Saltation (geology)

Saltation is like hopping, but for rocks and sand! Imagine you are playing a game of hopscotch, where you jump from one box to the next. Rocks and sand do something similar, except instead of jumping, they are being moved along by wind or water.

Saltation happens when the wind or water is moving really fast, and it can pick up little pieces of rock or sand. These pieces can be carried along in the current for a little while, but eventually, they'll start to fall back down. But when they fall, they can hit other pieces of rock or sand, and they start to bounce around, like a ball bouncing on the ground.

This bouncing movement is called saltation. It can move rocks and sand along in little hops, like a frog hopping along a path. And as they move, they can start to wear down other rocks or even carve out new shapes in the ground, like a river carving a canyon.

So next time you're playing hopscotch, remember that even rocks can hop and move around in the world, thanks to saltation!