!GLG 101-Illustrated Vocabulary-Chapter 11
!Groundwater and Caves
copyright 2003-Roger Weller
!aquifer
*a structure below the surface of the ground that carries water and can serve as a source
of water.
!artesian well
*a well in which water shoots out of the ground
!carbon dioxide
*a gas denser than air; each molecule consists of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.
Used to produce the bubbles in soda pop.
!carbonic acid
*carbonated water; a weak acid made of carbon dioxide and water. This acid can
eventually cause the decomposition of most silicate minerals.
!cave
*an undergound cavity.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Small Cave-1]
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Small Cave-2]
!cave formation process
*a standard limestone cave needs four factors to form: relief, limestone, fractures, and
rain.
!cave onyx
*dripstone; banded layers of calcite deposited within a cave.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Lumpy And Bacon Slab Stalactites-Close Up]
*[Calcite Onyx Cabochon #1]
*[Calcite Onyx Cabochon #2]
!cavern
*same as a cave; but you can charge more admisssion if you call it a cavern.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Large Cave-1]
!column
*a cave feature made of dripstone that forms when a stalactite and a stalagmite merge
together.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Large Column]
!contaminant plume
*a moving quantity of contaminated groundwater
!dripstone
*layers of minerals deposited inside of a cave, usually as stalactites or stalagmites.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Stalactites and a Large Stalagmite]
!geyser
*a hole in the ground from which an explosive eruption of hot water and steam
occasionally occurs.
*[Yellowstone-Geyser-2]
!groundwater
*water in found in the ground.
!helictite
*a twiglike stalactite often covered with crystals.
*[Aragonite-1]
*[Calcite, Cave Formation-3]
!hydrothermal alteration
*hot mineralized water coming from an igneous intrusion changes the composition and
structure of the minerals in the surrounding country rock.
*[HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION]
*[HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION-CLOSE UP]
*[California-Lassen Peak-Hydrothermal Alteration of Volcanic Ash]
!karst topography
*a landscape marked by sinkholes and underlain by a large number of limestone caves.
!leaching
*a chemical process in which water moving through permeable rock materials dissolves
some minerals and then carries these minerals to another area
!liesagang figure
*water getting into a joint leaches out some minerals and deposits others in a curved
semi-concentric pattern.
*[Liesagang1]
!living cave
*a cave in which mineralized dripping water is still present and stalactites and stalagmites
are still growing
!mineralized vein
*an open fracture that contains minerals that were deposited by hydrothermal action.
*[QUARTZ VEIN]
*[MINERALIZED VEINS]
!Old Faithful Geyser
*the most famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
*[Yellowstone-Old Faithful Geyser]
!overpumping
*pumping groundwater out of the ground faster than new groundwater can flow into the
area and maintain the same level of the water table.
!permafrost ground
*semipermanent frozen ground
!permeability
*the ability of a fluid to flow or pass through a material
!porosity
*a measure of the amount of open space in a rock
!sinkhole
*a funnel-shaped topographic feature in which water drains downwards at the bottom of
the sinkhole. These depressions can form directly over caves or may result as a collapse
features which were undermined by the dissolution of the underlying ground.
!stalactite
*cave dripstone features that hang down from the ceilings of caves.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Stalactites-1]
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Stalactites-2]
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Lumpy And Bacon Slab Stalactites-Close Up]
!stalagmite
*cave dripstone features that form on the floors of caves.
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Stalactite and Stalagmite Approaching]
*[New Mexico-Carlsbad Caverns-Stalactites and a Large Stalagmite]
!water table
*the top of the saturated zone; the level to which water will rise in a well.
!Yellowstone National Park
*a large area in the northwest corner of Wyoming that is famous for its geological
attractions: geysers, hot springs, boiling mudpots, and waterfalls.
*[Map-Wyoming-Yellowstone National Park]
*[Yellowstone-Geyser Fields-1]
*[Yellowstone-Old Faithful Geyser]
*[Yellowstone-Mammoth Hot Springs-1]
*[Yellowstone-Bubbling pond-3]
*[Yellowstone Falls-2]
!zone of aeration
*the region of the ground above the water table where the spaces between grains are
mostly filled with air
!zone of saturation
*the region of the ground below the water table where all the spaces between grains are
filled with water