Physical Geography Of BC Flashcards
Geomorphology ?
Study of processes that create physical landforms
What  Variables created the BC physical landscape
Tectonic processes have resulted in movement of land masses, mountain building and volcanic activity and islands
Climatic changes led to ice age conditions and melting
What are the three landforms
Mountains, plateaux, lowlands
What shape the earth surface
Mountains, plateau, lowlands and also because of weathering
Did Iceland split because of the movement of tectonic plates
Yes
What breaks down rocks into smaller particles
Weathering (physical and chemical processes)
What process transport smaller particles to areas where they are deposited and result in you learn from it being formed
Geomorphic processes (streams, ice & waves)
The crust is a thin layer or shell that is composed of three basic rock types. What are the three basic rock types?
Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic
What are some ways roc skin breakdown
Freezing & unfreezing, water, earthquake, landslide, fire, glaciers
How are igneous rocks formed
They are formed by heating (melting) and cooling repetitively in the magma
How are metamorphic rocks formed
Derived from igneous and sedimentary rocks and go under heat and pressure down from earth surface a lot of heat and pressure
How are sedimentary rocks formed
Weather erosion happens to igneous and metamorphic and sedimentary rocks and it turns into sediments and then they get compaction and cementation which turns into sedimentary
Where can you see sedimentary rocks
In the ocean plus fossils and carbon
Example of igneous rock
Basalt and granite
Or else can you find any as rocks in BC
Stawamius Chief near Squamish tend to be granite rocks
Where are igneous rocks produced
Produced in the upper regions of the mantle or in the lowest areas of the earths crust usually at a depth of 50 to 200 km
What are extrusive rocks
They are igneous rocks that cool at or near the surface
What are intrusive rocks
They are igneous rocks that cool tens or hundreds kilometres below the surface examples are many of our coastal mountains are plutonic rocks found in batholiths it’s like stwamius chief near Squamish
Information about sedimentary rocks
Dry from weathering processes caused by water air and vegetation growth. Particles have been deposited in lakes or oceans and then overtime hardening through physical pressure and chemical bonding.
Layers or strata

Examples of sedimentary rocks
Sandstone (quartz/sand), shale (clay), limestone (shells and skeletons of animals). Rocky Mountains are sandstone
Information of metamorphic rocks
Originated from igneous or sedimentary rocks that have undergone tremendous physical pressure and high temperatures beneath the earth surface
Where are they found
Coastal mountains with batholiths
Example of metamorphic rocks
Slate, schist, gneiss, eclogite, marble, garnet amphibolite, jadeite, sphalerite ore rock
What happens with tectonics
Magma makes its way to earth surface it splits the lithosphere apart, creating a rift zone (trailing edge of a plate)
What happens after the rift zone
Rocks in the roof so cool, they contract and separate the tectonic plates causing collisions
What happens when two plates collide
Edges me buckle and fracture forming mountain ranges this is known as orogeny
What’s subduction
Occurs when one plate usually denser oceanic plate moves downward and underneath and enjoining plate. Plate subducts it warms up and it forms a trench and me melt. Magma is produced in a wraps to form platonic batholiths in the crust or even volcanos at the surface
What ororgeny
Mountain building
What’s Terrane
Block of rock/fragment
What’s isostasy
Process of loading and unloading the earths surface with sediment and ice
Example of isostasy in BC
Last ice age in North America. In BC there was 1500 to 2000 m of ice covering everything. The weight pushed all the landform downward several hundred meters. I begin to melt about 10,000 years ago the ocean levels rose and so did landforms. It’s known as isostatic rebound. It’s still happening
What does weathering do
Breaks down rock overtime
What’s mechanical weathering
Breakdown of rocks into smaller and smaller pieces
How is mechanical weathering and weathering done
Freezing and thawing and natural biochemical processes
What’s erosion
Movement of rock materials by gravity, water, wind and ice
What does gravity do to rocks
Rockfalls, landslides, debris torrents, slumping etc.
What does water do in regards to weathering and erosion
Turbulent streams and rivers carry particles downstream, carving into rocks and depositing rocks and sediments along stream beds, deltas of lakes
What’s the major erosion process in BC
Glaciation
What are two types of glaciation
Continental glaciation (massive ice sheets) & mountain glaciers
What glacier covered most of BC years ago and then began melting
Continental glacier
What’s a fjord
Deep rounded bottom, steep sided cavity adjacent to the ocean
In BC what do we refer fjords to
Inlets, sounds, arms and canals
What are erratics
Large rocks left out of nowhere ( ex white rock in white rock). Many were moved by glaciers. 
