Question

Describe the depositional work of winds.

Answer 1

Deposition occurs when the speed of wind is reduced by the presence of obstacles like bushes, forests and rock structures. The sediments carried by wind get deposited on both the wind ward and leeward sides of these obstacles.
Some of the depositional landforms are sand dunes, barchans and loess.

• Sand Dune:
  In deserts, during sandstorms, wind carries loads of sand. When the speed of wind decreases, huge amount of sand gets deposited. These mounds or hills of sand are called sand dunes. There are different types of sand dunes.
• Barchan:
  Barchans are isolated crescent-shaped sand dunes. They have gentle slopes on the windward side and steep slopes on the leeward side.
  Transverse Dunes: Transverse dunes are asymmetrical in shape. They are formed by alternate slow and fast winds that blow from the same direction.
• Longitudinal Dunes: Longitudinal dunes are long narrow ridges of sand, which extend in a direction parallel to the prevailing winds. These dunes are called Seifs in Sahara.
• Loess:
  The term loess refers to the deposits of fine silt and porous sand over a vast region. Extensive loess deposits are found in Northern and Western China, the Pampas of Argentina, in Ukraine and in the Mississippi Valley of the United States.