REGOLITH

Weathering results in the production of fragments of shattered rock overlying the bedrock. This material has been broken down by both chemical and physical weathering processes. This material is collectively known as regolith.

SCREE

Angular fragments of weathered rock found at the base of slopes are known as scree. These accumulation of scree result from frost-shattering of exposed rock on valley sides / cliff faces. This loose material than moves downslope due to gravity, collecting at the foot of the slope, creating a scree slope. These slopes typically have a gradient of 30-40^o. The largest material tends to be at the base of the scree slope, due to its increased momentum under gravity - which results in some degree of particle sorting. Lack of vegetation on scree slopes may suggest they are still actively forming.

SOIL

One of the most important products of weathering is the formation of soil. This is the unconsolidated material forming the earth's surface layer. The formation of soil is a very slow process and rates may be as slow as 1cm per 200 years. The rate of soil formation does of course vary according to many of the controls on the rates of weathering - for example, climate (temperature and amount of precipitation) and the geology (i.e. nature of the rock and its susceptibility or resistance to weathering. Soils begin to form with the accumulation of weathered debris (regolith) and the addition of decayed organic matter (dead plants and animals). Minerals from weathered rock and humus (decomposed organic matter) forms soils particles. Over time the soil takes on distinctive characteristics - for example the distinct layers shown in the podsol (opposite).