Agates are easily-recognizable stones that show the complex layering of materials, called drusy, from which they are composed. Agates come in many different appearances, from the single eye of the Mexican agate to the delicate filaments of the moss agate that…
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Neither the global warming model nor the global cooling model make weather predictions. They make climate predictions, which isn’t the same thing. Climate’s what you can usually expect at a particular time of year. Weather’s what’s happening right now. What…
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Of the temperate places in the world, California represents almost all of the possible temperate biomes! The left half of the state is one continuous coastline, complete with islands, bays, estuaries, and almost every type of marine and brackish temperate aquatic…
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Most people will take a minute to watch or listen to the weather forecast. Often people have heard terms like high pressure system, low pressure and the general thoughts that the weatherman share. It would be interesting to know if…
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Gneiss is a metamorphic rock that is widely distributed. Its mineral content is mainly feldspar, quartz and mica. These minerals are ingrained in gneiss in such a way that they are still visible to the naked eye. This rock is…
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A champagne diamond is a diamond which has a light yellow color tint to it. Most champagne diamonds are simply white diamonds rated below K on the color scale, with D being a white diamond that is perfectly colorless. Such…
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A second order stream is a term are used primarily in physical geography and hydrology. It describes a watercourse which is fed by two other streams. Second order streams are typically shallow, fast flowing and found in upland areas. Arthur…
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A natural, untreated sapphire’s hue comes strictly from its impurities. Corundum forms in igneous and metamorphic rocks. The more pressure the corundum receives over time, the clearer the sapphires are when mined. All sapphires are corundum, but not all corundum develops…
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A fault is a line along which pressures or movement in surrounding rocks have caused severe cracking. The angle of the pressures will largely determine the type of fault which is produced. In the case of a thrust fault, the…
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Weather is the rain, snow, sunshine, or wind you can see happening right outside the window. It also includes all kinds of measurements such as temperature and humidity. It’s immediate and it’s exact. The difference between weather and climate is…
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