Term
|
Definition
| The dense, intensely hot mass of molten metal, mostly iron and nickel, thousands of kilometers in diameter at the earth's center |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The cool, lightweight, outermost layer of the earth"s surface that floats on the soft, pliable underlying layers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sudden, violent movement of the earth's crust |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A technique for seperating gold from extreamely low-grade ores. Crushed ore is piled in huge heaps and sprayed with a dilute alkaline-cyanide solution, which percolates through the pile to extract the gold, which is seperated from the effluent in a processing plant. This process has a high potential for water pollution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Crystalline minerals solidified from molten magma from deep in the earth's interior; basalt, rhyolite, andesite, lava, and granite are examples. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Molten rock from deep in the earth's interior; called lava when it spews from volcanic vents |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A hot pliable layer of rock that surrounds the earth's core and underlies the cool, outer crust. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mass movement of geological materials downhill caused by rockslides, avalanches, or simple slumping |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Igneous and sedimentary rocks modified by heat, pressure, and chemical reactions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A naturally occuring, inorganic, crystalline solid with difinite chemical composition and charicteristic physical properties |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A solid, cohesive, aggregate of one or more crystalline minerals |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The process where by rocks are broken own by chemical and physical forces; sediments are moved by wind, water, and gravity, sedimented and reformed into rock, and then crushed, folded, melted, and recrystallized into new forms |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Deposited material that remains in place long enough or is covered with enough material to compact into stone; examples include shale, sandstone, breccia and conglomerates |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The deposition of organic materials or minerals by chemical, physical, or biological process |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Heating ores to extract metals |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Huge blocks of the earth's crust that slide around slowly, pulling apart to open new ocean basins or crashing ponderously into eachother to reate new, larger landmasses. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Giant seismic sea swells that move rapidly from the center of an earthquake; they can be 10 to 20 meters high when they reach shorelines hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from their source |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Vents in the earth's surface through which gases, ash, or molten lava are ejected. Also a mountain formed by this ejecta. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Changes in rocks brought about by exposure to air, water, changing temperatures, and reactive chemical agents. |
|
|
