Nature is a fantastic sculptor.

The same process that did this, also made these and this.

It's a process called weathering.

Weathering

In desert regions, rocks expand slightly in the day as they are heated by the Sun, and then shrink a little at night as they cool down.

This daily cycle of expansion and contraction weakens the surface of the rock causing it to fragment and break into smaller pieces.

Water can also cause weathering.

It can penetrate tiny cracks in rocks.

If it gets cold enough, the water expands as it turns to ice, causing the rock split apart.

In a similar way, plants can cause weathering too.

When their roots grow into cracks, they force the cracks to widen, causing the rock to break into smaller fragments.

So, weathering is the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces.

weathering
breakdown of rock
into smaller pieces

Rocks broken down by weathering will eventually become part of the soil, unless they are eroded first.

Erosion

Erosion is the removal of weathered rock and soil.

erosion
removal of weathered rock and soil

Erosion can happen in many different ways.

Over time rivers erode riverbeds and banks.

Coastal soils are constantly eroded by waves.

Further inland, the wind can remove weathered rock and soil.

Humans and other animals are also powerful tools of erosion.

So it's weathering that breaks rock down, and erosion that removes weathered rock and soil.

Both are natural processes that can dramatically shape the landscape.

weathering
erosion