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WindAnyone who has ever been caught on a beach on a blustery day knows how much sediment the wind can move! Being caught in a windstorm at the beach is a lot like having your body sandblasted! Unlike water and ice, wind can only move small particles of sediment. However, once they get going, they can do a great deal of damage.
In desert regions where water is scarce, wind is often the key agent of erosion. Not only does wind pile up and move sand dunes from place to place, but when it's carrying sand, it can actually wear away the face of other rocks and carve intricate patterns as it blows. Back in the 1930s, severe droughts in the middle of the United States, coupled with high winds, created an occurrence that became known as the "Dust Bowl." Because of overgrazing by cattle and a lack of rain, many plants died. With few roots to hold the soil in place, the blowing winds caused so much erosion that they became known as "black blizzards."
