Wind erosion in the plateau country
Introduction The agency of the wind in the degradation of land areas is generally recognized, in the abstract, as comparable with that of water, excepting as to the magnitude of the work done. It is evident that air currents transport dust and sand particles, and the abrasive action of a sand blast is in kind similar to the erosive effect of a debris-laden flood, but due recognition of the role played by the wind in the erosion of special areas is perhaps not so commonly accorded. Recent observations convince me that the Great Plateau country of the western United States is one of the provinces in which the effective degrading or denuding agency of the wind has not been fully appreciated. The facts on which this belief rests will be presented in the order in which they were observed. The first thing to be considered will be certain apparently eolian . . .