geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks

alluvion - gradual formation of new land, by recession of the sea or deposit of sediment

desertification - the gradual transformation of habitable land into desert; is usually caused by climate change or by destructive use of the land; "the dust storms in Korea are the result of rapid desertification in China"

diastrophism - the process of deformation that produces continents and ocean basins in the earth's crust

eating away, eroding, erosion, wearing, wearing away - (geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)

glaciation - the process of covering the earth with glaciers or masses of ice

intrusion - the forcing of molten rock into fissures or between strata of an earlier rock formation

metamorphism - change in the structure of rock by natural agencies such as pressure or heat of introduction of new chemical substances

natural action, natural process, activity, action - a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity"

orogeny - the process of mountain formation (especially by the upward displacement of the earth's crust)

stratification - forming or depositing in layers

subduction - a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate