Silt may occur as a soil or alternatively as suspended sediment in a water column of any surface water body. It may also exist as deposition soil at the bottom of a water body after it is eroded elsewhere and transported by a stream or by a current. Silt is easily transported in water and is fine enough to be carried long distances by air as 'dust'. Thick deposits of silty material that result from "wind" deposition are often called "loess" (a German term) or "limon" (French). Silt and clay contribute to in water.