Geologic Feature

crevasse

A crevasse is a deep vertical fissure, or a narrow crack, which can form in bedrock or ice. Usually, the term "crevasse" refers to cracks in ice or glaciers, while the term "crevice" refers to those in rocks; Hillerman sometimes uses crevasse to refer to the former. A crevasse is sometimes narrow enough to jump across, but never wide as wide as a ravine or canyon. One of the most overwhelming aspects of a crevasse is its sheer depth, it can appear to be almost bottomless.

crevice

A narrow fissure, or crack, in a rock face.

foothills

A series of small hills located at the bottom or base of a larger range of topogrpahic upheaval.

saddle ridge

A geographic term that refers to the outline of a mountain in which a gentle concave depression lies between two peaks. As the name suggests, the shape would then resemble a saddle used for horse riding, where the seat slopes down into a low curve between the slightly higher parts of the front and the back.

blowhole

A hole in the surface bedrock through which air passes. These blowholes can occur in sea caves where the pressure of the water blasts a hole through the roof of the cave, and on land where differences in air pressure force air out of an underground formation through a hole. These holes can have high velocity winds rushing through them.

Often, blowholes are sites of spiritual and cultural significance, because they seem to replicate the act of breathing. Especially for the dry blowholes on land, such as those found at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona or Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota,when close enough, one can feel air being sucked into the earth and escaping from it, making it seem as if the earth is exchanging breath with the creatures on its surface.

hillock

A small rise in elevation on the landscape or a small hill.

silica

A chemical compound also known as silicon dioxide (SiO2). Silica is the most common element in the earth’s crust and can be a main component of many rock types, such as quartz.

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