physical geography

o horizon

organic plant litter

a horizon

top soil

e horizon

eluviation (leeching of clays)

b horizon

subsoil accumulation

c horizon

parent material

r horizon

bedrock

what horizons are not what we widely consider soil?

c and r horizons

how do we describe soils

color, texture, structure, depth

what do dark soil colors mean? brown/black

organic material

what do red soils mean?

iron (oxidized)wh

what do grey soils mean?

eluviation

what do bluish grey soil mean?

wet / swamp

what do white soils mean?

salts accumulating

what are the different textures for soild

clay silt and sand

what is loam

perfect mixture of sand, clay, and silt

what is structure?

structure is the size and shape of the peds

how does structure differ from texture?

texture was the size of the particles within the soil

what are the different structures of a soil

granular (rounder), blocky, platy, columnar/prismatic

where are the different textures of soils found?

granular- a horizon

blocky and columnar - b horizon

platy - e horizon

what are the soil forming factors

climate, organics, relief, parent material and time

what is biocycling?

vegetation → litter → hummus → vegetation

the more hydrogen in the soil makes it more or less acidic?

more

what isa soil order

soil kingdom, 12 different

where is gelisol found?

permafrost found in polar climates, the gelifluctuion causesthe soil to expand and contract churning the soil, thin weak wavy horizons, consists of OA and B horizons

where is spodosol found?

subarctic climates and boreal forests, O E and B horizon, conifer forest are so acidic eluviation is heightened

where is alfisol found?

humid continental climates, mid-latitude deciduous, O A E B C R, these are baby soils

where is ultisol located?

humid subtropical climates, evergreen forests, O A E big B horizon, these are old soils

what distinguishes ultisol from alfisol

time

where is oxisol found

tropical rainforests, A E very big B (very red), soil isn’t very fertile

where is mollisol found

north american prarie, big A B C, fertile, grasses aren’t that acidic so less eluviation, as you move east to west the grasses get shorter so less of an A horizon, calcium carbonate is found in B horizons

where is aridsol found

arid desert climate, A B big C horizon

what are the youngest soil horizons?

1st entisol 2nd inceptisol

which soil order is associated with poorly drained environments

histosol, swamps and wetlands

which soil order has ash as parent material?

andisol

what soil order is associated with a significant amount of clays?

vertisol

what is a mineral

natural inorganic solid materials

what is a rock

mass of minerals

what are the broad categories of rocks?

igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic

how are igneous rocks formed

magma/lava

how can you tell the difference between intrusive and extrusive rocks?

intrusive bigger crystals, extrusive smaller crystals

what are the characteristics of mafic

lots of iron and magneisum, darker, denser, less viscous, easily weathered

characteristics of felsic

aluminum and silicon, paler, less dense, more viscous, more resistent to weathering

where to find mafic?

oceans

where to find felsic?

continents

felsic int. v ext.

int. granite ext. rhyolite

mafic int. v ext.

gabbro, basalt

what is both felsic and mafic int. v ext.

dirote and andesite

what the hell is clasts

more energy at deposition

different clasts

sand → sandstone, clay → shale, silt →siltstone, calcite →limestone

what is metamorphic rocks

adding heat and pressure to rocks is meta

metamorphic rocks examples

heat and pressure to shale → slate, heat and pressure to limestone→ marble, heat and pressure to granite → gneiss

are meta rocks more or less susceptible to weathering than the parent rocks?

meta are stronger to weathering but its the same type of weathering it doesn’t like

what is the rock cycle

the relationshop between sedimentary igneous and metamorphic rocks

whichtype of weathering is more dominant physical or dominant weathering?

chemical

examples of physical weathering

freeze/thaw, crystal growth, biotic weathering, wave action, fire, pressure release

examples of chemical weathering

oxidation, carbonation, hydrolisis

what does hydrolisis give me

clays

how does the characteristics of a rock affect the weathering?

if it’s well jointed it is more prone to weaathering v. if it is massive

how does the climate affect weathering?

cold and dry creates lots of physical weathering (less total weathering) v. warm and wet creates lots of chemical weathering (more total weathering)w

what causes the hoodoos

freeze/thaw cycle and chemical

what is karst topography

is cave stuff, common in ozarks, 

what is stalactite, and stalagmite, and column

stalactite is dropping from the cieling, stalagmite is growing from the floor, column is when they meet

what environment harbors karst topography?

limestone in a humid environment

what can haystack hills turn into?

tower karst

what are the two types of convergent tectonic plates?

collision and subduction

where do you find each type?

collision is continent to continent, subduction is oceanic to continent or oceanic to oceanic

what landforms are made because of collision and subduction?

mountains, volcanoes and maybe trenches

what is a transform plate boundary

one plate sliding past the other

what is famous transform plate boundary

san andres fault line

what are divergent plates

plates going away from each other, magma rises and creates volcanos.

what is hot spot?

hot spot are stationary compared to tectonic plates, creates volcanos in a line, hawaii

what is a fault?

joints in bedrock with movement

what are the four types of faults?

normal fault (falls due to gravity), reverse fault (opposite normal fault), strike slip fault (curve in fault creates vertical mobility due to compression

what is a syncline v anticline

when a sedimentary layer dips down is a syncline v goes up anti

what is the difference between dome and basin

dome the oldest rock is in the middle v in a basin the youngest rock is in the middle

how does erosion effect synclines and anti clines

may result in syncline ridge and anticline valleys 

what is the difference between aa and pahoehoe lava

aa is chunky and pahoehoe is pillowy

what type of volcano is associated with mafic minerology

shield volcanos, flowing eruptions

what is flood basalt?

flat rock is created when magma cools

what is volcanic plug

large felsic mineralogy is hardened closing the volcano causing large eruption

what mineralogy is associated with strato and composite volcanoes

felsic

what kind of eruptions composite volcanoes

explosive and damaging

what is a caldera?

an eruption so big the magma chamber empties out completley causing the volcano to collapse in on itself