GLY 2
What percentage of the Earth's surface consists of deep-ocean basins?
30%
What is the velocity of a P-wave?
5-8 km/sec
What is a fault?
A fracture in a rock along which motion has occurred
________ are smaller earthquakes of lesser magnitude that follow a major earthquake.
Aftershocks
The Denali Pipeline in ________ was designed to withstand displacement from earthquakes in order to prevent oil spills.
Alaska
What is a mineral phase change?
Atoms in a mineral are rearranged into a more stable and denser structure
What is the slowest form of mass wasting?
Creep
Which tectonic boundary would have many normal faults associated with it?
Divergent
is the process where calcium ions in limestone are replaced with magnesium or small amounts of iron.
Dolomitization
Which of the following scenarios will be able to maintain the steepest angle of repose?
Dry sand
Which of the following best describes interbedded gypsum and halite?
Evaporite sedimentary rocks
Which mountain range consists of the youngest collisional mountains on Earth?
Himalayas
If clay minerals were buried at a depth where subsurface temperatures exceed 200°C, which mineral are they likely to become?
Muscovite
Which seismic wave will be released first during an earthquake?
P-waves
How can subduction result in the emplacement of batholiths?
Partial melting of the subducting plate creates magma
Of the three mechanisms of heat transfer, which is the only one that does not operate in the interior of the Earth?
Radiation
________ is a widespread type of metamorphism typically associated with mountain building.
Regional metamorphism
Where is the thickest continental crust in the United States?
Rocky Mountains
Which of the following is the parent rock for quartzite?
Sandstone
Which rock type can contain fossils?
Sed
Which low-grade metamorphic rock will display fine rock cleavage and contains very fine grains of mica?
Slate
Which slope composition is the most stable?
Solid bedrock
How does water get from the surface to the middle of the mantle?
Subducting oceanic lithosphere
What is the definition of the focus?
The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs
What is the definition of a parent rock?
The rock that was altered by metamorphism
What is the angle of repose?
The steepest angle at which a material remains at rest
A ________ is a circular fold where the youngest layers are in the middle and the oldest layers are on the outside.
basin
Which rock is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock?
limestone
What is the average geothermal gradient in the mantle?
0.3° C/km
Which of the following choices represents a rate of seafloor spreading commonly associated with a ridge such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
1-5 cm/yr
When going from a 5 to a 6 on the Richter Scale, what is the increase in amplitude of seismic waves?
10
If 235U has 92 protons, how many neutrons does it have?
143
How many hinge lines does a monocline have?
2
You are an archaeologist researching artifacts left behind by Francisco Pizzaro's conquest of Peru in the 1530s. In order to confirm the authenticity of the leather artifacts, you are performing radiometric dating using an isotope pair that has a half-life of 250 years. In order for the artifacts to date back to the time of Pizzaro's conquest, approximately how much original radioactive isotope must be left in the artifacts?
25%
What is the average velocity of an S-wave?
3-4 km/sec
What is the range in densities between the top and bottom of the mantle?
3.3-5.6 g/cm3
What is the average geothermal gradient in the crust?
30° C/km
What is the angle of repose for a larger sediment such as sand?
33°
What is the definition of sylvite?
A mineral that forms during the final stages of halite precipitation
Which of the following scenarios best describes the creation of the lahars associated with the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980?
A volcanic flank collapsed in a landslide, which flowed into Spirit Lake
Which of the following will not oversteepen a slope and lead to mass wasting?
A) Quarrying B) Coastal erosion C) Construction D) NONE OF THE ABOVE
Which sedimentary environment of deposition will be controlled in part by debris flows?
Alluvial fan
Where is oceanic crust generated?
Along divergent plate boundaries
In which geologic setting is the most widespread occurrence of hydrothermal metamorphism?
Along the axis of a mid-ocean ridge system
Where do rift valleys form along the oceanic ridge system?
Along the axis of some ridge segments where the rift is down-faulted
Liquefaction will ________.
Amplify the power of seismic waves
What is a metamorphic facies?
An assemblage of minerals that form in very similar metamorphic environments
What is an isotope?
An atom that has more or fewer neutrons than it should
Which type of volcanic material will dominate the eruptions along a continental volcanic arc?
Andesitic lavas and pyroclastic materials
Which of the following is not an example of a continental rift?
Appalachia, United States
Which U.S. region is made up of a series of half-grabens producing nearly parallel mountain ranges?
