a product of deep fluvial incision has the highest tectonic implications. Mass wasting Mass wasting is the geomorphic process by which surface material move downslope typically as a mass, largely under the force of gravity As rivers flow down steeply sloping mountains, deep channel incision occurs as the river's flow wears away the underlying rock. Large channel incision progressively decreases the amount of gravitational force needed for a slope failure event to occur, eventually resulting in mass wasting. Removal of large amounts of surface mass in this fashion will induce an isostatic response resulting in uplift until equilibrium is reached. Effects on structural evolution Recent studies have shown that erosional and tectonic processes have an effect on the structural evolution of some geologic features, most notably orogenic wedges. Highly useful sand box models, in which horizontal layers of sand are slowly pressed against a backstop, have shown that the geometries, structures, and kinematics of orogenic wedge formation with and without erosion and sedimentation are significantly different. Numerical models also show that the evolution of orogens, their final tectonic structure, and the potential development of a high plateau, all are sensitive to the long term climate over the mountains, for example, the concentration of precipitation in one side of the orogen due to orographic lift under a dominant wind direction. See also Dynamic topography Glacial buzzsaw Orogenic collapse Post-glacial rebound References Geophysics Geomorphology