This page gathers the 3,219 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Geography”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 24 of 32: from “prograde” to “retarc”.
- prograde verb Of sediment, to build out seawards in conditions of marine regression.
- project verb To change the projection (or coordinate system) of spatial data with another projection.
- projection noun Any of several systems of intersecting lines that allow the curved surface of the earth to be represented on a flat surface. The set of…
- prominence noun Autonomous height; relative height or prime factor; a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains.
- proruption noun A protrusion extending from the main body of a country or state.
- prospect verb To determine which minerals or metals are present in a location.
- protoanthophyllite noun An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing aluminum, hydrogen, iron, magnesium, manganese, nickel, oxygen, silicon, and sodium.
- protogenic adj Relating to crystalline or fire-formed rocks.
- protomylonite noun A mylonite where most of the rock volume has not been ground into matrix and so contains its original texture.
- protract verb To draw to a scale; to lay down the lines and angles of, with scale and protractor; to plot.
- proudite noun A monoclinic-prismatic silver gray mineral containing antimony, bismuth, copper, lead, selenium, silver, and sulfur.
- province noun A major region defined by common geologic attributes and history.
- proximal adj Closer to the point of attachment or observation.
- pseudoboleite noun A tetragonal-ditetragonal dipyramidal indigo blue mineral containing chlorine, copper, hydrogen, lead, and oxygen.
- pseudochannel noun A subparallel feature consisting of a central core of undeformed strata, roughly U-shaped in cross section and cigar-shaped in plan…
- pseudocylindrical adj Representing the central meridian and each parallel as a single straight line segment, but not the other meridians.
- pseudofault noun A feature resembling a fault but resulting from other factors such as weathering or the spreading of ridges.
- pseudometallic adj Falsely or imperfectly metallic in lustre.
- pseudomorph noun A mineral that formed by replacement of an existing mineral (or organic matter) such that the new mineral has the appearance and dimensions…
- pseudosinhalite noun A monoclinic-prismatic colorless mineral containing aluminum, boron, hydrogen, magnesium, and oxygen.
- pteropod ooze noun A type of soft, calcareous pelagic sediment found on the deep-sea floor, consisting primarily of the skeletal remains of pteropods.
- puglianite noun A kind of coarse-grained rock found in lava from Mount Somma in Italy, and composed of automorphic augite, leucite, and anorthite.
- pulaskite noun A massive course-grained rock composed chiefly of feldspar with some other minerals such as hornblende and biotite.
- pull apart noun A structural basin where two overlapping faults or a fault bend create(s) an area of crustal extension undergoing tension, which causes the…
- punctus noun The basic dot (‧) used to end a sentence in medieval punctuation (ancestral to the full stop/period).
- punky adj Of or pertaining to punk (touchwood); rotted or soft.
- Purbeckian adj Of or relating to the Purbeck Group, an Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous lithostratigraphic group in southeast England.
- puy noun Any similar conical structure of volcanic material.
- pyrargyrite noun A sulfosalt mineral used as a silver ore; it is dark red or black in color with a metallic adamantine luster, a sulfide of antimony and…
- pyrite noun The common mineral iron disulfide (FeS₂), of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system.
- pyritohedron noun The shape of one of the crystal habits of pyrite.
- pyroaurite noun A trigonal-hexagonal scalenohedral mineral containing carbon, hydrogen, iron, magnesium, and oxygen.
- pyrobelonite noun An orthorhombic-dipyramidal dark red mineral containing hydrogen, lead, manganese, oxygen, and vanadium.
- pyrochlore noun A mineral whose composition is that of a mixed niobate mostly of sodium, calcium and cerium, (Na,Ca)₂Nb₂O₆(OH,F).
- pyroclastic adj Mostly composed of rock fragments of volcanic origin or comminuted during an eruption.
- pyroclastic flow noun A dense flow of volcanic ash, dust, rocks and debris that cascades at high speed down the slope of a volcano during an eruption.
- pyroclastic rock noun Any rock formed by the accumulation of fragmented volcanic material (pyroclasts) ejected during explosive eruptions.
- pyroclastic surge noun A fluidized mass of turbulent gas and rock fragments which is ejected during some volcanic eruptions.
- pyrogenetic adj Synonym of pyrogenic.
- pyrogenic adj Of a mineral: formed from magma at high temperature.
- pyrogenous adj Synonym of pyrogenic.
- pyrolusite noun A dark coloured mineral, consisting of manganese dioxide (MnO₂), that is an important ore of manganese.
- pyromorphite noun A yellowish-green mineral, a mixed phosphate and chloride of lead with the chemical formula Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl that is sometimes mined as an ore.
- pyrope noun A variety of garnet, of a poppy or blood-red color, frequently with a tinge of orange. It is used as a gemstone.
- pyrophane noun A mineral which is opaque in its natural state, but is said to change its color and become transparent by heat.
- pyrosmalite noun A mineral, usually of a pale brown or grey-greenish colour, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of iron and manganese.
- pyroxenite noun A heavy, dark igneous rock consisting mostly of pyroxene minerals with smaller amounts of olivine and hornblende.
- quadratite noun A tetragonal-ditetragonal dipyramidal mineral containing arsenic, cadmium, lead, silver, and sulfur.
- quartz noun The most abundant mineral on the earth's surface, of chemical composition silicon dioxide, SiO₂. It occurs in a variety of forms, both…
- quartzofeldspatholithic adj Consisting chiefly of or containing significant amounts of quartz, feldspar, and rock fragments (lithic grains), especially as a type of…
- quartzolite noun A type of rock consisting of almost pure quartz, but also containing some feldspar and small amounts of mica and amphibole.
