Question | Answer |
sediment deposited by running water | alluvium |
fossil gum from the sap of ancient plants; may contain trapped and preserved insects and spiders | amber |
on the ocean floor | benthic |
giant summit depression of a volcano | caldera |
chemical substance containing more than one element in fixed amounts | compound |
curved fracture which is characteristic of some rocks and minerals such as quartz | conchoidal |
theoretical shift of continents due to weakness in the suboceanic crust | continental drift |
outer layer of the earth's surface | crust |
separate from a solution or melt as a solid | crystallize |
triangular-shaped deposit at the mouth of a stream | delta |
mass of a body divided by its volume; | density |
chemical and physical processes which transform soft sediment into consolidated rock; these take place near the earth's surface at low temperatures and pressures | diagenesis |
movement of the earth's crust, creating mountains, oceans, and ocean basins | diastrophism |
intrusion of igneous rock in older rocks with a high angle of dip | dike |
glacial hill | drumlin |
hills of loose sand created by wind | dunes |
part of earth's surface that is directly above the origin of an earthquake | epicenter |
division of geologic time smaller than a period, such as pliocene | epoch |
gradual wearing away of the earh's surface by wind, water, and ice | erosion |
the face or slope of a cliff | escarpment |
cracking or peeling of rocks on the surface | exfoliation |
molten, volcanic rocks which have cooled on the surface of the earth | extrusive |
break or fracture in earth's crust | fault |
crack in the earth's interior through which lava flows | fissure |
bend in the rock strata | fold |
consisting of thin parallel layers, as in mica | foliation |
mold, cast, or impression of all or part of ancient organisms that has been preserved in earh's crust; | fossil |
study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth | geology |
energy from the heat within earth's crust | geothermal energy |
natural hot spring that intermittently ejects water and steam into the air | geyser |
large body of slow moving ice and snow formed in areas where the rate of snowfall exceeds the rate of snow melt; | glacier |
crystals with hollowed faces | hopper crystals |
organic compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon provide natural resources such as fossil fuels | hydrocarbon |
study of the effects of water on the earth's surface, soil, underlying rocks, and atmosphere | hydrology |
rocks formed when molten material in or on earth's surface cools and hardens | igneous rocks |
igneous material formed among pre-existing rocks below the surface | intrusive |
crack in a rock mass that occurs as pressure decreases on that rock mass because the overlying rock is eroded away permitting the rock mass to expand | joint |
depression in a glacier deposit formed by the melting of a covered block of ice | kettle |
molten rock mixed with gases within the earth from which igneous rock is formed | magma |
layer of earth just beneath the crust | mantle |
to wander; riverbeds wander and widen as each flows through the path of least resistance, frequently giving a snake like path | meander |
elements that are solid having characteristic luster, malleability, and high electrical and heat conductivity | metals |
rocks that are formed when existing rocks undergo pressure and heat for extended periods of time | metamorphic rocks |
naturally occuring, inorganic nongaseous substances wiht limited chemical variablitiy and distinctive internal crystalline structure | mineral |
two or more substances combined in any amounts so that each retains its chemical identity | mixture |
glacial deposits of gravel, sand, and boulders | moraine |
natural mineral deposit from which metal can be extracted | ore |
scientist who studies ancient life in fossil form | paleontologist |
huge blocks of rocks that make up earth's crust | plates |
ends of the axis of a planet; the ends of a magnet | poles |
force per unit area | pressure |
radioactive, gaseous chemical element formed by the decay of uranium in rocks and soil | radon |
the sugary rock texture observed in marbles and quartzites | saccharoidal |
coloration in certain minerals due to minute, rod-like inclusions of voids, iron ore, and other minerals | schillerization |
medium to coarse metamorphic rocks composed of parallel layers such as mica and talc | schist |
rocks formed by consolidation of sedimetns; examples: limestone, sandstone, shale | sedimentary rocks |
instrument that measures and records the direction, intensity, and time of an earthquake | seismograph |
scientists who study earth movements | seismologists |
results when forces cause two adjacent parts of a solid to slide past one another in directions that are parallel to the plane of contact | shearing |
most abundant group of minerals found in earth's crust | silicate |
solid particles larger than clay particles but smaller than sand grains | silt |
a by-product, resulting from a metallurgical process, which floats on molten metal | slag |
ration of the weight of an object to the weight of an equal volume of water | specific gravity |
distinct layers of sedimentary rocks | strata |
fold in rock strata in which layers lean together from opposite sides; opposite of anticline; downfolded rock layers | syncline |
geology of earth's structural deformation | tectonics |
strong forward motion causing a horizontal movement of earth's crust | thrust |
uppermost layer of soil | topsoil |
condensable gas | vapor |
an opening inearth's surface permitting the escape of gases, liquids, fumes, etc; the main lava chamber in the neck of a volcano | vent |
processes that physically and chemically break apart and change rocks | weathering |
gravitational force that earth exerts on an object | weight |