Principles of Geology Flashcards
The study of earth, astronomical objects, rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time.
Geology
It deals with material, composition, structure, and understands the processes that work on and beneath the Earth’s surface.
Physical Geology
It deals with the planet’s geological history and relevance to the origin, events and life forms associated
Historical Geology
It states that earth’s landscape was shaped by great catastrophes. It was made from both a biblical perspective and a scientific point of view
Catastrophism
It states that process that existed in the present most likely to have happened in the past
Uniformitarianism
It is the process in which scientist gather facts through observations, and formulate hypotheses and theories
Scientific Method
An educated guess which has to be tested in order to be proven
Hypothesis
A well-tested and scientifically accepted hypothesis that best explains certain observable facts
Theory
It is the building block of matter
Atom
A particle with a positive charge in the nucleus
Proton
A particle with a negative charge orbiting the nucleus
Electron
A particle which has no charge and has the same number with protons
Neutrons
These refer to electrons that are found at the outermost shell of the atom that reacts to form chemical bonds
Valence Electron
Protons and electrons are equal in _____ but they differ in ____, thus both cancel each other
Magnitude, Polarity
These are group of atoms identical to each other having same number of protons in the nuclei
Elements
Number of natural elements
94
Number of synthetic elements produced from nuclear reactions
24
An atom or molecule with a net charge due to loss or gain of one or more electrons.
Ion
The sum of protons and neutrons in an atom.
Atomic Mass Number
The weighted average of atomic mass of all natural isotopes.
Atomic Weight
These are atoms with same number of protons but different number of neutrons
Isotope
A rules which states that atoms gain, share, or lose electrons to attain an outer shell with 8 electrons
Octet Rule
This happens when one atom gives up certain number of electrons forming negative-positive ions. Transfer of Electrons
Ionic Bonding
It is formed by ionic bonding; it consists of an orderly arrangement of oppositely charged ions assembled in a definite ratio that provides overall electrical neutrality
Ionic Compound
It is the sharing of a pair of electrons between atoms and the attraction is what binds them together. No ions involved in the process.
Covalent Bonding
The valence electrons are free to move from one atom to the other which exhibits sharing.
Metallic Bonding
It states that the universe came from a point in singularity 13.8 Billion years ago then exploded and expanded forming the stellar universe.
Big Bang Theory
The size of the Observable Universe
93 Billion Light Years across
A phenomenon where changes in the frequency is related to the observer moving away from a certain wave source
Doppler Effect
A powerful and luminous explosion of a star; remnant of a dead star
Supernova
A cloud of dust and gas occupying space between stars acting as a stellar nursery.
Nebula
A massive star that ran out of fuel and collapsed to its core crushing every proton and electron into a neutron.
Neutron Star
A neutron star with immensely powerful magnetic field.
Magnetar
A neutron star that spins so fast it collapses to a black hole
Blitzar
A star made of neutron matter that emits strong radio waves at regular intervals.
Pulsar
It is a region in space-time continuum where gravity is so strong not even light can escape
Black Hole
It is a energetic super-massive black hole at the center of a galaxy.
Quasar
A highly energetic radio burst from deep space.
Fast Radio Burst
It is a gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit around it.
Solar System
It states that the sun and all the planets began as a giant cloud of molecular dust (nebula) and gas with debris.
Nebular Hypothesis
It is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun which has: A sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body force
An equilibrium making it having a round shape
Cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
Planet
A small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun ranging from dust size to hundreds of miles.
Asteroid
A known object that orbit a planet.
Satellite
It is a small, rocky metallic body smaller than an asteroid.
Meteoroids
These are meteoroids exposed in the atmosphere.
Meteor
These are remnants after impact in atmosphere.
Meteorite
These are bright, icy body that when passed to the Sun it releases gases.
Comets
It is the process of separating the different components within a planetary body as a result of a chemical/ physical behavior.
Planetary Differentiation
The heat that is continuously generated beneath the Earth’s surface is caused by the _______.
Decay of radioactive elements
It is the common boundary where the 4 systems interact.
