Illustrated Geology Glossary (at 35,000 feet) - M

Glossary!

These are common geologic (and manmade/geographic features), as seen from 35,000 feet.

You can open any of these examples in Google Earth by clicking the Google Earth icon:

If you don't know the name of the feature you're looking for, go here: "What Was That?" (This is a tool that sorts features based on what they look like: mountains, rivers, valleys, piles of sand etc.)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Meander - A bend in a river, created as the river erodes the outer banks and deposits sediment on the inner banks. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Meander, Abandoned - A meander that has been cut off from the main flow of the river, similar to an oxbow. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across. (Except for right-hand image, which is 5 miles across)

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Mesa - A flat-topped mountain with steep sides, usually larger than a butte, usually found in a desert. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Mine, Mountain-Top Removal - These are usually coal mines in the Appalachians. Just like the name says, to get at the coal, the mine operators remove the top of a mountain, following the coal seam. They're easy to spot from a plane flying over, say, West Virginia or Kentucky. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Mines, Open Pit - Coal - Just as the name implies, an open pit mine is a large, open pit. Coal open pit mines often have an unsurprisingly coal-gray color. These are especially common in Wyoming. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Mines, Open Pit - Copper - Copper open pit mines often (though not always) are associated with beautiful colors . The major copper ores include chalcopyrite (golden), cuprite (red), malachite (bright green), and bornite (which can be red, copper-colored, blue, or green, and is iridescent), all of which are usually found with other brightly-colored copper minerals {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Mine - Open Pit , Iron - If the primary ore is an iron oxide, an open pit iron mine usually has a mixture of rust-red and dark gray. If the primary ore is an iron sulfide, the colors can be more vibrant and varied {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Monadnock / Inselberg- An isolated mountain that rises abruptly from otherwise level ground. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.

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Moraine - A pile of glacial debris (sand, gravel, etc.) that is left behind as the glacier retreats. They tend to be long, sinuous mounds of sand. {read more}

Scale: Images are taken from an altitude of ~35,000 feet, and so are each ~1 mile across.

Open these examples in Google Earth, or download all of the landforms here.