Weathering and Erosion

2. The breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions.
5. The average concentration of an element in Earth's crust.
7. Precipitation high in sulfur and nitrogen oxides for the rapid degradation.
9. The hole created during mining.
14. The proportion of soil bases tend to promote plant growth.
16. The process of looking for metals and precious stones in river sediments.
17. A mining technique that creates a large visible pit or hole in the ground.
19. The Mechanical breakdown of rock and minerals.
21. The physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or eycosystem
22. A zone of organic material and minerals that have been mixed together, also known as topsoil.

1. The underlying rock material from which its inorganic components are derived.
3. A soil horizon composed primarily of mineral material with very little organic material.
4. A function of the amount and types of clay particles present.
6. The removal of "strips" of soil and rock to expose the underlying ore.
8. The known quantity of the resource that can be economically recovered.
10. Mining that occurs below the surface of Earth.
11. The most fully decomposed organic matter in the lowest layer of the O horizon
12. Horizontal layers with distinct physical features such as color or texture.
13. When miners remove the entire top a mountain with explosives.
15. The loss of some or all of the ability of soils to support plant growth.
18. A zone of leaching, or eluviation, found in some acidic soils under the O horizon or, less often, A horizon.
20. The least-weathered soil horizon, which always occurs beneath the B horizon and is similar to the parent material.