EAES Ch. 1, 2, 6

Rock

A mixture of minerals classified by mineral composition

Igneous Rock

Formed from molten magma/lava, classified by texture and chemical composition

Sedimentary Rock

Formed from transported, deposited, and lithified materials, classified by grain size and mineral composition

Metamorphic Rock

Formed from rocks altered by heat and pressure, classified by foliated or non-foliated structures

Intrusive Igneous Rock

Forms underground from slowly freezing magma, with phaneritic texture and >1mm crystals

Extrusive Igneous Rock

Forms above ground from quickly freezing lava, with aphanitic texture and <1mm crystals

Detrital/Clastic Sedimentary Rock

Formed from eroded rocks, classified by grain size, mostly silicates

Carbonate Sedimentary Rock

Formed from skeletal material in ocean, classified by carbonate minerals

Foliated Metamorphic Rock

Pressure causes thin layers of minerals, like mica, slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss

Non-foliated Metamorphic Rock

Formed without micaceous minerals or pressure, like marble, quartzite, greenstone, hornfels

Rock Cycle

Rocks are changed and recycled by various processes on the surface and inside the earth

Scientific Method

Used by scientists to solve problems, involving questioning, hypothesis, data collection, testing, theory, and law

Uniformitarianism

The present is the key to the past, stating that natural processes have remained consistent over time

Catastrophism

Disproven concept suggesting rapid changes in the earth's surface caused by catastrophic events

Principle of cross-cutting relationships

States that a cross-cutting structure is younger than the rock it cuts across

Principle of inclusions

States that a rock containing inclusions is younger than the inclusions themselves

Natural Selection

Proposed by Darwin, the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Geological Time

The timeline of the earth's history, divided into eons, eras, and periods

Geochronical Units

Eon, era, period, epoch, age, and chron

Sedimentary Structures

Patterns and forms in sediment, including ripple marks, mud cracks, cross-bedding, and fossils

Carbonates

Limestones and dolostones, mostly formed in marine environments

Coal

Composed of carbon-rich fossil material, formed in swamps and later buried and lithified

Chert

Silica rock formed by chemical alteration of limestone or accumulation of silica-rich skeletal material

Evaporative Rock

Deposited in desert and shallow-marine environments during evaporation, including minerals like halite, sylvite, gypsum, and anhydrite

Sedimentary Facies

Zones of a rock formation with specific depositional characteristics, including lithofacies and biofacies

Vail Sea-level curve

A record of sea-level change over the past 600 million years

Eustatic change

Worldwide changes in sea level due to variation in climate and ocean volume

Environments of Deposition

Conditions and origins of sediment, including continental, transitional, and marine environments