What is deposition?

• A. The process in which sediments, soil, and rocks are added to a landform or land mass.
• B. The removal of soil by wind.
• C. The wearing away of rocks.
• D. The melting of snow at high elevations.

Answer: (A)

Deposition is the process of sediments, soil, and rocks being laid down or added to a landform or land mass. It happens when transported material—by water, wind, or ice—loses enough energy to settle out and accumulate, building up features such as deltas, beaches, dunes, and lake or river bottoms. This sits in contrast to erosion, which removes material from a place and moves it elsewhere. So the option describing removal of soil by wind, and the one about wearing away of rocks, depict erosion, not deposition. Melting snow at high elevations is not deposition either; it’s melt or runoff, not the addition of material to a landform.