The following terms are included in the first chapter of the “GUIDE-INTERPRETER OF GEOTURISM” manual, created through EU ERASMUS Framework.
Project name: GEOTUR: Validation and recognition of two competence units in geological tourism
Project no. 2018-1-ES01-KA202-050397
Andesite
Is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture Andesite is the intermediate type of rock between basalt and granite.
Anthropocene
Defines Earth's most recent proposal for a geologic time interval as being human-influenced, or anthropogenic, based on overwhelming global evidence that atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric and other earth system processes are now altered by humans.
Anticline
A deformation of rock bodies generating a fold that is convex upward
Aquifer
any geological formation containing or conducting underground water, especially one that supplies the water for wells, springs.
Asthenosphere
The highly viscous, mechanically weak and ductilely deforming region of the upper mantle of the Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at depths between approximately 80 and 200 km below the surface.
Basalt
The most common type of extrusive volcanic rock, with aphanitic texture (very small cristals), typically erupted at shield volcanoes and mid oceanic ridges
Batholith
A large mass of intrusive igneous rock that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust and can be exposed due to uplift and erosion.
Caldera
Large depression at the surface (from one to dozens of kilometres in diameter) that forms following the evacuation of a volcano magma chamber/reservoir and the collapses downward into the partially emptied magma chamber
Continental collision
Is a phenomenon of the plate tectonics of Earth that occurs at convergent plate boundaries carring continental litosphere. Continental collision is a variation on the fundamental process of subduction, whereby the subduction zone is destroyed, mountains produced, and two continents sutured together.
Continental crust
Is made of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. The average density of continental crust is about 2.7 g/cm3, less dense than the oceanic crust which is 2,9 g/cm3. It has a greater floatability than the oceanic crust, forming the continents and continental shelves. The continental crust is made of a mosaic of rocks of different ages, the oldest ones being about 4 billion years.
Continental drift
Theory proposed by Alfred Wegener (1915) to support the notion that the continents had changed position through geological time.
Continental shelf
area of shallow seabed, close to continents shores.
Convection currents
Currents in the fluid, that occure because of the temperature difference when hot fluids rise and cold fluids sink.
Convergent plate boundary
Is a region of active deformation where two or more tectonic plates are colliding. It is also called a distructive boundary due to the consumtion or deformation of the plates
Core
The part of Earth in the middle of our planet. It has a solid inner core and a liquid outer core. Seismic measurements show that the core is divided into two parts, a "solid" inner core with a radius of ≈1,220 km and a liquid outer core extending beyond it to a radius of ≈3,400 km.
Crater
Opening or vent on top of a volcano.
Crust
The outermost layer that covers our planet like a shell above the mantle. There are two different types of crust: continental (thicker and less dense) and oceanic (thinner and more dense). The two are different in age and genesis.
Dacite
An igneous, volcanic rock. It is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite.
Divergent plate boundary
Also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary is a linear feature that exists between two plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts which eventually become rift valleys. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges
Dormant volcano
The volcano that hasn’t erupted in the past 10,000 years, but is expected to erupt again.
Earthquake
A sudden, violent shaking of the ground, often causing a great destruction. It is a result of movements within the Earth's crust or volcanic action
Eons
The largest intervals of geologic time and are hundreds of millions of years in duration. For example: the Phanerozoic Eon is the most recent eon and began more than 500 million years ago.
Epicenter
The part of the Earth's surface directly above the focus (hypocentre) of an earthquake.
Eras
Eons are divided into smaller time intervals known as eras. Example: the Phanerozoic is divided into three eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Very significant events in Earth's history are used to determine the boundaries of the eras (for example: catastrophic extinction).
Erosion
A natural process that wears away rock and earth by gravitation, wind, liquid or solid water. The removal and/or breakdown of rocks by physical, chemical or biogenic processes
Extinctions
The end of a group of organisms (taxon), usually a species. Mass extinctions refers to the end of large number of taxa in a very short time. This are events due to catastrophic change in the environment.
Fault
In geology, a planar or gently curved fracture in the rocks of the Earth’s crust, where compressional or tensional forces cause relative displacement of the rocks on the opposite sides of the fracture - a broken section of the Earth's crust along which movement occurs
Focus
Or hypocenter, is the location where the earthquake begins, the origin of the earthquake. The ground ruptures at this spot, then seismic waves radiate outward in all directions.
Fold
An area on the Earth´s crust that has been bent due to enormous pressure
Fossils
Preserved body remains or moulds, impression, trace of any once-living form in the past geological times, like teeth, bones, shells, exoskeletons, imprints, petrified remains, oil, etc. The process of preservation is called fossilisation and the totality of fossils is known as the fossil record.
Geohazard (Geologic hazard)
One of several types of adverse geologic conditions capable of causing damage or loss of property and even life.
Geologic time scale (GTS)
A system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time, and is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other Earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events that have occurred during Earth's history.
Geomorphology
The branch of geology that is concerned with the structure, origin, and development of the topographical features of the earth's surface.
Gneiss
Very high temperatures and pressures; coarse grained texture of alternating light and dark mineral bands.
