Rock Cycle
This process, caused by wind, water, or ice, breaks down rocks into smaller pieces over time.
What is weathering?
This type of igneous rock forms when magma cools slowly beneath the Earth's surface.
What is granite?
This sedimentary rock, commonly found in Ireland, is made from compacted grains of sand.
What is Sandstone?
This term refers to the process that changes existing rocks into metamorphic rocks due to heat, pressure, or chemically active fluids.
What is Metamorphism?
The volcanic islands of Japan are located at the boundary between the Pacific Plate and this plate.
What is the Eurasian Plate?
This type of physical weathering occurs when water enters cracks in rock, freezes, and expands, breaking the rock apart.
What is Freeze Thaw Action?
The Antrim Plateau in Northern Ireland is famous for this igneous rock formed by the cooling of lava on the surface.
What is basalt?
The famous geological formation, the Burren, is made primarily of this type of rock, which is a type of limestone.
What is Carboniferous limestone?
This metamorphic rock is formed from quartz sandstone, and it is known for its hardness and resistance to weathering.
What is quartzite?
The San Andreas Fault is an example of this type of plate boundary, where two plates slide past each other.
What is a transform boundary
This process involves the compaction and cementation of sediments into rock.
What is lithification?
This geological feature, located in County Antrim, is a famous example of basalt columns formed during volcanic activity.
What is the Giant’s Causeway?
This feature, formed when water percolates through sandstone, often gives sandstone a layered appearance.
What is stratification?
The parent rock for this metamorphic rock is limestone, and it forms when subjected to high pressure and temperature.
What is Marble?
This is the geological feature formed when an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate, creating a trench and volcanic arc.
What is a subduction zone?
Rocks are transported and deposited by water, wind, or ice in this step of the rock cycle.
What is erosion and deposition?
Granite in Ireland primarily formed during this geological era, over 400 million years ago.
What is the Caledonian Orogeny?
The limestone beds in Ireland's Midlands were deposited during this geological period, about 350 million years ago.
What is the Carboniferous period?
This type of metamorphism happens over large areas, usually caused by tectonic plate movements and involves both heat and pressure.
What is regional metamorphism?
The concept of "hotspots" is related to this type of mantle plume, which can create volcanic chains like the Hawaiian Islands.
What is a mantle hotspot?
The process by which sediments turn into sedimentary rock through compaction and this binding action.
What is cementation?
The process in which minerals in granite react with water and air to form new minerals and dissolved ions is called this.
What is chemical weathering?
Limestone can dissolve in this acidic substance, which leads to the formation of features like caves and sinkholes.
What is a weak carbonic acid?
This term describes the process of minerals segregating into bands of different colors due to high pressure and temperature, common in gneiss.
What is banding?
The East African Rift is an example of this type of plate boundary, where continental crust is splitting apart, name the two plates
What is the Somali and Nubian Plates?