Rocks & Minerals
This mineral is nonmetallic in nature, features a cubic crystal and cleavage, and also tastes like something applied to food as a seasoning.
What is Halite?
This sedimentary structure is known to form via frost wedging, producing dramatic curving natural formations.
What are Arches?
This type of destruction is rated by magnitude and seismicity.
What are earthquakes?
This section of Arizona was uplifted during the time of the Dinosaurs extinction and now contains cities like Flagstaff and Payson.
This rock is dark grey in nature, but can feature visible Olivine crystals.
What is Peridotite?
This crystalline rock features large, visible crystals like Mica, Quartz, Feldspars, and dark hornblendes.
What is Granite?
The process of physically breaking rock or material down into smaller pieces
What is Mechanical Weathering?
Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Etna, and Mt. Fuji are examples of this type of volcano.
Wat are Stratovolcanoes?
This mineral staining lies on the surface of rocks in the arid deserts, creating vibrant, dark colors.
What is Desert Varnish?
This is the name of the basement/bed rock of ALL of North America, preserved mostly in Eastern Canada.
What is the Canadian Shield?
This rock was made billions of years ago under much hotter conditions than the Earth can muster.
What is Komatiite?
This type of plate boundary is known for pulling rock layers apart and for creating new seafloor.
What is Divergent?
The event that can follow Earthquakes or shaking out at sea creating large tidal waves.
What is a tsunami?
This is the white sedimentary rock that caps the Grand Canyon.
What is the Kaibab Limestone?
This mountain chain in America is as old and has the same rock strata as the Caledonian Mountains in the UK.
What are the Appalachians?
This mineral goes by names like Amethyst, Carnelian, Citrine, and is often the major piece to things like Geodes and Thunder Eggs.
What is Quartz?
The structure that forms from wind erosion hitting holes formed in rocks, causing them to pit or form grooves.
What are ventifacts?
The destructive event that can be triggered when a glacier breaks, releasing water into a lower valley.
What is a GLOF? Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.
This is the bedrock of the Grand Canyon, and is a metamorphic rock.
What is the Vishnu Schist?
These structures form when lightning strikes a sandy dune or hill.
What are Fulgurites?
This rock is frothy like Pumice, yet glassy like Obsidian. It's pyroclastic by nature, but somewhere inbetween.
What is Perlite?
The geologic principle behind seeing the same fossil in different rock layers.
What is the principle of Faunal Succession?
These destructive events form when shaking causes things like rocks, mud, trees, or other objects get swept into a sort of flood.
This mineral became synonymous with Arizona after being discovered here. The mine had someone write over it with a saying: "______ is Love."
What is Wulfenite?
This is the only mountain range in the western US to track east-west.
What are the Wasatch Mountains?