Rocks vocab

Question 1

Permeable rock

Answer 1

A rock that allows water to pass through it

Question 2

Crust

Answer 2

The outer layer of the earth

Question 3

Rock cycle

Answer 3

Connection between the 3 rock types shown in a form of a diagram

Question 4

Metamorphic rocks

Answer 4

Rocks that have undergone a change in their chemistry and texture as a result of heating and/or pressure

Question 5

Chemical weathering

Answer 5

Weathering that involves a chemical change taking place

Question 6

Geological timescale

Answer 6

The period of geological time since life first became abundant 542 million years ago, which geologist have split into eras and periods

Question 7

Sedimentary rock

Answer 7

Most commonly, rocks formed from the accumulation of sediment to the sea floor

Question 8

Mechanical weathering

Answer 8

Weathering that does not involve chemical change

Question 9

Igneous rocks

Answer 9

Rocks formed from the cooling of molten magma

Question 10

Solutions

Answer 10

Dissolving of rocks or minerals by rainwater

Question 11

Biological weathering

Answer 11

Weathering caused by living organisms such as tree roots or burrowing animals

Question 12

Pores

Answer 12

Holes in rocks

Question 13

Freeze-thaw weathering

Answer 13

Weathering involving the repeated cycle of freezing and thawing

Question 14

Carbonation

Answer 14

Weathering of limestone and chalk by acidic rainwater

Question 15

Weathering

Answer 15

The breakup or decay of rocks in their original place at or close to the earth’s surface

Question 16

Water table

Answer 16

The upper surface of underground water

Question 17

Scree

Answer 17

Deposits of angular rock fragments found at the foot of rock outcrops

Question 18

Vale

Answer 18

In the landscape, a flat plain typically formed on clay

Question 19

Escarpment/Cuesta

Answer 19

An outcrop of chalk comprising a steep scarp and a more gentle dip slope

Question 20

Syncline

Answer 20

The lower area of the fold in fold mountain

Question 21

Exfoliation

Answer 21

Flaking of the outer surface of the rocks mainly caused by repeated cycles of hot and cold

Question 22

Spring

Answer 22

Water re-emerging from the rock onto the ground surface. Springs often occur as a line of springs (spring lines) at the base of a scarp slope

Question 23

Batholith

Answer 23

A huge irregular-shaped mass of intrusive ingneous rock that only reaches the ground surface when the overlying rocks are removed

Question 24

Joints

Answer 24

Cracks that may run vertically or horizontally through rock

Question 25

Impermeable rock

Answer 25

A rock that does not allow water to pass through it

Question 26

Tor

Answer 26

An isolated outcrop of rock on a hilltop, typically found in granite landscapes

Question 27

Mass movement

Answer 27

The downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity

Question 28

Aquier

Answer 28

An underground reservoir of water stored in purse and/or joints in rocks e.g. Chalk

Question 29

Dry valley

Answer 29

A valley formed by a river during a wetter period in the past but is now without a river

Question 30

Gorge

Answer 30

Steep-sided deep valley that may be formed by cavern collapse

Question 31

Swallow hole

Answer 31

An enlarged joint into which water falls

Question 32

Cavern

Answer 32

A large underground cave

Question 33

Resurgence

Answer 33

A stream that emerges from underground

Question 34

Stalactite

Answer 34

An icicle-like calcite feature hanging down from a cavern roof

Question 35

Stalagmite

Answer 35

A stumpy calcite feature formed on a cavern floor

Question 36

Pillars

Answer 36

A calcite feature stretching from the floor to the ceiling in a cavern

Question 37

Curtain

Answer 37

A broad deposit of calcite usually formed when water emerges along a crack in a cavern

Question 38

What are clay vales?

Answer 38

They are valleys between the chalk escarpment. The clay, when drained is a fertile soil suitable doe a range of farming methods. Clay vales are flat and have a number of stream meandering through them

Question 39

What are dry valleys?

Answer 39

They were formed in preglacial times, when the ground froze, so melted water rivers ran over the surface of the chalk rather than flowing through it. These rivers carved out steep sided valleys. Once the climate had warmed again a dry valley was left behind. These also are common features in limestone landscapes