KABOOM! To a little soil particle, a raindrop is like a bomb falling from the sky.
During a rainstorm, millions of drops fall at speeds reaching 20 miles per hour. Raindrops explode on the ground, splashing tiny soil particles as high as 3 feet in the air. Soil can also splatter as far as 5 feet away from where the raindrops hit.
This type of erosion is called “splash erosion.”
A single raindrop explodes against the soil. In a rainstorm, millions of drops pound the ground.
Photo: USDA NRCS