Pothole (landform)In Earth science, a pothole is a smooth, bowl-shaped or cylindrical hollow, generally deeper than wide, found carved into the rocky bed of a watercourse. Other names used for riverine potholes are pot, (stream) kettle, giant's kettle, evorsion, hollow, rock mill, churn hole, eddy mill, and kolk. Although somewhat related to a pothole in origin, a plunge pool (or plunge basin or waterfall lake) is the deep depression in a stream bed at the base of a waterfall.
DesertArea of land where little precipitation occursSand dunes in the Rub' al Khali ("Empty quarter") of ArabiaA camel shepherd in southern TunisiaA desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid.
LichenA lichen ( LY-kən, UK also LITCH-ən) is a hybrid colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among filaments of multiple fungus species, along with bacteria embedded in the cortex, or "skin", in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are the lifeform that first brought the term symbiosis (as Symbiotismus) into biological context.
SandstoneSandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because they are the most resistant minerals to the weathering processes at the Earth's surface.
HumusHumus is the stable form of soil organic matter derived from decomposition of plant and animal substances. Humic layer or humus horizon is the organic matter above the topsoil and below leaf litter which is finely divided having a high surface area. This layer consists of a large proportion of humus. Humus can be found in many layers of the soil, but usually in the upper layers.
Colorado PlateauThe Colorado Plateau is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. It covers an area of 130,000 sq mi (340,000 km) within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, southern and eastern Utah, northern Arizona, and a small region in the extreme southeast of Nevada.
Canyonlands National ParkCanyonlands National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 12, 1964.
Capitol Reef National ParkCapitol Reef National Park is a national park of the United States in south-central Utah. The park is approximately 60 miles (100 km) long on its north–south axis and just 6 miles (10 km) wide on its east-west axis, on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres (377.98 sq mi; 97,895.08 ha; 978.95 km2) of desert landscape and is open all year, with May through September receiving the most visitors.
GeomorphologyBadlands incised into shale at the foot of the North Caineville Plateau, Utah, within the pass carved by the Fremont River and known as the Blue Gate.
Aboriginal AustraliansOne of the two categories of Indigenous AustraliansEthnic groupAn Eastern Arrernte man of the Arltunga district, Northern Territory, in 1923. His hut is decked with porcupine grass.Dwellings accommodating Aboriginal families at Hermannsburg Mission, Northern Territory, 1923Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
GranitoidA granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental crust. These rocks are primarily composed of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz-poor monzonites to quartz-rich quartzolites.
CyanobacteriaPhylum of photosynthesising prokaryotesCyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophicgram-negative bacteria of the phylumCyanobacteriota that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria originated in a freshwater or terrestrial environment, and first appeared in the middle Archean eon. They are probably the most numerous taxon to have ever existed on Earth.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.