Interface
It aims to study the Earth as a system composed of numerous interacting parts of subsystems. This attempts to integrate the knowledge of several fields
Earth System Science
It refers to any size group of interacting parts that form a complex whole.
System
It is a self-contained where nothing escapes and enters.
Closed System
It interacts with other systems where both energy and matter flow in and out of the system.
Open System
A system reacts to negative elements to preserve system with the goal of maintaining the system as it is.
Negative Feedback Mechanism
The system is enhanced or being driven by change where a stimulus is promoted.
Positive Feedback Mechanism
The layer which all gases were retained by Earth’s gravity shielding the planet from harmful solar radiation.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere is composed of _____ Nitrogen
78%
Atmosphere is composed of _____ Oxygen
20.98%
Atmosphere is composed of _____ Argon
0.93%
The lowest layer in the atmosphere which constitutes 75% of air.
Troposphere
It is the boundary between the troposphere and the next atmospheric layer.
Tropopause
It is 50 kms above sea level where ozone layer is found.
Stratosphere
The outer boundary of the stratosphere.
Stratopause
It is 50-80 kms above sea level where temperatures start to drop.
Mesosphere
It is the outer boundary of the mesosphere
Mesopause
About 70-80 kms above the surafce where cloud and water vapor are little to non-existent. It is also where auroras are found.
Thermosphere
The ionized part of the atmosphere found within the thermosphere and upper portion of the mesosphere.
Ionosphere
700-1,000 km above and the outermost portion of the planet where it interacts with solar winds.
Exosphere
It contains ice crystals with long, thin, wispy white streamers similar to a horse’s tail. It indicates a fair weather.
Cirrus
These are small rounded puffs that appear as long rows similar to that of fish scales. It indicates a fair but cold weather.
Cirrocumulus
These are thin-sheets thin enough for celestial objects to be seen. These come before 12-24 hours before rain.
Cirrostratus
Clouds of grayish-white forming in groups and associated with an upcoming thunderstorm despite this cloud is spotted in warm, humid weather.
Altocumulus
A blue-gray cloud associated with an incoming continuous rain or snow.
Altostratus
A uniform gray and covers almost all of the sky looking like a fog. It is associated with mists and drizzles.
Stratus
These are lumpy and gray clouds which are associated with drizzles and sometimes spread out to the sky.
Stratocumulus
Dark gray in color and associated with continuous rain or snow covering the sky with no visible edges.
Nimbostratus
Up to 10km high with a flat top and are associated with thunderstorm, heavy rain, snow, and hail
Cumulonimbus
up to 10km high with a flat top and are associated with thunderstorm, heavy rain, snow, and hail
Cumulonimbus
A puffy white or light gray cloud similar to floating cotton balls associated with fair to stormy weather.
Cumulus
A dynamic layer of the earth where most of the world’s water is found
Hydrosphere
Average Depth of Oceans
3.794 kms (12,447.51 ft.)
Total Compound Mass of water (regardless of state)
1.386 Billion cubic meters
Total cover of the world’s Oceans
71%
Percent freshwater in the world
3%
It is the largest of the four spheres with 6400 kms deep.
Geosphere
It is the outermost portion of the planet. It is categorized into two types namely: the continental and the oceanic crust
Crust
It is made of light granite or granodiorite, old, and sodium-potassium rich with 30-80 km thickness.
Continental Crust
Average Density and the Oldest age of the continental crust
2.7 grams/ cubic centimeter and 4 Billion years old
These are uplifted mountain ranges which are sites of tectonic convergence. In these sites as well contain volcanic island arcs.
Mountain Belts
These are active mountainous regions composed largely of volcanic rocks and deformed sedimentary rocks.
Island Arcs
These are undisturbed areas opposed to mountain belts which were eroded nearly to sea level.
Stable Interior
These are wide areas of deformed crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks
Shields
A stable platform where extensive regions of crystallized rocks are laid underneath by a sedimentary cover.
Cratons
A dark, dense, mainly made up of basaltic rocks with younger ages and is thin with only 3-10 km width.
