1. Field Assignment Part 2
Christopher Sager
Geology 1
December 2011

2. Faults
• Faults are fractures in the crust along
with appreciable displacement has
taken place.
• Faults are categorized in three
different ways, dip-slip faults, strike-
slip faults and oblique slip faults.
• Dip-slip faults are where the relative
movement (or slip) on the fault plane
is approximately vertical.
• Strike-slip faults are faults where the
slip is approximately horizontal.
• Oblique-slip faults have non-zero
components of both strike and dip
slip.
Dip-slip fault in Sequoia National Park

3. Weathering
• Weathering is the physical breakdown and chemical
alteration at or near earths surface. The two types
of weathering are mechanical and chemical
weathering.
• Mechanical weathering is when physical forces
break rock into smaller pieces without changing its
chemical composition .
• Chemical weathering is when chemicals transform
rock into one or more new compounds.
• Plant roots wedging their way down into rocks is a
good example of mechanical weathering and water
is a good example of chemical weathering

4. Mechanical Weathering

5. Chemical Weathering

6. Mass Wasting and Erosion
• Mass wasting is the transfer of rock and
soil downslope under the influence of
gravity.
• Erosion is the physical removal of
material by mobile agents such as
water, wind or ice.

7. An example of mass wasting is this apparent aftermath of a
rockslide.

8. Melting snow flows down hill and as it falls off the asphalt it picks up
and carries sediment down hill with it, this is an example of erosion.

9. Sedimentary Environments
• There are three different sedimentary environments. They are
continental, marine and transitional.
• Continental environments are dominated by the erosion and
deposition associated with streams.
• Marine environment deposits are controlled by multiple
factors (depth, distance from shore, etc.).
• Transitional environments are where Continental and Marine
meet. They can be affected by tide, streams and deltas.

10. Continental Sedimentary Environment

11. Transitional Sedimentary Environment

12. Marine Sedimentary Environment

13. Practical Use of Geology
• My practical use of geology example would be
the Terminus Dam. The Terminus dam is a
dam on the Kaweah river, which forms Lake
Kaweah. Built in 1962 by the Army Corps. Of
Engineers to help store water and give a
steady supply for year round irrigation for the
immense farmland of the nearby central valley
of California.

14. Terminus Dam

16. References
• Tarbucks, E., & Lutgens, F. (2011) Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology. New
Jersey. Pearson Education
• http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/smithsonian/terminus-
reservoir/sec1.htm