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Water Carves the Land
In your experiment, water cut channels into the soil in just minutes. Imagine what water can do over thousands or millions of years!
RIVER VALLEYS: Rivers erode their banks and beds over time, cutting deeper and wider channels. The Mississippi River valley was carved over millions of years.
CANYONS: When a river cuts through hard rock, it creates steep-walled canyons. The Grand Canyon is 1.6 kilometers deep!
WATERFALLS: When a river flows from hard rock to soft rock, the soft rock erodes faster, creating a step that becomes a waterfall. Niagara Falls retreats about 1 meter per year as the rock erodes.