aberrant Deviating from the natural or usual type.
angiosperms A vascular plant, or plant with channels that carry fluids, characterized by seeds in a closed ovary.
batholiths A great mass of intruded igneous rock that for the most part has been stopped in its rise a considerable distance from the surface.
bivalve A type of animal that has a shell made up of two valves.
continental rifting The division of the large plates that make up Earth’s crust along a normal fault.
diatom Any of a class of minute, planktonic, unicellular or colonial algae with silicified skeletons.
echinoid A type of animal having spiny skin, such as a sea urchin.
emplacement The putting into position of something.
epicontinental Lying upon a continent or continental shelf.
facies A part of a rock or group of rocks that differs from the whole formation in regard to age, composition, or fossil content.
filament Threads or thin flexible threadlike objects, processes, or appendages.
gymnosperm Any of a class of woody vascular plants that produces naked seeds not enclosed in an ovary.
histological Having to do with a branch of anatomy that deals with the minute structure of animal and plant tissues as discernible with the microscope.
integumentary Having to do with a covering or enclosure, such as skin, or membrane.
isotope Any of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number on the periodic table but differing in atomic mass or mass number.
orogeny The process of mountain formation, especially through the folding of Earth’s crust.
phanerozoic Relating to a period of geologic time that comprises the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras.
phylogenetic Relating to the evolution of a genetically related group of organisms from their common ancestors.
placer deposit Alluvial, marine, or glacial deposit containing particles of valuable minerals, such as gold.
pluton Rock formed by the solidification of magma within Earth’s crust.
recurved Curved backward or inward.
siliceous Relating to or containing silica or silicate, a chemical compound containing silicon and oxygen.
stratigraphic Having to do with the origin, composition, distribution, and succession of geologic layers (strata).
strut A structural support that resists pressure in the direction of its length.
sutural Having to do with the line of union in an immovable articulation, such as between the bones of the skull.
taxonomic Having to do with the orderly classification of plants and animals based on their presumed natural relationships.
terrane Area or surface over which particular rocks or groups of rocks are prevalent.
zenith Culminating point.