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A term used to describe minerals or igneous rocks that are rich in iron and/or magnesium. Mafic igneous rocks have a high percentage of dark-colored (mafic) minerals. magma Molten rock. Magma may be completely liquid or a mixture of liquid rock, dissolved gases and crystals. Molten rock that flows out onto the Earth’s surface is called lava. magma chamber A body of molten rock and solid crystal mush beneath the Earth’s surface. When this chamber cools and solidifies, it is called a pluton. magnetic anomalies See magnetic reversals.
Earth’s magnetic field occassionally "flips" or reverses polarity. This means that, if a polarity reversal happened today, your compass would point south instead of north!
Iron oxide mineral (Fe3O4). Usually tiny black, metallic crystals. Magnetite will attract a magnet and sometimes, in a rock, a hiker’s compass needle.
A measure of the total amount
of energy released by an earthquake.
Device for measuring magnetism.
The layer of the Earth below
the crust and above the core. The uppermost part of the mantle is rigid
and, along with the crust, forms the 'plates' of plate tectonics. The
mantle is made up of dense, iron and magnesium rich (ultramafic) rock
such as dunite and peridotite.
A metamorphic rock of made of calcium carbonate. Marble forms from limestone by metamorphic recrystallization.
Movement of rock and soil downslope under the influence of gravity. matrix Fine-grained material surrounding
larger grains in a sedimentary rock.
The mechanical break-up or
disintegration of rock into smaller fragments.
Mixture of rocks formed by tectonic disruption, such as multiple faulting, which brings disparate rock types together. Usually consists of a matrix of weak material, like shale, with hard pieces of exotic rocks, such as gneiss or igneous rocks.
Metamorphosed conglomerate.
A rock that has undergone chemical or structural changes produced by increase in heat or pressure, or by replacement of elements by hot, chemically active fluids. mica Group of silicate minerals
composed of varying amounts of aluminum, potassium, magnesium, iron
and water. All micas form flat, plate-like crystals. Crystals cleave
into smooth flakes. Biotite is dark, black or brown mica; muscovite
is light-colored or clear mica. micaceous A general term for mica-rich rocks.
In geology, a mound of organic debris or organic-rich soil created by an animal. In archeology, a mound of human refuse.
"Mixed rock". A metamorphic rock that forms in one of two ways. The metamorphic rock may be heated enough to partially melt, but not completely. The molten minerals resolidify within the metamorphic rock, producing a rock that incorporates both metamorphic and igneous features. Migmatites can also form when metamorphic rock experiences multiple injections of igneous rock that solidify to form a network of cross-cutting dikes. mineral A naturally occurring chemical
compound or limited mixture of chemical compounds. Minerals generally
form crystals and have specific physical and chemical properties which
can be used to identify them.
The formation of minerals. New minerals may be added to fractures and empty spaces in a rock or by replacing preexisting minerals with different ones.
The study of minerals.
An Epoch that includes the
time interval of about 23.7 to 5.3 million years ago.
The boundary separating the base of the Earth’s crust and the top of the mantle. The Moho occurs at a depth of 5-10 kilometers beneath oceanic crust and about 35-65 kilometers below continental crust. The term moho is an abbreviation for Mohorovicic discontinuity, named for Andrija Mohorovicic, a Croatian seismologist.
A hill-like pile of rock rubble located on or deposited by a glacier. An end moraine forms at the terminus of a glacier. A terminal moraine is an end moraine at the farthest advance of the glacier. A lateral moraine forms along the sides of a glacier. See till
The study of shape or form. See geomorphology.
Wet clay and silt-rich sediment.
Same as debris flow. mudstone A very fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from mud.
One of the mica family of
minerals. Muscovite is light-colored or clear mica, sometimes called
isingglass. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An type of unconformity in which young sedimentary rocks lie on top of older metamorphic or intrusive igneous rocks. nonsilicate minerals A mineral without silicon (Si). See silicate minerals.
A fault that drops rock on one side of the fault down relative to the other side. normal polarity A magnetic field produced by the Earth that is the same as exists today. |
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