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the surface and outermost layer of the earth |
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a layer between the earth's crust and core; the thickest layer; some sections are partially molten |
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the earth's innermost layer; molten outer layer and a solid interior |
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a section of the earth's rigid outer crust |
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study of the formation, structure, and movement of the plates of the earth's crust |
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circulation in the mantle that drives the movement of the earth's plates |
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a process that occurs when two of the earth's plates collide, forcing one under the other |
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a constant formation and recycling process that creates new rock from old |
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the wearing away and transport of rock material by natural forces |
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rock formed by the crystallization of molten material |
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rock altered by heat and pressure, or heated by fluids from magma |
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rock produced from the eroded and weathered remains of existing rocks |
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crystallization of minerals from a gas
Ex) topaz and red beryl |
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a 'foreign crystal' that formed in unrelated rocks and was brought to the surface as a passenger in magma |
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an igneous rock formed from cooling, once-molten granite that follows fractures in its surrounding rock |
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a mineral deposit that occupies an existing fissure or fracture in the rock |
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large mass of igneous rock that crystallizes underground without reaching the surface |
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hot, high pressure solution that can dissolve, transport, and deposit minerals from one place to another |
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changes in rock type and minerals over a wide area, caused by heat and pressure of large-scale geologic events |
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localized changes caused by an igneous intrusion that takes place where the magma meets the surrounding rock |
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a spherical, often hollow, mineral-lined cavity in rock |
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gems found in the rock that carried them to the surface |
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gems found away from their primary source |
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minerals dense enough to become concentrated and separated from lighter ones by the action of surface water |
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a deposit where gems are eroded from the source rock but remain in place close to the source |
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a deposit where gems are eroded from their source rock, then transported away from the source and further concentrated |
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workable alluvial deposit of gem minerals with economic potential |
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