Geology

Geology

The science that comprises the study of the solid Earth and the processes by which it is shaped and changed.

Industry: Earth science

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Geology

Base surge

Earth science; Geology

Turbulent, low-density cloud of rock debris and water and (or) steam that moves over the ground surface at high speed. Base surges are generated by explosions.

Augen

Earth science; Geology

Augen are relatively large, eye-shaped mineral grains in certain types of metamorphic rocks, especially schist and gneiss. (Augen = eyes in German)

Ballistic fragment

Earth science; Geology

An explosively ejected rock fragment that follows a ballistic trajectory.

Base level

Earth science; Geology

The level (elevation) at which a stream or river can erode no more, usually sea level.

In the typical "continental" environment, volcanoes are located in unstable, mountainous belts that have thick roots of granite or granitelike rock. Magmas, generated near the base of the mountain ...

Cordilleran ice sheet

Earth science; Geology

Ice cap that grew in western North America during the Pleistocene Epoch. It began growing first in Canada, eventually covering much of British Columbia, Alaska, the northern U.S., and parts of ...

Continental drift

Earth science; Geology

A hypothesis proposed by Alfred Wegener suggesting that the continents are not stationary, but have 'drifted' through time. Plate tectonics is the name for the theory that provided the evidence ...