Basin and Range
Where is the thinnest continental crust in the United States?
Basin and Range region
The measurement of ocean depth and the topography of the ocean floor are known as ________.
Bathymetry
A ________ marks the end of one episode of sedimentation and the beginning of another.
Bedding plane
Thermal springs known as ________ are often associated with oceanic ridges, where hot water containing dissolved minerals gushes from the seafloor.
Black smokers
A(n) ________ facies is associated with a high pressure, low temperature environment.
Blueschist
Which of the following materials is not associated with shock metamorphism and meteorite impact sites?
Blueschist
________ metamorphism tends to occur in regions where massive amounts of sedimentary or volcanic materials accumulate in a subsiding basin.
Burial
Submarine canyons found cutting into the continental shelf and slope are believed to have been created ________.
By rivers during the ice age
Which of the following locations is composed largely of accreted terranes?
California
Which era are we currently in?
Cenozoic
Which of the following is not a possible mechanism contributing to continental rifting?
Changes in gravitational attraction of the moon
Generally speaking, how is the chemical composition of most metamorphic rocks going to compare to that of the parent rock?
Chemical compositions will be nearly the same
Which of the mineral assemblages are characteristic of a greenschist?
Chlorite, Epidote, and Serpentine
Where is the zone of greatest seismic activity on Earth?
Circum-Pacific Belt
Most mountain ranges are the result of ________ stress.
Compressional
________ contain large quantities of preexisting sedimentary and crystalline rocks that have been faulted and contorted into a series of folds.
Compressional mountains
Which style of metamorphism will be generated by a mantle plume?
Contact
According to the plate tectonics model, most global mountain ranges are associated with which kind of plate boundary?
Convergent
Along which type of tectonic boundary will greenschists and blueschists form?
Convergent
Which of the following tectonic boundaries is associated with an active continental margin?
Convergent
Which plate boundary along the Circum-Pacific Belt is responsible for the majority of that belt's earthquakes?
Convergent
Which tectonic boundary is associated with megathrust faults?
Convergent
Which tectonic boundary is associated with regional metamorphism?
Convergent
Which tectonic boundary is responsible for the most powerful and destructive earthquakes recorded?
Convergent
Which of the following types of flows will have the largest particle sizes?
Debris flow
What is the source of magma necessary for seafloor spreading?
Decompression melting
Which of the following features are not found at mid-ocean ridges?
Deep submarine trenches
________ refers to the changes in shape or position of a rock body in response to differential stress.
Deformation
Which physical property is responsible for determining how Earth materials separate out into interior layers?
Density
________ is the process where materials separate into different layers due to density.
Differentiation
A(n) ________ is a type of unconformity with parallel beds above and below the erosional surface.
Disconformity
You are sitting in class when your professor begins talking about a dome with the inner layers dating back to the Tertiary and its outer layers dating back to the Permian. You immediately know this professor is wrong. What is your evidence?
Domes have the oldest layers in the middle, not the youngest
Unbending a paperclip wire is an example of what kind of deformation?
Ductile deformation
Why would geologic mapping be difficult in an area dominated by accreted terranes?
Each terrane is geologically distinct, but also highly deformed
What kind of sediment flow is found at the base of slump blocks?
Earthflow
The elastic rebound associated with earthquakes is an example of ________ deformation.
Elastic
A rubber band being stretched in preparation to fire across the room is an example of what kind of deformation?
Elastic deformation
Which tectonic plates are responsible for the majority of seismic activity in the Alpine-Himalayan Belt?
Eurasian, African, and Indian Plates
What is a fossil?
Evidence of past life that can include skeletal as well as trace material
A ________ describes how, when a sedimentary layer is examined in cross-section laterally, various parts of the layer consist of different sediments accumulating next to each other in different environments of deposition.
Facies
What is the term used to describe slow, gradual displacement along a fault without the accumulation of significant strain?
Fault creep
________ is a measurement of displacement on the fault surface.
Fault slip
What kind of subduction occurs when younger, warmer, less-dense lithosphere dips under another plate at shallower angles because it is too buoyant to sink?
Forced subduction
Which of the following regions of a subduction zone are characterized by thick sequences of relatively undeformed sedimentary rocks?
Forearc region
The Principle of ________ states that organisms succeed one another in a definite, determinable order that can be used to recognize a specific time period.
