Abandoned Mines in Oregon

AMD. Abondoned mine drainage has proven to be quite a problem. This is a creek that flows away from a coal mine in Pennsylvania:

Above picture part of a film, Hope For Polluted Rivers



Above, a copper mine superfund site.

More on abandoned mine pollution


Famous story of Geese landing in the Berkely Pit Mine in Montana and the carcass and fungal remains producing biocontainment organisms. Kinda cool, kinda terribly sad for the geese.

Topographic Maps, An introduction to mining

This one may be a little more recognizable to some of us more than others.

Topographic maps help us recognize changes of elevation. They never cross. Ideally they never touch. They are an excellent plotline for a CSI episode whereby a man kills his competitor by coloring in more topo lines on the map. Super geeky, I know.

Test Questions for Rocks, Minerals, Chemistry

1. What are the four rock processes?
2.What process does a rock undergo to become an igneous rock.
3.What kind of rock is Granite?
4.What kind of rock is galena?
5.A name for a rock made of tiny tiny crushed seashells.
6.If an igneous rock would undergo change and become a metamorphic rock what process would it have to undergo?
7.Describe the change that took place when we made our clay models of the process to make metamorphic rock.
8.What are the two subprocesses of sedimentary rock formation?
9.Name two types of metamorphic rock.
10.Basalt is crushed with a hammer 1000 times and becomes very small particles. What process did it undergo?
11.A rock that is a collection of igneous, metamorphic, and sediment stuck together.
12.Name two sedimentary rocks.
13.Name two intrusive igneous rocks
14.Name two metamorphic rocks
15.Name four types of sediment.
16.How would you describe the appearance of a generic sedimentary rock?
17.How would you describe the appearance of a generic metamorphic rock.
18.How would you describe the appearance of an intrusive igneous rock?
19.What are the characteristics that allow us to differentiate minerals?
20.If the atomic number of Sodium is 11 and the atomic mass is 23 how many protons does Sodium have?
21.If NaCl is the chemical formula of a mineral, what is that mineral..
22.If the atomic number of Sodium is 11 and the atomic mass is 23 how many neutrons does it have?
23.Draw the Bohr model for Sodium
24.If NaCl is the chemical formula of a mineral, what is that mineral..
25.Au is the chemical make up of a mineral, what is that mineral?
26.