Graben
A block that has dropped relatively downward between two normal faults dipping toward each other.
Granite
The most well known and one of the most common intrusive igneous (plutonic) rock type. It is formed when an intrusion of viscous magma with high silica content (68 -75 wt %) remains under the surface of the earth, where it cools and crystallizes slowly inside the crust.
Groundwater
All the water contained in the void space within rocks. Most groundwater derives from surface sources; is the water present beneath Earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.
Horst
A block that has been relatively uplifted between two normal faults that dip away from each other.
Hydrosphere
A generic term for all the water in, above, and on the Earth.
Igneous rock
Rocks, formed through the cooling and solidification of magma / lava
Intrusive rock
Is formed when magma crystallizes and solidifies slowly below the surface (underground), not reaching the surface; also called plutonic rock, igneous intrusive rock.
Juvenile water
Water which has never before been part of the hydrologic cycle and its origin is from inside the Earth
Karst
The landscape produced in limestone areas, which has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes and other characteristic landforms.
Landslide
The movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope due to gravity. The materials may move by falling, toppling, sliding, spreading, or flowing. Landslides can be triggered by rainfall, 63 snowmelt, changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in ground water, earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities, or any combination of these factors.
Lava
Magma that emerges from a volcano´s interior
Lithosphere
The hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle. The lithosphere is subdivided into tectonic
plates. Oceanic lithosphere is typically about 50–140 km thick, while continental lithosphere has a range in thickness from about 40 km to more than 200 km and overlay a viscous layer called astenosphere.
Magma
Molten or semimolten natural material formed inside the Earth from which the igneous rocks are formed
Magma Chamber
A reservoir of magma in the Earth's crust where the magma may reside temporarily on its way from the upper mantle to the earth's surface.
Mantle
A layer inside the Earth bounded on the bottom by the planetary core and on top by the crust
Mesozoic
An era occurring between 252 and 66 million years ago, characterized by the appearance of flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs.
Metamorphic rocks
Were originally igneous, sedimentary or even metamorphic rocks. Rocks undergo metamorphosis or change when they are subjected to extreme amounts of pressure and/or heat.
Mid oceanic ridge
Underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It is geologically active area, with new magma constantly emerging into the ocean floor and into the crust at and near rifts along the ridge axis generating oceanic crust and ocean floor spreading
Nappe
Large body or sheet of rock that has been moved a longer distance from its original position by faulting or folding.
Obsidian
Black volcanic glass. It is produced when lava high in silica (SiO2) cools rapidly, and solidifies without time for crystal growth.
Oceanic crust
A type of earth's crust thinner and denser than the continental crust, usually found under oceans. Oceanic crust is primarily composed of mafic rocks rich in iron and magnesium
Oceanic trench
Topographic depression of the sea floor, relatively narrow in width, but very long, in areas of convergent plate boundaries
Organic Evolution
Change of organisms over geologic time
Orogenesis
The process of mountain formation, especially by a folding and faulting of the earth's crust due to convergent plate movement and collision
Paleokarst
Karst features that are on ancient surfaces.
Paleozoic
An era occurring between 541 million and 252 million years ago, characterized by the advent of fish, insects, and reptiles.
Phanerozoic
Current geological eon, and the one during which abundant animal and plant life has existed. It covers 541 million years to the present, and began with the Cambrian Period when diverse hard shelled animals first appeared.
Pillow lava
Lavas that contain characteristic pillow shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava under water.
Plate tectonics
A theory in geology: the lithosphere of the Earth is divided into a number of plates which float on asthenosphere and travel independently. Much of the Earth's seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates. Heat from the Earth's core causes convection currents in the mantle. These currents slowly move the plates around.
Precambrian
The earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The oldest cyanobacteria like fossils known are nearly 3.5 billion years old, among the oldest fossils currently known.
Quaternary
Is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale.
Relative ages
Placing rocks and geologic events in their proper sequence, oldest to youngest. The age of one geologic feature compared to another.
Rhyolite
a very acid volcanic rock (typically with >69% SiO2 content); it can be considered as the extrusive equivalent to the plutonic granite rock.
Rift
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Risk management
Identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks in order to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events like natural hazards.
Rock fall
Is the rapid, free fall of rock from a steep cliff face. Rock fragments fall from the face of the cliff because of the action of gravity.
Schist
Metamorohic rock, coming from clay, or metapelite, intermediate to high temperatures and pressures; crystals are larger with the grains aligned in parallel to subparallel layers.
Subduction
Is a geological process that takes place at convergent boundaries of tectonic plates where one plate moves under another and is forced or sinks into the mantle.
The rock cycle
illustration of the interrelationships between earth materials and processes - the three rock types are transformed into one another by processes of weathering and erosion, melting and exposure to heat and pressure
Volcanic eruption
A volcanic activity that allows magma, gases, ash and rocks to move up and emerge from the interior of a volcano. Eruptions are often sudden and violent.
Volcanologist
a scientist, who studies volcanoes.
Weathering
Is the breaking down of existing rocks, and minerals due to physical, chemical and biotic processes through the contact with the Earth's atmosphere, waters, and biological organisms.