Oceanic Crust
Age and density of the oceanic crust
180 Million years old and about 3 grams per cubic centimeter
First Layer of the Oceanic Crust
A Sequence of Unconsolidated Sediments
Second Layer of the Oceanic Crust
A Rock Unit composed of Basaltic lavas containing Pillow Basalts
Third Layer of the Oceanic Crust
Sheeted Dike Complexes
Fourth Layer of the Oceanic Crust
Rock Unit composed of Gabbro
These are series of sub-parallel intrusions of igneous rock forming a layer with the oceanic crust.
Sheeted Dike Complexes
A seafloor that is adjacent to landmasses.
Continental Margins
A sloping surface extending the shoreline-deep ocean basin. It is the flooded extension of a continent constituting 7.5% of the ocean floor.
Continental Shelf
It is the boundary between the continental and oceanic crusts; a steep drop-off extending from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the ocean floor.
Continental Slope
It is where the continental slopes merge to an incline covering about 10% of the ocean floor and composed of sediment cover.
Continental Rise
These are areas between continental and oceanic ridges.
Deep-Ocean Basins
It is a vast area of broad, smooth deep ocean basins with more than 11km deep.
Abyssal Plains
It is the lowest points on Earth adjacent to island arcs or mountain ranges; these are known sites of subduction.
Trenches
These refer to volcanic structures on the seafloor which most are considered extinct.
Seamounts
These are flat-topped submarine mountains or submerged extinct volcanoes.
Guyots/ Tablemounts
A large marine elevation above the surrounding seafloor.
Oceanic Plateau
These structures are formed by coral reefs engulfing eroded and submerged volcanoes.
Coral Atoll
A seafloor mountain system that are formed due to plate tectonics running about 65,000kms around the planet.
Oceanic Ridges (Mid-Oceanic Ridge)
A large elongated depression formed by downward displacement of block between nearly parallel faults or fault systems.
Rift Valley
This is the widest layer with 2,900 km thick making 85% of the world’s weight (87% volume and 68% of total mass); this region is peridotite-rich and is semi-solid.
Mantle
A region within the mantle that is 660kms thick and can be divided into asthenosphere and lithosphere.
Upper Mantle
It is 660kms from the core boundary and 2900 km from the crust. The rocks in this layer are capable of flow and are very hot.
Lower Mantle
The central 7,000 km diameter constituting 16% volume and 32% of the world’s mass; this is made up of Iron and Nickel.
Core
Average density of the core
11 grams per cubic centimeter
A cooler, strong-rigid outer layer making the crust and the upper mantle. Its average thickness is 100kms and 250kms in its oldest portions
Lithosphere
It is a highly viscous mechanically weak and ductile portion of the upper mantle which allows melting due to temperature and pressure balance making rocks behave like a soft plastic.
Asthenosphere
A strong-rigid, high pressure region between the asthenosphere and core-mantle boundary.
Mesosphere
A liquid layer of metallic iron responsible for the magnetic field. It is about 2270kms thick.
Outer Core
A solid, spherical, and is made of iron due to immense pressure. It has a depth of 1216kms.
Inner Core
The upper-lower crust boundary
Conrad Discontinuity
The lower crust – upper mantle boundary
Mohorovicic Discontinuity
The upper- lower mantle boundary
Repiti Discontinuity
The lower mantle- outer core boundary
Gutenberg Discontinuity
The outer- inner core boundary
Lehmann Discontinuity
This theory states that the planet is divided into lithospheric plates driven by a thermal engine (convection current).
Plate Tectonics
These are huge mobile slab of rocks.
(Lithospheric) Plates
The largest plate at 103.3 Million sq. kms
Pacific Plate
The second largest plate at 75.9 Million sq. kms
North American Plate
Tectonic Plate at 67.8 Million sq. kms
Eurasian Plate
Tectonic Plate at 61.3 Million sq. kms
African Plate
Tectonic Plate at 60.9 Million sq. kms
Antarctic Plate
Tectonic plate with the fusion of the Indian and Australian Plates. The area is at 58.9 Million sq. kms
Indo-Australian Plate
Tectonic Plate at 43.6 Million sq. km
South American Plate
Any plate with an area greater than 20 Million square kilometers
Major Plate
Any plate with an area in between 1Million to 20 Million square kilometers
Minor Plate
Any plate with an area lesser than 1Million square kilometers
Microplate
It states that “if magnetic poles remain stationary, the apparent movement is produced by continental drift.”