Fossil Succession
When correlating rock between widely separated areas or between continents, what feature do geologists rely on the most?
Fossils
Which of the following is not a way an earthquake can trigger mass wasting?
Friction from the fault blocks grinding against each other reduces the angle of repose of slope sediments
A ________ is when an iron-rich fluid in the core is electrically charged and flowing, which generates a magnetic field.
Geodynamo
Which of the following factors does not influence mass wasting?
Geologic age
Which of the following statements best characterizes the geology of the Pacific coastal regions of western North America up into Alaska?
Geologically distinct, microcontinent-sized fragments and terraces accreted to the continent
Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the coarsest sorting (poorest sorting)?
Glaciers
Which of the following rocks represents the highest grade of metamorphism?
Gneiss
Which sediment size has the steepest angle of repose?
Gravel
Which of the following terms describes the increasing downward force on basal rocks as a mountain continues to grow?
Gravitational collapse
A piece of gravel is resting on a slope. Which of the following best describes how the gravitational force pulling the gravel downward will vary with the inclination of the slope?
Gravitational force will decrease as the slope angle decreases
Which of the following locations is a remnant of a forearc basin?
Great Valley, CA
Which of the following researchers developed elastic rebound after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake?
H.F. Reid
Which ship was involved in the first global, comprehensive study of the Earth's oceans starting in 1872?
H.M.S. Challenger
What combination of factors was responsible for the Vaiont Dam disaster in Italy in October 1963?
Heavy rains and the drawing down of the reservoir led to a landslide that filled the reservoir and displaced the water
Which of the following best describes the effect of convective flow on the elevation of Earth's major landforms?
Hot rising material upwarps the landscape whereas downward flow causes downwarping
Which rock type or combination of rock types makes up 90-95% of the outer 16 km of the crust?
Igneous Rocks and Metamorphic Rocks
________ are materials that are good indicators of the metamorphic environment in which they formed and can be used to distinguish between various zones of metamorphism.
Index minerals
processes such as evaporation and chemical activity can precipitate chemical sediments.
Inorganic
Which of the following trace materials produces bright-red colors in some cherts?
Iron Oxide
Which mass-wasting process, generated on Nevado del Ruiz, destroyed the city of Armero in 1985?
Lahar
What non-geologic term is commonly used to describe a sudden event in which large volumes of material move down steep slopes?
Landslide
Which orogeny is largely responsible for creating the modern Rocky Mountains?
Laramide Orogeny
Is the process where sediments are converted into a sedimentary rock.
Lithification
What is the minimum magnitude an earthquake can have in order for it to be picked up by seismographs around the world?
M6
Which of the following will not result in a seismic velocity anomaly when using seismic tomography?
Magnetism
Which layer or layers of the interior are believed to have convection cells?
Mantle and Inner Core
Volcanic islands such as the Hawaiian islands form as a result of ________.
Mantle plumes
Which of the following best describes the formation of the Ural Mountains of Russia?
Marine sediments that had collected in a basin were compressed and uplifted as the former Asian and European plates merged
________ is the downslope movement of rock, regolith, or soil under the direct influence of gravity.
Mass Wasting
What is correlation?
Matching up rocks of similar age in different regions
Which of the following materials would cause the greatest gravity anomaly?
Metallic ore
________ is the process where a rock changes form or mineral content as a result of environmental changes such as heat and pressure.
Metamorphism
Which of the following is not an environment of metamorphism?
Metamorphism as the result of slow cooling of magma
The ________ is a seismic boundary between the crust and the mantle where there is a dramatic increase in seismic wave velocity.
Moho Boundary
________ measures the total energy released during an earthquake by determining the average amount of slip on the fault, the area of the fault surface that slipped, and the strength of the faulted rock.
Moment Magnitude Scale
What are fault-block mountains?
Mountains formed through crustal extension
A mammoth frozen in the Arctic tundra of Siberia would be an example of which type of fossilization?
Mummification
Which atom is easier to compress when pressure is squeezing a rock?
Negative ion
Which scientist is credited with developing the Law of Superposition?
Nicholas Steno
You are monitoring a seismograph in Seattle. One morning, your instrument records an earthquake approximately 2,000 km away. From that information, can you predict where the earthquake occurred?
No, because you would need information from more than one seismograph to plot the epicenter.
Faults that exhibit both dip-slip and strike slip movement are called ________ faults.
