Rocks And Minerals
NC Standard:
2.07
Activity: North Carolina Rocks and Minerals
Question: What are some of the different rocks and minerals found in North Carolina?
Vocabulary: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, granite, diorite, gabbro, volcanic, gneiss, schist, limestone, olivine, garnet, pegmatites, minerals, metallic
Background: North Carolina can be divided into three areas characterized by the landforms in the area: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge. All three major classes of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary) can be found in North Carolina. There are ten geological belts in the state of North carolina. These belts are areas with similar rock types and geologic history. These belts are as follows:
Blue Ridge Belt - mixture of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock over one billion to one-half billion years old.
Inner Piedmont Belt - metamorphic rocks from 500 to 750 million years old - they include gneiss and schist as well as some granite.
Kings Mountain Belt - metamorphic and sedimentary rocks about 400 to 500 million years old.
Milton Belt - gneiss, schist, and metamorphic rocks.
Charlotte Belt - igneous rocks such as granite, diorite, and gabbro - about 300 to 500 million years old.
Carolina Slate Belt - volcanic and sedimentary rocks - numerous abandoned gold mines.
Triassic Basins - sedimentary rocks - 190 to 200 million years old.
Raleigh Belt - granite, gneiss, and schist.
Eastern Slate Belt - metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
Coastal Plain Belt - sedimentary rocks - most common are sand and clay - some limestone in southern part. This is the largest belt in the state.
Materials: poster board or large paper, glue, pencils, crayons, access to a computer lab connected to the internet and the library.
Procedures:
Students will work in groups of three or four. Each group will choose a geological feature or mineral found in North Carolina to research (see the following list of suggested features and minerals). They may use the following web site, books, encyclopedia, travel brochures, etc. Each group will create a poster that will be presented to the class. This project will take approximately six days - two for research, two days to create the poster, and two days to present.
Geological Features or Minerals
North Carolina's Granite
North Carolina's Olivine
North Carolina's Pegmatites
North Carolina's Garnet Deposits
North Carolina's Metallic Minerals
Looking Glass Rock
Mount Airy
Mount Mitchell - highest point in North Carolina
Salisbury Area Granites
Stone Mountain
Posters should include:
Title
Description
Map of the location
Picture
5 facts
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Line of Learning: This line is drawn to provide students with a space to share their experimental learning in words or pictures.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
|
