Cross Word Puzzle
Across
- 7. frequently the top layer of soil, a zone of organic material and minerals that have been mixed together
- 8. in resource management, the known quality of a resource that can be economically recovered
- 13. the breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks, or both
- 14. the organic horizon at the surface of many soils
- 15. the removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore
- 16. an element with properties that allow it to conduct electricity and heat energy
- 19. the loss of some or all of a soil's ability to support plant growth
- 20. a horizontal layer in a soil defined by distinctive physical features such as texture and color
- 21. precipitation high in sulfuric acid and nitric acid from reactions between water vapor and sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere
- 22. a mining technique that creates a large visible pit or hole in the ground
- 24. the most fully decomposed organic matter in the lowest section of the O horizon
- 25. the average concentration of an element in Earth's crust
Down
- 1. the proportion of soil bases to soil acids, expressed as a percentage
- 2. the ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations
- 3. a soil horizon composed primarily of mineral material with very little organic matter
- 4. unwanted waste material created during mining
- 5. a concentrated accumulation of minerals from which economically valuable materials can be extracted
- 6. the process of looking for minerals, metals, and precious stones in river sediments
- 9. a zone of leaching found in some acidic soils under the O horizon or sometimes the A horizon
- 10. mining techniques used when the desired resource is more than 100 m below the surface of the Earth
- 11. the underlying rock material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived
- 12. the mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals
- 17. the physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem
- 18. a mining technique in which the entire top of a mountain is removed with explosives
- 23. the least weathered soil horizon, which occurs beneath the B horizon