The general wearing away of the Earth's surface by weathering, mass movement, erosion and transportation is called:

Denudation is the overall process of wearing down and lowering the Earth's surface. It includes weathering, mass movement, erosion and transportation, all of which are exogenic processes.

Meaning:

The word "denude" means to strip or make bare. Denudation strips away the upper layers of rock and soil, exposing the rocks beneath.

Components of denudation:

Weathering: The breaking down of rocks in place, without movement. It can be physical (mechanical), chemical or biological.

Mass movement (mass wasting): The downslope movement of rock and soil under gravity, such as landslides, rockfalls and soil creep.

Erosion: The removal of weathered material by moving agents such as running water, wind, glaciers, waves and groundwater.

Transportation: The carrying of the eroded material to other places.

Agents of denudation:

• Running water (rivers) is the most important agent in most parts of the world.
• Wind is important in deserts.
• Glaciers work in high mountains and polar regions.
• Sea waves shape coastlines.
• Groundwater forms caves in limestone areas.

Factors that affect denudation:

• Climate: Temperature and rainfall decide the type and speed of weathering and erosion.
• Rock type: Soft rocks wear away faster than hard rocks.
• Slope: Steep slopes are eroded faster.
• Vegetation: Plant cover protects soil and slows erosion.
• Human activity: Deforestation, mining and construction can speed up denudation.

Results of denudation:

• It lowers mountains and plateaus over time.
• It forms landforms such as valleys, mesas, buttes and peneplains (nearly flat surfaces).
• The eroded material is later deposited elsewhere to form plains, deltas and other depositional landforms.

The geographer W.M. Davis described the "cycle of erosion", in which a landscape passes through youth, maturity and old age as it is worn down.

Denudation and diastrophism:

Diastrophism and volcanism raise the land, while denudation wears it down. The present landscape results from the balance between these opposing forces.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Diastrophism and orogeny are endogenic processes that build up the crust.
• ✗Subsidence is the sinking of the land surface.