Geology Questions

The process of matching rock layers at different locations that formed at the same time and by the same processes

The interface between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration

A thick ice mass that forms above the snowline over hundreds or thousands of years

Interface, or boundary, between two air masses of different characteristics

A principle applied in the relative dating of layered sedimentary and some extrusive igneous lava flow rocks stating that the youngest rock layer is found on top and that rock age increases with depth

The ability of a substance to absorb or release heat energy

: A fossil used in correlation and relative dating of rocks must have lived for a short period of time and have been distributed over a large geographic area

The process by which heat, pressure, and/or exposure to chemical fluids can change previously existing rock into metamorphic rock

A principle of relative dating; when features such as igneous intrusions (sills, dykes) veins, faults, and joints cut across other rocks, these features are younger in age than the rocks they cut across

Process by which rocks are placed in their proper sequence or order

Sloping plains consisting of deposits from meltwater streams in front of the margin of an ice sheet

Molten rock beneath Earth's surface

The transportation of material by a mobile agent, such as water wind or ice

A large, crater shaped basin formed after the top of a volcano collapses

Water vapor cools and changes back into a liquid forming clouds

A record that includes both geologic events and major developments in the evolution of life

Physical forces break rock into smaller and smaller pieces without changing the rock's mineral composition

Any naturally occurring, inorganic, solid that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and can be represented by a chemical formula

The ability of a material to allow fluids such as water to pass through it

The quality of light reflected off the surface of a mineral