Oblique-slip
Which of the following best describes the age relationship of the layers in an anticline?
Oldest on the inside of the fold, youngest on the outside
are tiny "seed" particles created when small sediments or shell fragments are rolled by waves in water supersaturated with calcium carbonate.
Ooids
A(n) ________ is a sequence of layers composing the oceanic crust that includes sheeted dikes, basalts, and gabbro.
Ophiolite complex
What is an index fossil?
Organisms that were geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time
As of 2012, which is the only ocean basin to have significant tsunami warning buoy coverage?
Pacific Ocean
________ is the scientific study of fossils.
Paleontology
How will strike and dip marks be oriented on the geologic map of a nonplunging syncline?
Parallel strikes with dips pointing away from the center of the fold
The primary basis for classifying detrital rocks is ________ whereas the primary basis for classifying chemical rocks is ________.
Particle size; mineral composition
Metamorphic rocks can sometimes contain unusually large grains surrounded by a fine-grained matrix of other minerals. These large crystals are called ________.
Porphyroblasts
________ is a term used to define 88% of Earth's history prior to the start of the Paleozoic Era.
Precambrian
What is the definition of orogenesis?
Processes that collectively form a mountain belt
Which of the following does not contribute to destruction from seismic vibrations?
Proximity to water sources
What is the definition of relative dating?
Putting events in order from first to last
Which minerals are the main constituents in most sedimentary rocks?
Quartz and Clay Minerals
________ is a technique where the decay rate of radioactive isotopes is measured and used to determine the age of a geologic material.
Radiometric Dating
________ is when new mineral grains form as a result of metamorphic heat that are larger than the original mineral grains.
Recrystallization
Which of the following is not an example of foliation?
Recrystallization of elongated minerals parallel to the direction of greatest stress
A(n) ________ fold has limbs that are tilted beyond the vertical to the point that the axial plane is horizontal.
Recumbent
What is the most dangerous location for a seiche to form in?
Reservoir behind an earthen dam
A ________ fault is created when the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
Reverse
What is the fastest form of mass wasting?
Rockfall
Which of the following locations would be most likely to see large-scale, rapid mass wasting?
Rocky Mountains
What is foliation?
Roughly parallel layers of mineral crystals aligned perpendicular to the direction of pressure
Which of the following best describes the appearance and composition of a conglomerate?
Rounded fragments; poorly sorted
Which of the following scenarios cannot trigger a turbidity current?
Salinity differences
Which of the following does not describe the texture of nonclastic chemical sedimentary rocks?
Sandy
Which of the following is not a method of obtaining evidence of the oceanic ridge system?
Satellite imagery
What is the crescent-shaped mark found at the top of a slump block?
Scarp
Which of the following statements best characterizes the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Mountains?
Sedimentary strata folded at in the late Paleozoic Era
What is the term for stored-up energy released by earthquakes?
Seismic
________ is a technique to view three-dimensional changes in composition and density by using seismology.
Seismic tomography
What do scientists use to determine the layering of the interior of the Earth?
Seismic waves
________ are records of seismic waves.
Seismograms
________ are instruments that sense earthquake waves and transmit them to a recording device.
Seismometers
Which of the following mudstones displays fissility?
Shale
Which of the following scenarios best describes the formation of hornfels?
Shales and mudstones are baked during contact metamorphism
Which of the following makes up the sediment that forms an organic sedimentary rock?
Shells and plant fibers
How do researchers today routinely determine water depths and seafloor topography?
Ship-mounted echo sounders
How will compressional force change a rock body?
Shorten and thicken the rock
Which of the following lists of metamorphic rocks places the rocks in order from lowest metamorphic grade to highest?
Slate, Phyllite, Schist, Gneiss
What kind of subduction occurs when old, dense lithosphere sinks into the mantle by its own weight?
Spontaneous subduction
Which of the following is not a metamorphic facies?
Staurolite
Which of the following represents the single most common and characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks?
Strata
A stream is flowing over a hill composed of clay-rich soil. The stream is eventually blocked to create a small pond in order to free land downhill for construction. What will happen to the strength and cohesion of the soil in the area around this pond?
Strength and cohesion will decrease
Which of the following best explains why some fault-block mountains have an elevated topography?
Stretching and thinning of the lithosphere allowed for it to sit higher on the mantle
________ is the compass direction of the line produced by the intersection of an inclined rock layer with a horizontal plane.
