![]() As they grow, so do the cracks, eventually splitting into bits and pieces. ![]() Lichens and mosses can squeeze into cracks and crevices, where they take root. Plants and animals also take a heavy toll on Earth's hardened minerals. On the seashore, the action of waves chips away at cliffs and rakes the fragments back and forth into fine sand. Likewise, constant cycles from wet to dry will crumble clay.īits of sand are picked up and carried off by the wind, which can then blast the sides of nearby rocks, buffing and polishing them smooth. Such pulsing slowly turns stones in the arid desert to sand. Repeated swings in temperature can also weaken and eventually fragment rock, which expands when hot and shrinks when cold. The next day, under the beating sun, the ice melts and trickles the cracked fragments away. Then, at night, the temperature drops and the water expands as it turns to ice, splitting the rock like a sledgehammer to a wedge. ![]() Learn what makes nature unleash her fury. From heat waves and hailstorms to typhoons and tornadoes, our planet's weather can be intense.
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