Rock/Water Test Flashcards
In what physical state does most of Earth´s fresh water exist?
solid, frozen, form of icers or ice caps
Other than glaciers, what is the other abundant freshwater resource
groundwater
What process keeps the amount of water on Earth´s surface constant?
Water(hydrophilic) cycle
Watershed def.
the land area that contributes water to a stream (includes all surface water and groundwater)
What watersheds is Eaton associated with?
Cache la Poudre, South Platte, Missouri, Mississippi
Which side of the Rocky Mountains are most of Colorado’s surface water located?
west side
why is the water on the west side but the higher population is on the east
rainshadow effect: more precipitation on the west side
Factors that determine the velocity of a river
gradient, stream Channel, Discharge
Which side of the rocky mountains is most of Colorado´s population?
east side
how did colorado address the distribution of water in the state and the pattern of the population?
Colorado has managed this by creating dam, pipelines, tunnels, and water ways to move the water over the mountain.
explain what occurs with sediments being carried by a stream as the velocity of the stream decreases
Sediment begins to drop out beginning with the largest particle-sorting
Factors that increase infiltration of groundwater
steepness of slope, nature of surface, intensity of rainfall, and type of amount of vegatation
Porosity def.
How much air space is in sediment or rock in the form of holes, cracks, cavities, from dissolved rocks, gaps, between grains(Determines amount of water that can be stored)
Permeability def.
How well the pore spaces are connected with each other(Determines how water moves through sediment or rock)
Factors that affect the porosity and permeability of sediments
size, sorting, groundness
Define aquifer
groundwater storage, a body of permeable rock that can contain or allow water through it
What is a water table?
upper level of saturated ground
Explain the formation of caves and sinkholes.
when mildly acidic groundwater dissolves the calcite in limestone. This occurs in the zone of saturation when groundwater has constant contact with limestone.
What criteria define a mineral?
Naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, chemical composition, crystalline structure
The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of the mineral.
luster
The resistance of a mineral to being scratched is known as
hardness
Minerals that break in unpredictable or irregular patterns show
fracture
The most unreliable property of a mineral is color because
small amounts of different elements can give the same mineral a different color
The term metallic refers to which physical property
luster
The color of a mineral in a powdered from
streak
The ability of a mineral to break on even planes of weakness and shows a geometric shape
cleavage
In the rock cycle, rocks are classified by
how they form
Rocks made of other pieces of other rocks or organic material are called.
sedimentary
Rocks made of cooled magma or lava are called
igneous
rocks that form as a result of heat and pressure applied to preexisting rocks are called
metamorphic
what processes must occur in order to produce a sedimentary rock
weathering and erosion
deposition,
compaction and cementation
what is the breaking up of earth materials into pieces called?
weathering
what is the transportation of earth materials called?
erosion
Intergrown crystals are usually a characteristic of which group of rocks
igneous
Which type of magma is formed in the ocean crust and contains high levels of iron and magnesium
basaltic magma
the type of magma that is rich in silica and generally results in light-colored rocks is called
granite magma
igneous rocks are classified according to?
texture and magma type
the size of the mineral crystals in an igneous rock indicates what
intrusive/extrusive (below or above ground)
if a geologist finds an igneous rock with large mineral crystals and is light in color, what does this indicate about the formation of the rock?
granitic (continental crust), below ground
If a geologist finds an igneous with microscopic mineral crystals and is dark in color, what does this indicate about the formation of the rock?
basaltic (ocean crust), above ground
sedimentary rocks are classified by?
biochemical (once-living things)
clastic (pieces of other rocks)
chemical (dissolved)
what mineral is responsible for the reaction to hydrochloric acid?
calcite
which rocks would react to calcite?
minerals that would react are marble and limestone
when a geologist sees a sedimentary rock with rounded pieces she knows that the transportation of the sediments must have been…
far from source, swift river
how does the sedimentary rock limestone form
in oceans (dissolved and sunk)
what is the source of the material that makes coal?
compacted plants
clastic sedimentary rocks are classified by?
grain size (coarse, medium, fine)
coal is best described as what type of sedimentary rock?
bio chemica
the single most characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks is?
stratification
sediment that shrinks as the water dries out of it results in what sedimentary feature?
mud cracks
fine-grained sedimentary rocks record waves action in shallow water by preserving this sedimentary feature
ripple marks
foliation is a characteristic for which type of rock
metamorphic, fine to coarse
which rocks can show layers
sandstone, stratified
most of the heat for contact metamorphism is created by?
magma, lava, friction, depth below surface
regional metamorphism affects large areas and often results in what texture?
foliated
describe foliated
layers, more than one mineral type, various size crystals
describe non- foliated
no layers, one mineral type, equal size crystals
