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What class of minerals makes up most of the Earth's crust (and lithosphere)?
silicates
Which of the following is NOT a criterion for a substance to be considered a mineral?
contains silica tetrahedra
In what type of igneous rock would you most likely find quartz?
granite
In what type of sedimentary rock would you most likely find quartz?
sandstone
What rock texture is most commonly associated with plutonic (intrusive) igneous rocks?
phaneritic
According to Bowen's reaction series, which mineral should crystallize from a magma first?
olivine
What type of sedimentary rock would you be most likely to find in an ancient beach environment?
sandstone
What rock is best described as a mafic, plutonic rock
gabbro
What type of sedimentary rock would you most likely find in an ancient lagoon environment?
limestone
In what tectonic setting is regional metamorphism most common?
continental collision
What is the primary natural hazard on leading-edge shorelines?
mass wasting
What type of tides does most of the Gulf of Mexico experience?
diurnal
What phenomenon results in the largest changes to shorelines and barrier islands?
tropical storms/hurricanes
What type of system operates on the Gulf of Mexico coastline?
wave-dominated
What is the "fuel" that drives large tropical storms and hurricanes?
warm ocean water
Which of the following hazards are associated with tropical storms and hurricanes?
all are correct (storm surge, high wind, inland flooding)
What type of sedimentary deposits form on barrier islands during large storms?
washover
What type of engineered structure is primarily used to halt longshore drift?
groins
What energy source is responsible for transporting and shaping aeolian dunes?
winds
What type of system operates on the Georgia coast?
tide-dominated
Which of the following drive sediment transport and landscape change on the coast?
all are correct (tides, winds, waves, current)
What type of motion do particles in ocean waves follow?
circular
What is the energy source for most ocean waves?
winds
What phenomenon causes temporary sea level rise during large storms?
storm surge
What type of deposits are the majority of the sediments that underlie Houston?
delta
What is the primary way by which faults form(ed) in the Houston area?
growth faulting
Which of the following materials would most likely have low porosity and low permeability?
clay
What type of materials form oil and gas?
decaying microorganisms
What types of structural oil traps are common around Houston?
anticlines
What type of groundwater feature usually forms in high porosity sands?
aquifer
What was the main cause of subsidence in the earliest part of Houston's history?
oil and gas extraction
What is the most common cause of deep subsidence?
natural resource extraction
What was the main cause of subsidence in Houston from the 1940s to the 1970s?
groundwater extraction for irrigation
What type of sediment is most at risk of being "permanently" compacted?
clay
Where does the highest amount of subsidence occur in the Houston-Galveston area today?
suburbs to north and west
How old is the Gulf of Mexico "bathtub ring" in Texas?
Cretaceous (90-100 Ma)
Which direction do most of the subsurface sediments dip in Houston?
southeast
What is the interpreted cause of breaks in slope (changes in dip) of the pre-Miocene sediments in the Houston subsurface?
growth faults
What is the human-induced contribution to faulting in the Houston area?
groundwater mining and subsidence
In a delta system, what material acts like a weak layer that will flow in response to pressure from overlying sediments?
mud
What stream does all flood water and runoff from Rice and its immediate surrounding flow into?
Brays Bayou
What was Houston's natural ecosystem just prior to human settlement?
coastal prairie
Which craton contains the oldest rocks in North America?
Slave Lake
Which of the following was a major Precambrian tectonic event in North America?
Grenville orogeny
What tectonic event began at the end of the Laramide orogeny and continues today?
Basin and Range rifting
Besides eustatic sea level, what is another explanation for a regressive sequence?
Local mountain-building
Which of the following North American orogenies involved the collision of a volcanic arc in the Middle Ordovician?
Taconic
Which of the following orogenies was the final phase of the Appalachian orogeny?
Alleghanian
When did the Sevier orogeny begin?
Early Cretaceous
How old is the Grenville orogeny?
1 Ga
What is the only major Paleozoic orogeny recognized in western North America?
Antler
When did the Alleghanian orogeny begin?
Permian
In a set of stacked horizontal layers, what stratigraphic principle states that the oldest layer is on the bottom?
superposition
What can an unconformity between rock layers indicate?
all are correct (period of erosion/non-deposition, gap in the stratigraphic record, and regression)
What type of unconformity is characterized by sedimentary strata overlying basement rock (older igneous and metamorphic rock)?
nonconformity
What factor primarily controls rock strength in the crust?
temperature
Approximately how old is the Earth?
4.6 Ga
What is the azimuth orientation of a line that points N56W
304
What type of fault is characterized by the hanging wall moving down with respect to the footwall?
normal fault
What is the name of the imaginary surface across which a fold is split in half?
axial plane
What type of fold is characterized by rocks that get younger towards the core of the fold?
syncline
Other than baked contacts, what geologic principle indicates a dike that is younger than the sedimentary rocks in which it intrudes?
cross-cutting relationships
What is the point where Panther Creek and Spring Creek converge called?
delta
Why might you see larger shell pieces/sediment sizes in a wash over fan sediment core?
higher energy for deposition
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