Apparent Polar Wandering
These refers to rocks that exhibit magnetism the same as that of the magnetic field.
Normal Polarity
These refers to rocks that are opposite to the magnetic field magnetism.
Reverse Polarity
Oldest Rock in the Hawaiian Emperor Seamounts Chain
81 Millions Years Old (Detroit Formation)
These are narrow areas of intense geologic activity.
Plate Boundaries
This is where plates move apart resulting in upwelling of materials to create new seafloor, occurs mainly on ocean ridges.
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Total Number of Divergent Plate Boundaries and its spreading rate
40% of Earth’s surface and has speeds of about 2.5cm per annum
The principle where a new ocean is formed due to plates formed due to plates moving away from each other.
Seafloor Spreading
These develop along continents which causes a landmass to split into segments separated by an ocean basin due to opposing tectonic forces.
Continental Rifting
The fastest spreading center in the world
East Pacific Rise at 15cm per annum
Average rate of seafloor spreading
5cm per year (2cm at slowest)
These bump to each other resulting the denser plate to subduct. This happens along subduction zones where the heavier plate slides beneath the lighter plate as it enters a high-temperature and high-pressure environment.
Continental Plate Boundaries
Total Number of Convergent Plate Boundaries
40% of the earth’s surface (in equilibrium with the constructive plate boundaries)
Older subducting lithospheres plunge at an angle of descent at ______
90 degrees
It occurs as the denser oceanic plate subduct. Flux Melting occurs the most in these regions.
Ocean-Continental Convergence
These are volcanic chains formed from the partial melting of a less dense molten material and the associated unmelted matter.
Continental Volcanic Arcs
2 oceanic plates collide resulting the denser one to subside forming trenches alongside volcanic island arcs.
Ocean-Ocean Convergence
Aleutian, Mariana, and Tonga Islands
Examples of Younger Volcanic Arcs
Japan, Philippines, and Indonesia
Examples of Older Volcanic Arcs
It leads to the formation of mountain ranges and ocean closing. No “subduction” occurs but the denser plate buckles or bend down into a trench and the crust gets shortened and thickened
Continental-Continental Convergence
Himalayas, Alps, and the Urals
Examples of areas where continental-continental convergence occur
It is where plates only grind past each other without any destruction or creation of a lithosphere. It is also known as fracture zones which contains active portions and inactive extensions in the plate interior
Transform Plate Boundaries
These lie only between two offsetting ridge segments defined by weak, shallow earthquakes and where one ridge axis moves opposite to the other.
Active Transform Faults
Who discovered Transform Plate Boundaries
James Tuzo Wilson
It is done by measuring the length of a hot spot track and time interval between the formation of its oldest and youngest volcanic structures.
Mantle Plume Motion
Plate-Mantle Convection is governed by 3 processes which are all by convection currents:
1.) Heating at the bottom by heat loss from the core.
2.) Heating from radioactive decay of the matter underneath
3.) Cooling from top that creates thick, cold plates that sink at the mantle.
It is the convective flow of the mantle which is also the driving force of the plate movement.
Mantle Convection
It is the response to the viscous drag exerted on the base of the plate by the lateral motion of the asthenosphere.
Mantle Drag
The slabs sink below the asthenosphere which pulls the trailing plate along.
Slab Pull
It occurs at mid-oceanic ridges as a result of rigid lithosphere sliding down the host, raised asthenosphere below the ridges.
Ridge Push
The measurement of the ocean depths and the charting of the shape or topography of the ocean floor.
Bathymetry
The speed of sound in water
1,500 m/s
The natural geologic phenomena caused by sudden and rapid movement of large volume of rock.
Earthquake
The fractures that make up the crust.
Faults
The point at surface of the earth above the focus
Epicenter
The point within the earth where the rupture starts.
Focus (hypocenter)
These precede larger earthquakes in the same location.
