Glossary

Welcome to the glossary at GeologyRocks. We've put together some of the common terms used in the Earth Sciences to help you if you come across a term you've never seen before. To navigate, click a letter or a category from the list on the left to see all the words starting with that letter or in that category. Alternatively, you can search for a word using the search box to the left. If you search for a word that isn't in our database, we will try and put in a definition as soon as we can.

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Here is an example word:

Amphibole

A common rock forming (igneous or metamorphic) group of minerals with complex chemical compositions, but mostly ferro-magnesian silicates. They are composed of double chain SiO4 tetrahedra. Amphiboles show two cleavage planes at around 120 degrees to each other.