surrounding plain. The term "monadnock" is
usually used in the US, whereas "inselberg" is used on a more
international level.
 Demoiselles

Rock pillars having

resistant rocks at the top
and soft rocks below.
These features are formed
due to differential erosion
of hard and soft rocks. The
demoiselles are
maintained so long as the
resistant caprocks are
seated at the top of the
pillars.
 Zeugen
Rock masses of tabular form
resembling a capped inkpot
standing on softer rock pedestal
of shale, mudstone etc. are
called zeugen.
Wind Windows-

Openings are formed due to

continuous abrasion of stone
lattice by powerful wind.
These holes are gradually
widened and ultimately they
reach the opposite side of the
rocks are called wind window.
 Millet- seed sand

These are rounded grains of sands resembling millet-

seed sand grains produced through the process of
attrition.
 Desert Landforms
• Plateaus: a broad, flat-topped area elevated above the
surrounding land and bounded, at least in part, by cliffs
• Mesa: a broad, flat-topped hill bounded by cliffs and
capped with a resistant rock layer
• Butte: a narrow hill of resistant rock with a flat top and
very steep sides
Depositional Landforms
 Ripple marks

Wind ripples:
Small, low ridges of sand
produced by saltation of the
grains.
 Sand dunes-

Sand dunes:
Mounds of loose sand grains heaped up by the
wind, most likely to develop in areas with strong
winds that generally blow in the same direction.
 Types of Dunes
• Barchan: A crescent-shaped dune with a steep
slip face on the inward or concave side which
is formed where the sand supply is limited.

Barchans
 Types of Dunes (cont.)
• Transverse dune: A relatively straight,
elongate dune oriented perpendicular to the
wind direction

Transverse dunes

Transverse dunes, Oregon

 Types of Dunes (cont.)
• Longitudinal dune: One of the largest types of
dunes which is a symmetrical ridge of sand
that forms parallel to the prevailing wind
direction

Longitudinal dunes Longitudinal dunes in the Sahara Desert, Algeria.

Photo from Gemini spacecraft at an altitude of
about 65 miles
 SEIFS

Seifs - multiple very long narrow, parallel dunes. May be caused in areas with at least
two dominant wind directions. Can be tens of miles long. Common outside of U.S.
 Loess
A deposit of wind-blown silt and clay composed of
unweathered, angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and other
minerals weakly cemented by calcite - have a high porosity,
typically near 60%
 Desert Landforms (cont.)
• Playa lake: a shallow temporary lake (following a rainstorm)on a flat
valley floor in a dry region
• Playa: a very flat surface underlain by hard, mud-cracked clay
• Bajada: a broad gently-sloping depositional surface formed by the
coalescing of individual alluvial fans
• Pediment: a gently sloping surface, commonly covered with a veneer of
gravel, cut into the solid rock of the mountain