The process of weathering has been going on since Earth first formed and never stops, yet many rocks are still “fresh” and relatively unweathered. Why haven’t all of Earth’s rocks been weathered away long ago? The Resilience of Rocks: How Earth’s Rocks Endure Despite Weathering

The Resilience of Rocks: How Earth’s Rocks Endure Despite Weathering

Rocks are resilient and can stand up to the forces of nature. Weathering is the process of physical and chemical breakdown of rocks due to wind, rain, temperature changes, and more, and it has been happening since Earth first formed (“Weathering Process”, 2020). Despite this, many rocks remain relatively unweathered and “fresh”. This begs the question: why haven’t all of Earth’s rocks been weathered away long ago? The answer lies in the fact that weathering is a gradual process and is often counteracted by other geological processes such as erosion and deposition (Davies, 2019). Erosion is the process of rocks being broken down from their surface by things such as wind and water, and deposition is when these pieces of weathered rock are carried away by wind or water and accumulate in another area. These two processes can act as a sort of self-regeneration for the rocks, replenishing them with fresh, unweathered material from the surface. The resilience of rocks is also due to the fact that some rocks are more prone to weathering than others. Cont…