Foreshock
A smaller to larger earthquake following the main shock.
Aftershock
Earthquakes along _________ are the most violent since it produces huge fault known as megathrusts and tsunamis.
Subduction Zones
Earthquakes along areas of seafloor spreading are generated along _________.
Normal Faults
Earthquakes along ________ tend to occur in a cyclical basis.
Transform Fault Boundaries
A record of ground motions caused by seismic waves.
Seismogram
An apparatus to obtain useful information about the earthquake.
Seismograph
These form of elastic energy that causes vibrations in the material that transmits them.
Seismic Waves
These propagate through the internal volume of an elastic solid medium.
Body Waves
Push-Pull waves; these are compressional waves that can travel in all media (solid and liquid) and intend to produce temporary dilation of the rock unit usually expanding it beyond its original volume.
Primary Waves (P-Waves)
Shear waves; these are transverse waves that shake the particles to the direction of travel producing permanent deformation to the rock unit. These cannot travel in fluids.
Secondary Waves (S-Wave)
These travel only along a free surface or boundaries between two dissimilar solid media.
Surface Waves
These move around in a circle forward, and down like that of an ocean wave
Rayleigh Waves
These shake the surface side to side
Love Waves
Surface waves are roughly _____ slower than S-waves.
10%
P-Waves pass through the mantle _____ and are _____ faster than S-waves.
20 minutes and 1.7 times
The measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given locale based on observed effects
Intensity
A subjective method divided into 12 levels of sensation of the earthquake
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale
It uses the amplitude of the largest seismic wave recorded on a seismogram.
Richter Magnitude Scale
It amount of energy released by the quake. It is used along with the intensity scale.
Magnitude
It determines the strain energy released along the entire fault surface. It is better in measuring large earthquakes since it is better at estimating the total energy released.
Moment Magnitude Scale
These are segments of an active fault that stores elastic strain that are thought to produce significant quakes which have not yet slipped in a long time.
Seismic Gaps
The water-logged sediments lose their strength in response to ground shaking.
Liquefaction
A series of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions or impact events.
Tsunami
These refers to the downslope movement of rock, regolith, and soil by gravity. This process however doesn’t need erosional agents such as water, ice, and wind.
Mass Wasting
Anything that initiates downslope movement; weakening the strength of slope from stability to instability
Triggers
The maximum angle from horizontal at which a given material will rest on a given surface without sliding/ rolling.
Angle of Response
Mass Wasting of loose material consisting of broken rock
Debris
Mass Wasting resulting from the mixture of earth and water.
Mud
Mass Wasting composed of fine-grained materials
Earth
The free-fall of detached individual sizes commonly resulted by freeze-and-thaw action or by plant roots creating talus slopes. This can trigger other forms of downslope movement.
Fall
It is when a material moves coherently on a well-defined surface, zone of weakness.
Slides
The surface of rupture is a concave upward curve and descending material exhibits a downward or outward motion (slump).
Rotational Slide
The moves along a relatively flat surface (e.g. joints, faults, bedding planes which causes rockslides)
Translational Slide
These occurs when materials move downslope as a viscous liquid typically when it is saturated with water moving as lobes
Flow
The downward sliding of a mass of rock or unconsolidated materials moving as a unit along a curved surface and does not travel far; common form of mass wasting esp. on clay due to cohesiveness of clayey soils.
Slump
A landslide occurring when a mass or rock moves quickly downslope.
Rockslide
A rockslide where the material is largely unconsolidated
Debris Slide
The relatively rapid type of mass wasting that involves the flow of soil and regolith containing large amount of water.
Debris Flow
This happens when cloudburst or rapidly melting snow creates a flood well-mixed mud, soil, and rock across these regions due to the lack of vegetation ultimately creating alluvial fans.
Debris Flows in Semi-arid to Arid regions
A sheet or stream of soil and rock saturated with water flowing downslope under gravity and represents a stage between creep and mudflow.
Earth Flow
The sluggish downhill movement of soil and regolith.
Creep
This happens whenever water cannot escape from a saturated surface and starts to infiltrate in deeper levels. This is common in permafrost areas.
