ESSENTIALS OF GEOLOGY MARSHAK
SEVENTH EDITION SOLUTIONS MANUAL
ALL CHAPTERS 2026 QUESTIONS ANSWERS
GRADED A+
⩥Abrasion.
Answer: The grinding and scraping of a rock surface by the friction and
impact of rock particles carried by water, wind, and ice
⩥Active layer.
Answer: The zone above the permafrost that thaws in summer and
refreezes in winter
⩥Alluvial channel.
Answer: A stream channel in which the bed and banks are composed
largely of unconsolidated sediment (alluvium) that was previously
deposited in the valley.
⩥Alpine glacier.
Answer: A glacier confined to a mountain valley, which in most
instances had previously been a stream valley. Also called a valley
glacier
,⩥Ambiguous property.
Answer: A property of a mineral that is not diagnostic because it varies
among different specimens of the mineral
⩥Andean-type plate margin.
Answer: a type of convergent boundary in which a slab of oceanic crust
is subducting beneath a continental margin
⩥Angiosperm.
Answer: A flowering plant in which fruits contain the seeds.
⩥Antecedent stream.
Answer: A stream that continued to downcut and maintain its original
course as an area along its course was uplifted by faulting or folding
⩥Arête.
Answer: A narrow, knifelike ridge separating two adjacent glaciated
valleys
⩥Artesian.
Answer: A system in which groundwater under pressure rises above the
level of the aquifer.
,⩥Arkose.
Answer: A feldspar-rich sandstone
⩥Assimilation.
Answer: In igneous activity, the process of incorporating country rock
into a magma body
⩥Atoll.
Answer: A coral island that consists of a nearly continuous ring of coral
reef surrounding a central lagoon
⩥Atom.
Answer: The smallest particle that exists as an element
⩥Atomic mass unit.
Answer: A mass unit equal to exactly one-twelfth the mass of a carbon-
12 atom.
⩥Augite.
Answer: A black, opaque silicate mineral of the pyroxene group that is a
dominant component of basalt
⩥Aureole.
, Answer: A zone or halo of contact metamorphism found in the country
rock surrounding an igneous intrusion.
⩥Back swamp.
Answer: A poorly drained area on a floodplain resulting when natural
levees are present.
⩥Backarc basin.
Answer: A basin that forms on the side of a volcanic arc away from the
trench.
⩥Bajada.
Answer: An apron of sediment along a mountain front created by the
coalescence of alluvial fans.
⩥Barrier island.
Answer: A low, elongate ridge of sand that parallels the coast
⩥Basal slip.
Answer: A mechanism of glacial movement in which the ice mass slides
over the surface below.
⩥Base level.
SEVENTH EDITION SOLUTIONS MANUAL
ALL CHAPTERS 2026 QUESTIONS ANSWERS
GRADED A+
⩥Abrasion.
Answer: The grinding and scraping of a rock surface by the friction and
impact of rock particles carried by water, wind, and ice
⩥Active layer.
Answer: The zone above the permafrost that thaws in summer and
refreezes in winter
⩥Alluvial channel.
Answer: A stream channel in which the bed and banks are composed
largely of unconsolidated sediment (alluvium) that was previously
deposited in the valley.
⩥Alpine glacier.
Answer: A glacier confined to a mountain valley, which in most
instances had previously been a stream valley. Also called a valley
glacier
,⩥Ambiguous property.
Answer: A property of a mineral that is not diagnostic because it varies
among different specimens of the mineral
⩥Andean-type plate margin.
Answer: a type of convergent boundary in which a slab of oceanic crust
is subducting beneath a continental margin
⩥Angiosperm.
Answer: A flowering plant in which fruits contain the seeds.
⩥Antecedent stream.
Answer: A stream that continued to downcut and maintain its original
course as an area along its course was uplifted by faulting or folding
⩥Arête.
Answer: A narrow, knifelike ridge separating two adjacent glaciated
valleys
⩥Artesian.
Answer: A system in which groundwater under pressure rises above the
level of the aquifer.
,⩥Arkose.
Answer: A feldspar-rich sandstone
⩥Assimilation.
Answer: In igneous activity, the process of incorporating country rock
into a magma body
⩥Atoll.
Answer: A coral island that consists of a nearly continuous ring of coral
reef surrounding a central lagoon
⩥Atom.
Answer: The smallest particle that exists as an element
⩥Atomic mass unit.
Answer: A mass unit equal to exactly one-twelfth the mass of a carbon-
12 atom.
⩥Augite.
Answer: A black, opaque silicate mineral of the pyroxene group that is a
dominant component of basalt
⩥Aureole.
, Answer: A zone or halo of contact metamorphism found in the country
rock surrounding an igneous intrusion.
⩥Back swamp.
Answer: A poorly drained area on a floodplain resulting when natural
levees are present.
⩥Backarc basin.
Answer: A basin that forms on the side of a volcanic arc away from the
trench.
⩥Bajada.
Answer: An apron of sediment along a mountain front created by the
coalescence of alluvial fans.
⩥Barrier island.
Answer: A low, elongate ridge of sand that parallels the coast
⩥Basal slip.
Answer: A mechanism of glacial movement in which the ice mass slides
over the surface below.
⩥Base level.
