Field lab assignment

By. Luis Santillan

Field Lab AssignmentPart 1

The san Joaquin river traverses two geologic provinces in California that could not be more different which are the high mountains and exposed granitic rock of the southern Sierra Nevada and the topographically flat and sediment-filled Central Valley. The San Joaquin river is lined up along the 9,000-14,000 ft high spine of the Sierra cutting canyons and gorges from east to west across the mountains.

The combinations of high elevations, eroding granite, and rivers is a lot of sediment. Its being over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, the erosion and transport of sediment from high country is balanced by deposition of that sediment in the adjacent low Central Valley. Over the geologic time the San Joaquin river has move around incrementally building up sediment and covering the entire valley as a result it is one of the worlds most productive agricultural regions.

Igneous Rocks form when molten rock, called magma, cools and solidifies. as magma cools, crystal of various minerals form and grow. Coarse-grained igneous rocks that form far below the surface are called INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS.

(Tarbuck, 2008)

I think that this rock is a granite a course-grained intrusive rock which is rick in the light-colored silicate minerals quartz and feldspar. Its an igneous rock that is especially abundant in Earth’s continental crust.

Sample # 1

Minerals is any naturally occurring inorganic solid that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and a well-defined chemical composition. Minerals form by natural geologic processes. Inorganic crystalline solids, as exemplified by ordinary table salt are found naturally in the ground are considered minerals.

(Tarbuck, 2008)

Non-foliated metamorphic rock a QuartziteIt does not have any layers and banded

appearanceI believe that this two rocks are Quartzites.Example #2 and 3

Non-Foliated Metamorphic Rock

Sedimentary rocks are exposed at the surface more than igneous and metamorphic rocks. The most common sedimentary rocks are called detrital sedimentary rocks, the chemical sedimentary rocks and as the third category is organic sedimentary rocks.

Sedimentary rocks have a wide variety of minerals and rock fragments that may be found in detrital rocks.

(Tarbuck, 2008)

As I found this rock at the lake shore I believe that this rock is a sandstone. The sand-size grains predominate as they form in a variety of environments and often contain significant clues of their origin such as sorting, particles shape and the composition.

Example #4

Igneous rocks that form at the surface or as small masses within the upper crust where cooling is relatively rapid posses a very fine-grained texture termed APHANITIC. Crystals that make up aphanitic rocks are so small that individual minerals can only be distinguished with aid of a microscope.

Some characteristics of the rocks is the fine grained rocks as being light, intermediate, or dark in color. (Tarbuck, 2008)

This rock I believe is called Rhyolite, its an aphanitic type rock. Rhyolite is the extrusive equivalent of granite and like granite which is composed essentially of the light-colored silicates.

Example #5

Field Lab AssignmentPart 2

A fault is a fracture along which the blocks of crust on either side have moved relative to one another parallel to a fracture.

Here is a picture of the Wallace Creek in which We could see the San Andreas Fault.I got this image from Geology.com

Fault

(Lynch, 2011)

Mechanical weathering takes place when rocks are broken down without any change in the chemical nature of the rocks. Most of the rocks are torn apart basically by physical force instead of chemical breakdown.

This photo was taken at the Yosemite National Park we could see the Mechanical breakdown ofthe rocks.

Mechanical Weathering

The growing of bacteria such as of plants and tree roots will destroy a rock by digging their way down to its nooks and crannies, through this process the rock is forced apart causing it break into smaller pieces.

Mechanical Weathering (Organisms)

(Godwin)

Mass Wasting and ErosionOne of these pictures was taken by my on my last trip to Mexico and the other I collected from Google. I believe that the one I took is of a Mass wasting example.

Continental Sedimentary Environment

I have two pictures of the Yosemite National Park and the other I had it on my phone since January when I went to my hometown in Mexico. At the moment I didn’t know I could of end up using it for this project. The water used from the cascade is distributed to the farms on the valley.

Continental Sedimentary Environment (continued)

The transitional sedimentary is found at the shoreline dividing the marine and the continental environments. Mass wasting or erosion causes the sediment that we can find at the shorelines. This picture is from my hometown in Mexico.

Transitional Sedimentary Environment

I used the picture on the left because for what I understand the people say that it’s an eye of the pacific ocean I took it on January. The right hand-side picture was taken at the Monterey bay shore. I believe this two pictures are examples of the marine environment.

Marine Sedimentary Environment

This dam if I could call it like this, is very use full and practical to the residents in my hometown in Mexico they use it every day to give water to the cattle and is from the irrigation water comes from for farmers. Its as big as the dams we have here in the U.S but it surely provides enough water to the farmers.

Practical use (Dams)

Lynch, D. (2011). Geology.com. Retrieved from http://geology.com/articles/san-andreas-fault.shtml

Godwin, A. (n.d.). What are examples of mechanical weathering?. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6174539_examples-mechanical-weathering_.html

Works cited