Solifluction
This refers to the breaking of rocks happen without altering its composition.
Mechanical Weathering (Disintegration)
This happens when water found in the cracks of rocks turn into ice expanding the rock unit until cracks and angular fragments are produced.
Frost Wedging
This happens when a moist soil freezes due to growth of ice lenses which then expands.
Frost Heave
This is observed on rocky shorelines and begins when water penetrates crevices and pore spaces in rock. The evaporation allow salt crystals to form eventually breaking the rock.
Salt Crystal Growth
This is due to decrease in pressure and exposure to erosion, granite rocks break into concentric slabs and begin to break loose
Sheeting
It is produced by this phenomenon where the exposed rock expands more than those at the bottom eventually breaking away from the unit.
Exfoliation Domes
Done by plant roots wedge the rocks, burrowing animals move material to surface, mine blasting, and bacteria capable of extracting compounds from minerals are examples of this mechanism.
Biological Activities
It involves the chemical alteration of rock to form new compounds that are stable in surface environment.
Chemical Weathering
It happens when hen angular masses chemically weather as water enters along joints taking a spherical shape. It has the same manifestation with sheeting, only sheeting is produced by unloading and it only occurs in boulders but not on large units of rocks.
Spheroidal Weathering
An environment where rocks are formed on land (also in lagoons, swamps, lakes, floodplains, and alluvial fans) are called continental sedimentary rock.
Terrestrial
It is found in coastal areas dominated by wave action; silt and clay size particles suspended by mechanical suspension
Transitional Areas
These refer to environments less than 200m below the water surface with little wave action but by turbidity currents.
Deep Marine Environments
The combination of mineral and organic matter, water, air, and portion of the regolith where vegetation is abundant.
Soil
The volume of the soil is composed of
1/2 mineral matter and humus and 1/2 of pore spaces for fluid to pass through
These are decayed remains of animal and plant life; fertilizer. This also enhances the soil’s ability to retain water.
Humus
It is a largely organic material; the upper portion consist of plant litter and the lower portion is mainly humus and full of microbial life
O-Horizon
Composed mainly of mineral matter where biological activity is at 30%
A-Horizon
It is composed of the O and A Horizon
Topsoil
Composed of little organic material where eluviation occurs leading to the leaching of materials.
E-Horizon
It is removal of dissolved or suspended material from a layer or layers of the soil by movement of water when rainfall exceeds evaporation.
Eluviation
It is the depletion of soluble minerals from the upper soil as water percolates downward dissolving inorganic soil components carrying it to deeper zones.
Leaching
It is referred to as the subsoil or zone of accumulation where minerals removed by E-horizon are deposited which the finer particles accumulated enhances water retention.
B-Horizon
Known as the true soil; it is composed of the O to B horizons.
Solum
It is characterized by the parent material due to partial alteration and have not yet crossed the threshold that separates the regolith from soil.
C-Horizon
The layer of rock and minerals produced by weathering.
Regolith
The soil underlain by a hard-rock layer of material close to surface to the limit of depth of plants that they can extend their roots and preventing internal drainage of soil.
Hardpan
The study where it emphasizes the physical and chemical properties of soil profile and organized on the basis of observable characteristics.
Soil Taxonomy
These are moderately weathered formed under boreal forests; fertile and productive; predominantly rich with aluminum and iron.
Alfisols
It has a volcanic parent material such as ash and cinders
Andisols
It is developed in dry places and accumulation of calcium carbonate or soil; low organic content.
Aridosols
These are young soils having limited development and is also the same with the parent material.
Entisols
It has a little profile development occurring at the permafrost.
Gellisols
These are organic soils with little to no climactic implications.
Histosols
These are weakly developed young soils where beginning of profile development Is evident.
Inceptisols
These are dark soft soils developed under grass vegetation especially in prairie areas.
Mollisols
These occur in old land surfaces unless parent materials are strongly weathered.
Oxisols
These are found in humid regions on sandy material; in cool humid forests (conifers).
Spodosols
These refer to soils that are products of long-periods of weathering.
Utisols
These contain large amounts of clays which shrinks and swells by the absence and addition of water respectively.
