LESSON 4
EXOGENIC
PROCESS AND
ENDOGENIC
PROCESS
Learning Objectives
Demonstrate an understanding of the
geologic process that occur on the
surface of Earth.
Differentiate Exogenic and Endogenic
Processes
Explain how the movement of plates
leads to the formation of folds and
faults.
EXOGENIC
PROCESS
EXOGENIC PROCESSES
Caused by exogenic factors, or
agents supplying energy for
activities that are located at or
near the Earth’s surface.
Usually driven by gravitational
and/or atmospheric forces.
Causes of Exogenic process:
Weathering
Erosion
Mass wasting
Denudation
1.Weathering
Process of degradation or breaking down
of rocks into smaller fragments known as
sediments.
It occurs when mechanical force is
applied on rocks or through chemical
reactions happening on the surface or
within the rocks.
Two types: Physical Weathering and
Chemical Weathering
1. Physical Weathering
Also called mechanical weathering and it is
caused by the breaking apart of rocks without
changing their chemical composition.
Examples:
a. Frost heaving and wedging
b. Plant roots
c. Burrowing animals
d. Abrasion
e. Temperature changes
a. Frost heaving and wedging
Occurs when water seeps into the rocks
or occupies spaces in between rocks
and freezes, acting like wedges.
b. Plant roots
Huge trees that
produce large
roots anchor
themselves on
rocks and forces
their way into
them.
c. Burrowing animals
Some animals create their homes by
making holes on the rocks.
d. Abrasion
Rocks in the rivers, seas, valleys,
mountains, or deserts, degrade or
disintegrate due to friction or repeated
collisions or impacts.
e. Temperature changes
Sudden changes in temperature weaken
the integral structure of rocks, resulting
to weathering.
2. Chemical Weathering
Involves the chemical decomposition or
rocks due to the chemical reaction of
minerals within rocks and the
environment.
Some agents of chemical weathering:
a. Water
b. Oxygen
c. Living organisms
d. Acids
a. Water
Dissolves the
soluble minerals
present in rocks
b. Oxygen
Facilitates the
oxidation process in
the presence of water
in some metallic
minerals, such as
pyrite.
c. Living organisms
Organisms, such as lichens, produce
weak acids that slowly corrode the
rocks.
d. Acids
Carbon acid(H2CO3) is formed
when carbon dioxide(CO2)
present in the atmosphere
reacts with water.
Easily decomposes limestones
and marbles
2. Erosion
Happens when
fragments of rocks
move from one
place to another.
Rock fragments are
moved by various
agents, such air,
water and ice.
3. Mass Wasting
Movement of large fragment of rocks
down the slope due to gravity
Examples:
a. Landslide
b. Mudslide
c. Slumps
d. Debris
Landslide Slumps
Mudslide Debris
3. Denudation
Endogenic Process
Caused by endogenic factors, or
agents supplying energy for
activities that are located within the
Earth or below the Earth’s surface.
Refers to the movement of the
Earth’s lithosphere resulting to
formation of various landforms.
Magmatism
Explains the movement of magma to form
igneous rocks.
Process responsible for mountain formation.
Plutonism
Also known as volcanism, explains
that the rocks are formed in fire by
volcanic activity.
What causes the
Deformation of the
Earth’s Crust?
Plate Tectonic
History
As formulated during in the 1960s, the
Plate Tectonic Theory explains that
the lithosphere was so brittle that it
was divided into major plates
considered to be floating over the hot
liquid of asthenosphere.
Continental Drift Theory
Gliding slowly over the weak
asthenosphere at rates ranging
from one to about 18 cm a year.
They bump and grind together
at their boundaries, leading to
the formation of various
landforms.
Alfred Wegener
Created a map of the
earth by fitting the
continents into one.
Hypothesized that the
continents were joined
together into one
supercontinent known
as Pangaea about 225
mya
Wegener’s Theory Evidences
Continents look like jigsaw
Fossils of a dinosaur known as Mesosaurus
that had been found in South America and
Africa, but nowhere else in the world.
Another fossil evidence found in Antarctica,
Africa, Australia, South America and India
supported the claim of Wegener.
Rock types and structures that match across
continents.
Folds
Bent rock layer or series of layer that
are originally horizontal and
subsequently deformed.
Two most common types of folds:
- Anticlines – fold in the sedimentary
strata, resembling an arch
- Synclines – linear down fold in the
sedimentary strata
Faults
Fractures in the crust along
which appreciable
displacement has occurred on
a scale from centimeters to
kilometers.
Example of Folding:
Himalayas
Example of Faulting:
Tapi and Narmada river
