Rocks ordinarily lie everywhere on the ground of the earth. They constitute most of the landforms, as we often notice. For instance, rocks make up the mountains and most of the non-water portions of the earth’s surface. A rock is hence defined as a solid naturally occurring mass or lumps of consolidated mineral matter that…
The Pacific Ring of Fire is the terminology given to a u-shaped area that is almost forming a ring or a circle in the Pacific Ocean expanding all the way from South America and North America to Eastern Asia, New Zealand and Australia. The stretch is approximately 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) from New Zealand, all…
Landforms are the natural properties and shapes prevalent on the earth’s surface. These basically consist of the solid parts of the planet which start from the mountains and end in the ridges in the ocean. That means, everything in between are different types of landforms. With diverse physical characteristics, landforms are spread throughout the planet….
The earth is technically the 3rd planet from the sun between Venus and Mars and has an equatorial diameter of 12,755 kilometers (7926 miles) and a polar diameter of 149.6 million kilometers (92.9 million miles). The earth is in a constant state of motion as it revolves round the sun, which takes a period of…
Rocks, minerals, soils normally change their structure under the action or influence of certain environmental forces. Biological activity, extreme weather, and agents of erosion such as water, wind and ice are examples of environmental forces that influences the continuous breakdown, wearing away and loosening of rocks and soils. This is what is termed as weathering….
Plate tectonics defines the movements and features of the Earth’s surface now and in the past. The theory of plate tectonics was advanced in the 1960s and 1970s to generate new information about the Earth’s ancient magnetism, the nature of the ocean floor, the flow of heat from the Earth’s interior, and earthquake and volcanic…
Metamorphic rocks are the rocks formed from other rocks. They are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have undergone changes as a result of extreme pressure and heat. The name defines their formation whereby ‘meta’ means change and ‘morph’ means ‘form.’ Hence, metamorphic rocks are those whose forms have been changed through a geological process such…
Sedimentary rocks are the most common rock types which are freely exposed on the earth’s surface. They are formed from other rock materials since they are made up of the buildup of weathered and eroded pre-existing rocks. The weathering, erosion and the eventual compaction of igneous, metamorphic or formerly structured sedimentary rocks among other biological…
Igneous rocks form from the cooling of magma – molten materials in the earth’s crust. The terminology Igneous means fire or heat. In this sense, igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) solidifies either underneath the earth’s crust to form plutonic (intrusive) igneous rocks or on the surface of the earth to form volcanic…
Biological weathering also means organic weathering. It is the disintegration of rocks as a result of the action by living organisms. Plant and animals have a significant effect on the rocks as they penetrate or burrow into the soil respectively. Biological weathering can work hand in hand with physical weathering by weakening rock or exposing…
Rocks ordinarily lie everywhere on the ground of the Earth. They constitute most of the landforms, as we often notice. For instance, rocks make up the mountains and most of the non-water portions of the earth’s surface. A rock is hence defined as a solid naturally occurring mass of consolidated mineral matter. This is because…
Physical weathering is also referred to as mechanical weathering. It is the weakening of rocks followed by disintegration due to the physical or mechanical forces including the actions on the rocks by abrasion, frost chattering, temperature fluctuations and salt crystal growth. External environmental forces such as wind, water waves, and rain also consistently exert pressure…
Chemical weathering pertains to the changes in rock structure under the action or influence of chemical reactions. There are hundreds of natural chemical processes and reactions within the rocks the change the composition and the structure of the rocks over time. Temperature and, especially, moisture are critical for chemical weathering. Chemical weathering, therefore, occurs more quickly in…