Vertisols
An arid land with sparse vegetation especially such land receiving less than 25cm of rain per year.
Desert
An arid land with vegetation relying on too little moisture found usually in regions of extreme temperature region and loess soil.
Steppe
Dry regions such as steppes and deserts are about ______ of the land’s surface.
30%
These are streams that are short-lived and carry water only in response to rainfall episodes.
Ephemeral Streams
This occurs when windblown sand moves by skipping and bouncing along the surface.
Saltation
It is carried by wind consisting of sand and grains.
Bed Load
The dust can be swept high into the atmosphere by the wind
Suspension Load
Wind Erosion is mainly done by ______ where lifting and removal of loose materials happen.
deflation
It is caused by global distribution of air pressure and winds found in the vicinities of the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn
Low-Latitude Desert
It is controlled by the fact that they are sheltered by landmasses.
Mid-Latitude Desert
A patch of land forced to become a desert due to mountain ranges blocking the rainy weather.
Rainshadow Desert
These work by collecting water from where the floor and wall meet.
Internal Drainage
This refers to the convergence or the blending of many alluvial fans.
Bajada
An area of flat, dried-up land, especially a desert basin from which water evaporates quickly
Playa
It is dry lake bed; basin or depression formerly contained a standing surface water body which disappeared when evaporation processes exceeded recharge.
Playa Lake
Also known as monadnock; it is isolated rock, ridge, a small mountain rising abruptly/ virtually level the surrounding plain.
Inselberg
It is created as deflation covers surface by removing sand and silt until eventually a continuous coarse cover of particle remains.
Desert Pavement
These are shallow depressions which is the result of deflation.
Blowouts
A rock that has been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, polished by wind-driven sand.
Ventifacts
These are streamlined, wind sculpted landform oriented parallel to the wind.
Yardangs
A tall, thin, spire of rock formed by erosion. It is formed in sedimentary and volcanic rock formations.
Hoodoo
It refers to sloping layers that form inclined in the direction the wind is blowing.
Cross Beds
These are deposits of windblown silt produced by the grinding action of glaciers, then transported beyond the margin of ice by running water and deposited or by deposition of sandy material out of deserts.
Loess
These are mounds of sand formed by wind and happens when wind blows sand into a sheltered area behind an obstacle.
Dunes
It forms a crescent-shape; two horns pointing downwind; associated with single wind movement and little sand supply.
Barchan Dunes
It forms a wavy ridge along their length and make 90˚ with the wind; arranged in rows parallel or side-by-side.
Transverse Wind
It has isolated barchans and extensive waves of transverse dunes.
Barchanoid Dunes
It is more or less parallel to prevailing wind; moderate sand supplies.
Longitudinal Dunes
It resembles barchans but tips point to wind direction.
Parabolic Dunes
Complex dune which forms multi-pointed stars due to wind at blowing at all directions.
Star Dunes
The process when precipitation falls on land and soaks on the ground.
Infiltration
The maximum rate of infiltration; it decreases as soil moisture content of surface layers increases.
Infiltration Capacity
A runoff initially flows in broad, thin sheets creating rills and then follow a similar pattern below (increasing in size).
Sheet Flow
These are tiny channels of water produced from sheet flow.
Rills
The area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet.
Drainage Basins
The imaginary line bounding drainage patterns.
Drainage Divide
It is where the stream exits the drainage basin at a lower elevation than the basin.
Outlet
The patterns formed by streams, and are governed by the topography.
Drainage System
It is where most water and sediment are derived which is located at the headwater region of the river system; the area where erosion dominates.
Sediment Production Zone
This is where the sediment acquired by a stream is then transported through the channel network along sections. Located in the zone of transportation
Trunck Streams
The amount of sediment eroded from the banks is ______ to the amount deposited elsewhere in the channel.
Equal
It moves in confusion and erratic motion characterized by swirling (whirlpools, eddies, and whitewater rapids).
Turbulent Flow
The flow is in straight line paths which is parallel to the channel.
Laminar Flow
A slope of a stream channel expressed as a vertical drop of a stream over a specified distance.
Gradient
