field assignment part 2
TRANSCRIPT
Field Assignment Part 2Christopher Sager
Geology 1December 2011
Faults• Faults are fractures in the crust along
with appreciable displacement has taken place.
• Faults are categorized in three different ways, dip-slip faults, strike-slip faults and oblique slip faults.
• Dip-slip faults are where the relative movement (or slip) on the fault plane is approximately vertical.
• Strike-slip faults are faults where the slip is approximately horizontal.
• Oblique-slip faults have non-zero components of both strike and dip slip.
Dip-slip fault in Sequoia National Park
Weathering• Weathering is the physical breakdown and chemical
alteration at or near earths surface. The two types of weathering are mechanical and chemical weathering.
• Mechanical weathering is when physical forces break rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical composition .
• Chemical weathering is when chemicals transform rock into one or more new compounds.
• Plant roots wedging their way down into rocks is a good example of mechanical weathering and water is a good example of chemical weathering
Mechanical Weathering
Chemical Weathering
Mass Wasting and Erosion
• Mass wasting is the transfer of rock and soil downslope under the influence of gravity.
• Erosion is the physical removal of material by mobile agents such as water, wind or ice.
An example of mass wasting is this apparent aftermath of a rockslide.
Melting snow flows down hill and as it falls off the asphalt it picks up and carries sediment down hill with it, this is an example of
erosion.
Sedimentary Environments
• There are three different sedimentary environments. They are continental, marine and transitional.
• Continental environments are dominated by the erosion and deposition associated with streams.
• Marine environment deposits are controlled by multiple factors (depth, distance from shore, etc.).
• Transitional environments are where Continental and Marine meet. They can be affected by tide, streams and deltas.
Continental Sedimentary Environment
Transitional Sedimentary Environment
Marine Sedimentary Environment
Practical Use of Geology
• My practical use of geology example would be the Terminus Dam. The Terminus dam is a dam on the Kaweah river, which forms Lake Kaweah. Built in 1962 by the Army Corps. Of Engineers to help store water and give a steady supply for year round irrigation for the immense farmland of the nearby central valley of California.
Terminus Dam
References• Tarbucks, E., & Lutgens, F. (2011) Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology. New
Jersey. Pearson Education• http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/smithsonian/terminus-
reservoir/sec1.htm