Strike
A ________ fault has a vertical fault plane and shows movement parallel to the orientation of the fault.
Strike-Slip
Which of the following is the best description for structural geology?
Study of rock deformation in response to tectonic forces
What is the definition of a turbidity current?
Submarine landslide
Which of the following is not one of the topographical provinces oceanographers use to define the seafloor?
Submarine trenches
Which of the following is believed to be responsible for uplifting southern Africa 1,500 meters higher than what would be expected for a stable continental platform?
Superplume
Which environment would be likely to produce a black shale?
Swamp
A ________ is a crustal fragment that has been transported by plate tectonics and has adhered to an overriding plate.
Terrane
How is the shape of the Earth affected by its rotation?
The Equator is further from the center of the Earth than the poles
What is the definition of metasomatism?
The change in chemical composition because hot fluids are bringing or removing ions
How will the outcrop pattern of an anticline be oriented in the case of a plunging syncline?
The layers will open up in the direction of plunge
You are watching TV with a friend when there is a special bulletin about a city in California being devastated by an earthquake. The news anchor reports that the epicenter of the earthquake is 45 miles east of Los Angeles. How would you explain the definition of the epicenter to your geologically impaired friend?
The location on the Earth's surface directly above the point of slippage
Which of the following will mark the furthest extent of a continent?
The lowest part of the continental slope
A mountain range with peaks as high as 14,000 feet above sea level has formed. As time passes, erosion wears down the mountains. How will isostacy affect the crust?
The mountain range will rebound
How would the angle of subduction of a tectonic plate influence the location of a volcanic arc?
The steeper the angle, the closer the arc would form to the trench
A stream is cutting into a valley wall. Which of the following is the most likely trigger for a mass-wasting event?
The stream erodes the toe of the slope, which results in the slope becoming oversteepened
What is diagenesis?
The textural, compositional, and other changes that occur to sediments after deposition
What information is needed when determining the distance from the focus of an earthquake to the seismic receiving station?
The time interval between the P and S waves
What is the definition of a half-life?
The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter
What will happen to a seismic wave when it is refracted?
The wave will be bent
What will happen to a seismic wave when it is reflected?
The wave will be bounced back toward its source
What is a suture?
The zone where two continents are welded together
________ accounts for greater ocean depths moving away from the oceanic ridge toward the deep ocean basin.
Thermal contraction
As of 2012, which of the following earthquakes has been observed to have the greatest fault slips?
Tohoku, Japan (2011)
A worm burrow is an example of which type of fossilization?
Trace Fossil
Which type of fault was responsible for the devastation associated with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco?
Transform
Which of the following would be the most unstable during an earthquake?
Unconsolidated sediments
Which of the following best describes a seismic gap?
Unusually quiet zones along typically active faults
Which factor exerts the greatest control over the velocity of debris flows and the distance they will travel?
Water content
Which of the following locations is famous for its oil-bearing Permian limestone reef?
West Texas/Southeastern New Mexico
Which style of convergent boundary will characterize an Andean-type mountain building event?
Where oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere
________ was the English engineer and canal builder that observed that sedimentary strata in widely separated areas could be identified by their distinctive fossil assemblages.
William Smith
Where was the earliest seismograph developed?
china
What kind of force will create foliation in metamorphic rocks?
compression
Which tectonic boundary is associated with compressional stress?
convergent
________ is the angle of inclination of the surface of a rock unit measured from a horizontal plane.
dip
Folds form in ________ temperature - ________ pressure environments.
high, high
What does "zoic" in the eras of the Geologic Time Scale refer to?
life
is a biochemical sedimentary rock that often forms in carbonate reefs.
limestone
Physical rotation of platy minerals will contribute most to the development of foliation ________ grade metamorphism.
low
Faults form in ________ temperature - ________ pressure environments.
low, high
Which layer of the Earth makes up more than 82% of the volume of the planet?
mantle
are fragments of pre-existing materials that have been broken down through the processes of weathering.
sediments
Compaction will be the most significant lithification process for which of the following rocks?
shale
describes the range in particle sizes in a detrital sedimentary rock.
sorting
How will tensional force change a rock body?
stretch and thin the rock
Generally speaking, which seismic waves will have the greatest amplitude on a seismogram?
surface rocks
Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the best degree of sorting?
wind
