Dreikanter
Encyclopedia
A Dreikanter is a type of ventifact
that typically forms in desert
or periglacial
environments due to the abrasive action of blowing sand
.
Dreikanters exhibit a characteristic three-faced pyramid
al shape. The word Dreikanter is a German word
meaning "a three-sider."
Ventifact
Ventifacts are rocks that have been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand or ice crystals. These geomorphic features are most typically found in arid environments where there is little vegetation to interfere with aeolian particle transport, where there are frequently...
that typically forms in desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
or periglacial
Periglacial
Periglacial is an adjective originally referring to places in the edges of glacial areas, but it has later been widely used in geomorphology to describe any place where geomorphic processes related to freezing of water occur...
environments due to the abrasive action of blowing sand
Saltation (geology)
In geology, saltation is a specific type of particle transport by fluids such as wind or water. It occurs when loose material is removed from a bed and carried by the fluid, before being transported back to the surface...
.
Dreikanters exhibit a characteristic three-faced pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
al shape. The word Dreikanter is a German word
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
meaning "a three-sider."
See also
- Aeolian processes
- Blowout (geology)Blowout (geology)Blowouts are sandy depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind.Blowouts occur in partially vegetated dunefields or sandhills. A blowout forms when a patch of protective vegetation is lost, allowing strong winds to "blow out" sand and form a depression...
- DuneDuneIn physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
- Saltation (geology)Saltation (geology)In geology, saltation is a specific type of particle transport by fluids such as wind or water. It occurs when loose material is removed from a bed and carried by the fluid, before being transported back to the surface...
- YardangYardangA yardang is a streamlined hill carved from bedrock or any consolidated or semiconsolidated material by the dual action of wind abrasion, dust and sand, and deflation. Yardangs become elongated features typically three or more times longer than wide, and when viewed from above, resemble the hull of...