The document summarizes the geology of the San Joaquin River in California. It flows from the Sierra Nevada mountains through the flat Central Valley. Over geologic time, erosion of granite in the mountains has deposited large amounts of sediment in the valley, gradually filling it in. This has created very productive agricultural land in one of the most fertile regions in the world.
2. 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.
3. 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)
4. 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
5. 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)
6. Non-foliated metamorphic rock a Quartzite
It does not have any layers and banded appearance
I believe that this two rocks are Quartzites.
Example #2 and 3
7. 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)
8. 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
9. 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)
10. 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
11.
12. 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
(Lynch, 2011)
13. 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 of
the rocks.
14. 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.
(Godwin)
15.
16.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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
