Earth Processes
Thinnest at the ocean floor and thickest under the continents, this is the outermost layer of the Earth.
What is the CRUST?
A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with definite chemical composition, an internal crystal structure, and characteristic physical properties.
What is a MINERAL?
The extraction of mineral and non-mineral resources often requires a huge amount of this liquid which becomes contaminated thereafter.
What is WATER?
Earthquakes occur as tectonic plates slip suddenly against each other at these "planes of weakness".
What is a FAULT or FAULT LINE?
Ocean waves redistribute sand and sediment into these low, narrow, sandy strips that form offshore from a coastline.
What are BARRIER ISLANDS?
The core is composed of this mostly solid, intensely hot mass of this metal.
What is IRON?
This cohesive aggregate of one or more minerals is as solid as they come.
What is a ROCK?
Using high heat to separate metals from mineral-containing ore is known as this process.
What is SMELTING?
Lowlands along riverbanks, lakes, and coastlines subjected to periodic inundation of water.
What is a FLOODPLAIN?
The biggest flood in US history occurred in 1927 when this river and its tributaries overflowed their banks from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
What is the MISSISSIPPI RIVER?
As heat rises through the mantle, convection currents cause these to move.
What are TECTONIC PLATES?
Whether they cool quickly at the surface or slowly in subsurface chambers, these rocks make up the most of Earth's crust.
What are IGNEOUS ROCKS?
A technique for separating metals from large amounts of crushed, low-grade ores using a dilute alkaline-cyanide or acidic solution.
What is HEAP-LEACH EXTRACTION?
These giant swells of water gain momentum as they approach the shore, often to devastating effect.
What is a TSUNAMI?
1815 was known as "the year without a summer" due to the dust clouds created by the eruption of Tambora in this country.
Where is INDONESIA?
Deep sea trenches and continental volcanoes are a feature of this downward movement of oceanic crust.
What is SUBDUCTION?
Rocks composed of accumulated, compacted mineral fragments, such as limestone or clay are this kind of rock.
What is SEDIMENTARY ROCK?
Disposal of wastewater from mining and fracking by injecting it into deep wells can result in an increase in this activity.
What is SEISMIC activity or EARTHQUAKES?
Pyroclastic flow, often the most devastating effect of a volcanic eruption consist of these two superheated ingredients.
What is GAS and ASH?
The Bingham Canyon mine in Utah is an example of this kind of mine.
What is an OPEN PIT MINE?
Hold your breath! Magma forced upwards between diverging plates form this, the largest mountain range in the world.
What is the MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE?
These malleable substances are found in small amounts in different rocks or ores. Human history is gauged by our ability to extract and use them.
What are METALS?
Forests are clear-cut, and explosives are used to destroy the terrain to reach coal deposits in this type of mining.
What is STRIP-MINING?
This type of "mass wasting" frequently accompanies earthquakes and volcanoes, but can also be present after heavy rains.
What are LANDSLIDES or MUDSLIDES?
The Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska has potentially $300 billion of recoverable metals, but it is also important for this industry.
What is SALMON or SALMON FISHING?