Term
|
Definition
| When water reacts with a mineral to form a new mineral utilizing the water as part of its crystal structure |
|
|
Term
1. "O" Horizon
2. "A" Horizon
3. "B" Horizon
4. "C" Horizon |
|
Definition
1. Uppermost soil layer, consisting mostly of litter ad humus with a small portion of minerals
2. The second layer, composed of humus, sand, silt and clay
3. Also known as "subsoil", it is the transitional zone between topsoil and the weathered parent rock below
4. The lowest layer consisting partially of weathered rock that grades into unweathered rock |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A hard cement formed when calcium carbonate, in the form of the mineral calcite, is deposited in soil |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A soil type common in arid or semi-arid regions where soluble ions accumulate in the B horizon, forming caliche and clay |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Soil type common in a moist climate; subsoil becomes rich in clay (aluminum and silicon) and has the reddish color of iron oxide |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A highly aluminous laterite; the world's main type of aluminum ore |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The orientation of the slope with rspect to the sun |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The slow, downhill flow of rock or soil under the influence of gravity |
|
|
Term
| Pressure-Release Fracturing |
|
Definition
| As overlying rock erodes away, pressure on underlying rock is decreased, causing the underlying rock to fracture as it expands |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. Rapid, free-falling motion (ex: the face of a steep cliff)
2. Movement of a coherent block of material along a fracture; faster than flow
3. When loose, unconsolidated soil or sediment moves as a fluid |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Describes the constant circulation of water among the sea, land, biosphere and atmosphere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Small stream flowing into a larger watershed |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Refer to the shape and roughness of a stream channel |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When stream energy is highest, and rushing water can roll boulders and cobbles along the bottom |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Downward erosion caused by moving water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The deepest level to which a stream can erode its bed |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A stream which erodes rapidly in steep places and deposits sediments in low-gradient stretches where it flows more slowly; irregularities are smoothed over time; has a smooth concave profile |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Erosion along the banks of a moving body of water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When the stream erodes its outside bank, and sediment accumulates in the slower water on the inside of a meander; occasionally leads to the formation of an oxbow lake |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Flows in many, shallow, interconnecting channels; form when more sediment is added to a stream than it can carry |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A fan-shaped mound deposited when a steep mountain stream flows onto a flat plain |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Water-filled depresions created where glacial ice blocks melt |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Lakes with low productivity, sustaining relatively few living organisms; typically attractive for recreation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A lake with a high nutrient supply, resulting in high litter, and sediment levels; often leads to the creation of swamp lands |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The boundary between the warm and cold layers of a still body of water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The same as confining stress |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A stress that acts most strongly in one direction |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of three types of directed stress; forces rocks together and shortens the distance parallel to the squeezing direction; common in convergent plate boundaries |
|
|
Term
| Extensional Stress (Tensional) |
|
Definition
| A form of directed stress; pulls rock apart; common at divergent plate boundaries |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A form of directed stress; stress acting in parallel but opposite directions; one part of a rock mass slides past the other part |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Any feature produced by rock deformation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The distance that rocks on opposite sides of a fault have moved |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Formed where extensional stress stretches the Earth's crust pulling it apart; the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A wedge-shaped block of rock dropped downward between a pair of normal faults |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The blocks of rock between the down-dropped grabens that appear to have moved relatively upward |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When compressive forces fracture the rock; hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A nearly horizontal reverse fault; low-angle reverse fault |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Fault in which the fracture is vertical, and rocks move horizontally past each other |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A fracture in a rock where the rocks on either side of the fracture have not moved |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process of mountain-building; includes folding and faulting, earthquakes, eruptions, etc. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A volcanic mountain chain that forms where two plates carrying oceanic crust converge |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Rocks added to an island arc through a scraping process |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When the subduction complex is forced upward because of additions to the newest slices at the bottom of the complex |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sedimentary basin formed between the subduction complex and the island arc |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Subduction formed at a continental margin; collision of continental and oceanic crust |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Melting caused by decreaing pressure |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When minerals in a rock with the lowest melting temperature melt first |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A large mass of granite solidified within Earth's crust |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A pluton exposed over more than 100 square kilometers of the Earth's surface; generally approx. 10 km thick |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Similar to a batholith, but exposed over less than 100 square kilometers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Smooth, glassy-surfaced, wrinkled or "ropy" ridges of lava; formed when lava with low viscosity continues to flow as it cools |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Lava with a jagged, rubbled, broken surface; formed when lava with a higher viscosity partially solidifies as it flows |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Five or six-sided columns formed when cracks develop in cooling lava, progressing through each thin layer; these joints are regularly spaced and interescting
See Fig. 8.20 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A fissure eruption that covers the landscape like a flood; such fissures expand for tens or hundreds of kilometers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Cracks in the land from which volcanic magma may flow |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A gently sloping mountain built by fluid basaltic magma; generally slope from 6-12 degrees (ex: Mauna Kea in Hawaii); gentle, rarely threatening eruptions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A small volcano composed of pyroclastic fragments; moderately sloped; erodes quickly and easily because the pyroclastic fragments are not cemented together; explosive, pyroclastic eruptions |
|
|
Term
| Composite Cone (stratovolcano) |
|
Definition
| Forms over a long period of time from alternating lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions; known for repeated eruptions (ex: Mount St. Helens, Mt. Vesuvius); often violent eruptions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When the majority of the gas has escaped an eruption, and the airborne column of ash, rock an gas falls back to Earth's surface, spreading over land and rushing down stream valleys |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A chaotic mixture of volcanic ash and rock fragments left behind when an ash flow stops |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A circular depression formed when the roof of a magma chamber collapses |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Common in regions of high temperatures and high rainfall (ex: tropical rainforest); nearly all soluble cations are leached away; often colored rust-red by iron oxide |
|
|
