To what extent are deserts a product of present day processes?

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To what extent are desert landforms a product of present day processes?

The range of landforms seen in the desert today is vast. Wind carves our pedestals and Yardangs, and fluvial processes create wadis, mesas and buttes. However due to the scale of some of these landforms, and the current climatic conditions, some people argue that these landforms are in fact a result of past processes, when water levels were higher, and even tectonic movement.

There are many landforms in the desert are formed by Aeolian processes. This is the action of the winds, and includes erosion, transportation and deposition, and is very effective in deserts due to the large amount of sand. Wind erosion, in the form of abrasion, creates two main landforms – Pedestals and Yardangs.  Abrasion is the action of the load carried by the wind, mainly sand, rubbing against rocks and wearing them down. Although these landforms are usually created by Aeolian processes, they can also be created by other processes, such as water erosion.

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Wind transportation can cause deflationary hollows, another landform created by a present day process. This transportation mainly occurs in the form of saltation, and the wind removes the finer material, leaving a stony hollow behind. Although this is true for most hollows, some hollows – mostly the biggest ones, are not caused by deflation as the scale of them is too large.

The final landform formed from Aeolian processes is the sand dune. The variety of sand dunes which are visible in the desert are shaped by wind direction – with velocity and fetch having an effect. However, ...

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