The cycle of erosion was a model for stream erosion and landscape development proposed by William Morris Davis in the late 19th century. Davis' Stages in the fluvial cycle of erosion published in 1909 defined a young, mature, and old sequence in the development of river valleys and the landscape the rivers were eroding. His basic concept includes a rapid tectonic uplift, followed by cessation of the land, which allows the rivers and streams to reduce the surface to a level close to sea-level. The concept of peneplanation was a part of his model. In his model Davies picked up ideas of John Wesley Powell about limitation of erosion on land and concluded that sea level is the ultimate base level for sub-aerial erosion. Further he suggested that streams always have at least some gradient and temporary base levels, such as inland-lakes, are controlling points upstream of them.
The model developed by Davis, though important in historical context, is currently considered only a first approximation. Developments in the sciences of geology and geomorphology, especially the plate tectonics revolution of the 1960s and 70s, have confirmed the preliminary nature of the model.
Famous quotes containing the words cycle of, cycle and/or erosion:
“The mysteries remain,
I keep the same
cycle of seed-time
and of sun and rain;”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower.”
—Robert M. Pirsig (b. 1928)
“What if we fail to stop the erosion of cities by automobiles?... In that case America will hardly need to ponder a mystery that has troubled men for millennia: What is the purpose of life? For us, the answer will be clear, established and for all practical purposes indisputable: The purpose of life is to produce and consume automobiles.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)