- quaternary noun The Quaternary period or the system of deposits laid down during it.
- radargram noun A radar image of mineral deposits or a planetary surface.
- radiochronology noun A technique in which the absolute age of an artefact is determined by measuring the ratios of specific radioactive isotopes
- radiogeology noun The study of the distribution of radioactive elements in the Earth's crust.
- radiolitic adj Having fanlike groupings of acicular crystals.
- radovanite noun An orthorhombic-dipyramidal pistachio green mineral containing arsenic, copper, hydrogen, iron, and oxygen.
- rainbow obsidian noun A type of colorful, striped obsidian originating from Mexico which contains oriented nanorods of hedenbergite, causing the rainbow striping…
- rainwash noun The washing action of rain, capable of erosion and transporting soil.
- rake noun The direction of slip during the movement of a fault, measured within the fault plane.
- ralstonite noun An isometric-hexoctahedral mineral containing aluminum, fluorine, hydrogen, magnesium, oxygen, and sodium.
- ramazzoite noun A polyoxometallate mineral containing copper, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, magnesium, phosphorus and sulphur.
- ramikite-(Y) noun A triclinic yellowish-white mineral containing calcium, carbon, sodium, fluorine, phosphorus, lithium, hydrogen, oxygen, yttrium, and…
- randkluft noun The headwall gap between a glacier or snowfield and the adjacent rock face at the back of the cirque or, more loosely, between the rock…
- rankachite noun An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, iron, oxygen, tungsten, and vanadium.
- rankamaite noun An orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing aluminum, hydrogen, lead, lithium, niobium, oxygen, potassium, sodium, and tantalum.
- rappoldite noun A triclinic-pinacoidal mineral containing arsenic, cobalt, hydrogen, lead, nickel, oxygen, and zinc.
- raslakite noun A trigonal-ditrigonal pyramidal brownish red mineral containing calcium, chlorine, hydrogen, iron, niobium, oxygen, silicon, sodium, and…
- rastsvetaevite noun A trigonal-ditrigonal pyramidal pink mineral containing calcium, chlorine, hydrogen, iron, oxygen, potassium, silicon, sodium, and…
- ravinement noun The formation of ravines.
- realgar noun A mineral, arsenic sulfide (AsS), often associated with orpiment and stibnite in lead, silver and gold ores.
- recent adj Of the Holocene, particularly pre-21st century.
- recess noun An overall-concave, reentrant section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or a single thrust fault, caused by one or more of…
- recrystallization noun The process of existing grains in metamorphic rocks changing size.
- rectorite noun A monoclinic mineral containing aluminum, calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, potassium, silicon, and sodium.
- red copper noun red copper oxide; cuprite
- redeposit verb To form into a new accumulation; used especially of sediments moved from an original position
- redingtonite noun A monoclinic mineral containing aluminum, chromium, hydrogen, iron, magnesium, nickel, oxygen, and sulfur.
- reef knoll noun A geological formation composed of a substantial accumulation of calcareous material, remnants of ancient sea floors where reefs and…
- reentrant noun A valley between a pair of parallel ridges.
- reformate noun The product of a hydrocarbon reforming process; an intermediate in the production of fuels such as gasoline.
- reformer noun A device used to convert petroleum refinery naphthas, typically having low octane ratings, into high-octane liquid products called…
- reg noun A hard surface of rock fragments set in a sandy matrix, found in some hot deserts; regolith, stony desert.
- regime noun A set of characteristics.
- regio noun Any large area of a planet or moon that is strongly differentiated from neighbouring areas by colour or albedo.
- regmaglypt noun A small, shallow indentation or pit on the surface of a meteorite, resembling a thumbprint impression in clay, created by ablation while…
- regolith noun The layer of loose rock, dust, sand, and soil, resting on the bedrock, that constitutes the surface layer of most dry land on Earth, the…
- reinhardbraunsite noun A monoclinic-prismatic light pink mineral containing calcium, fluorine, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon.
- relative time noun The physical subdivision of the Earth's geology and the time and order of events which they represent.
- relict noun A structure or other feature that has survived from a previous age.
- relief map noun A map that shows the three-dimensional topography of terrain, usually by use of contours but sometimes with colors or by hatching.
- rengeite noun A monoclinic-prismatic dark greenish brown mineral containing calcium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, oxygen…
- renierite noun A tetragonal-scalenohedral orange brown mineral containing arsenic, copper, germanium, iron, sulfur, and zinc.
- reniform adj Synonym of kidney-shaped (“having an approximately circular or elongated ovoid shape with an inward curve or indentation on one side”).
- rensselaerite noun A soft, compact variety of talc, being an altered pyroxene, sometimes worked in a lathe into inkstands and other articles, found in New…
- replacive adj Of or relating to replacement of one mineral by another, or a rock which exhibits such replacement.
- repose noun Of a natural phenomenon, especially the eruption of a volcano: the state of temporary cessation of activity; dormancy, quiescence.
- representative fraction noun The scale of a map expressed as a fraction. For example, 1/63,360 or 1:63,360 indicates a scale of one inch to the mile.
- resection noun A method of determining a position by using a map and compass bearings for two additional points.
- retarc noun A rubble mound occasionally formed by a powerful underground explosion (usually nuclear) in solid rock, due to the chimney of shattered…