C1 · 50 words
Geology in Spanish
Rock, layering, faulting, time — reading a landscape as a sequence.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
La falla is the crack in the rock where two blocks have slipped past each other, and English calls that a « fault ». The English word then does something the Spanish one never does: it carries blame. « It is my fault », « at fault », « find fault with » — none of that is la falla, which is a failure of a thing, not of a person. Spanish puts blame in la culpa and keeps la falla for what breaks: a fault in the ground, a fault in a machine. When you read hubo una falla, nobody is being accused.
The words
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Phrase (24)
la falla geológicathe break where the rock has slippedPhraseC1
La falla geológica cruza el valle.The break where the rock has slipped crosses the valley.
la roca ígneathe rock that cooled from meltPhraseC1
La roca ígnea se enfrió despacio.The rock that cooled from melt cooled slowly.
la roca sedimentariathe rock built up from depositsPhraseC1
La roca sedimentaria guarda fósiles.The rock built up from deposits keeps fossils.
la roca metamórficathe rock changed by heat and pressurePhraseC1
La roca metamórfica nació bajo presión.The rock changed by heat and pressure was made deep down.
el cristal mineralthe crystal grown in a cavityPhraseC1
El cristal mineral creció en la cavidad.The crystal grown in a cavity grew there over ages.
la dureza de Mohsthe scale of hardness from one to tenPhraseC1
La dureza de Mohs va de uno a diez.The scale of hardness from one to ten runs from talc to diamond.
la erosión fluvialthe cutting done by a riverPhraseC1
La erosión fluvial abrió el desfiladero.The cutting done by a river opened the gorge.
la cuenca sedimentariathe basin the deposits filledPhraseC1
La cuenca sedimentaria tiene tres kilómetros de espesor.The basin the deposits filled is three kilometres deep.
el testigo de sondeothe cylinder of rock brought upPhraseC1
El testigo de sondeo se guarda entero.The cylinder of rock brought up is kept whole.
la datación radiométricathe dating by radioactive decayPhraseC1
La datación radiométrica dio ocho millones de años.The dating by radioactive decay gave eight million years.
la escala geológicathe timetable of the whole earthPhraseC1
La escala geológica se ordena en eras.The timetable of the whole earth is divided into eras.
la era geológicathe era in that timetablePhraseC1
La era geológica anterior acabó con una extinción.The era in that timetable before this one ended in a dying-out.
el fósil guíathe fossil that dates a layerPhraseC1
El fósil guía fecha la capa.The fossil that dates a layer fixes it.
la placa tectónicathe plate the crust is broken intoPhraseC1
La placa tectónica se mueve dos centímetros al año.The plate the crust is broken into moves two centimetres a year.
la dorsal oceánicathe ridge where new crust is madePhraseC1
La dorsal oceánica genera corteza nueva.The ridge where new crust is made runs down the ocean.
la corteza terrestrethe crust of the earthPhraseC1
La corteza terrestre es fina bajo el océano.The crust of the earth is thin under the sea.
el manto terrestrethe mantle under the crustPhraseC1
El manto terrestre fluye muy despacio.The mantle under the crust flows very slowly.
la colada de lavathe tongue of it running downhillPhraseC1
La colada de lava cortó la carretera.The tongue of it running downhill cut the road.
la magnitud sísmicahow big the earthquake wasPhraseC1
La magnitud sísmica fue de cuatro y medio.How big the earthquake was came to four and a half.
la réplica sísmicathe smaller quake that followsPhraseC1
La réplica sísmica llegó dos horas después.The smaller quake that follows came two hours later.
el acuífero subterráneothe water-bearing rock undergroundPhraseC1
El acuífero subterráneo alimenta el manantial.The water-bearing rock underground feeds the spring.
el deslizamiento de laderathe slope that has slidPhraseC1
El deslizamiento de ladera arrastró la vía.The slope that has slid took the railway with it.
el mapa geológicothe map of what rock is wherePhraseC1
El mapa geológico está a escala cincuenta mil.The map of what rock is where is at fifty thousand.
el corte geológicothe slice drawn through the groundPhraseC1
El corte geológico explica el relieve.The slice drawn through the ground explains the shape of the land.
Noun (m) (17)
Grammar for these: Masculine or feminine · The plural
el estratothe layer of rockNoun (m)C1
El estrato inferior es más antiguo.The lower layer of rock is the older one.
el plieguethe fold in the rockNoun (m)C1
El pliegue se ve desde la carretera.The fold in the rock can be seen from the road.
el buzamientothe angle at which the layers tipNoun (m)C1
El buzamiento es de treinta grados al norte.The angle at which the layers tip is thirty degrees to the north.
el granitothe hard speckled stoneNoun (m)C1
El granito se desgasta en bolas.The hard speckled stone weathers into balls.
el esquistothe stone that splits into sheetsNoun (m)C1
El esquisto se parte en láminas.The stone that splits into sheets comes apart in plates.
el mineralthe mineralNoun (m)C1
El mineral raya el vidrio.The mineral scratches glass.
el desfiladerothe gorgeNoun (m)C1
El desfiladero tiene doscientos metros.The gorge is two hundred metres deep.
el aluviónthe material a river has dumpedNoun (m)C1
El aluvión cubre el fondo del valle.The material a river has dumped covers the valley floor.
el espesorhow thick the layer isNoun (m)C1
El espesor varía de norte a sur.How thick the layer is changes from north to south.
el afloramientothe place the rock comes to the surfaceNoun (m)C1
El afloramiento está junto a la carretera.The place the rock comes to the surface is beside the road.
el sondeothe hole drilled to lookNoun (m)C1
El sondeo llegó a cien metros.The hole drilled to look reached a hundred metres.
el magmathe molten rock still undergroundNoun (m)C1
El magma se estancó a diez kilómetros.The molten rock still underground stopped ten kilometres down.
el sismothe earthquakeNoun (m)C1
El sismo se sintió a cien kilómetros.The earthquake was felt a hundred kilometres away.
el epicentrothe point above where it startedNoun (m)C1
El epicentro estaba en el mar.The point above where it started was out at sea.
el manantialthe spring where it comes outNoun (m)C1
El manantial brota al pie del monte.The spring where it comes out rises at the foot of the hill.
el karstthe limestone country full of holesNoun (m)C1
El karst está lleno de cuevas.The limestone country full of holes is riddled with caves.
el relievethe shape of the landNoun (m)C1
El relieve es suave en esta zona.The shape of the land is gentle in this part.
Noun (f) (9)
Grammar for these: Masculine or feminine · The plural
la estratigrafíathe ordering of the layers in timeNoun (f)C1
La estratigrafía ordena el tiempo.The ordering of the layers in time sorts it out.
la discordanciathe gap where layers are missingNoun (f)C1
La discordancia marca millones de años perdidos.The gap where layers are missing stands for millions of years.
la calizathe stone made of limeNoun (f)C1
La caliza se disuelve con el agua ácida.The stone made of lime dissolves in acid water.
la areniscathe stone made of grains of sandNoun (f)C1
La arenisca es porosa.The stone made of grains of sand lets water through.
la meteorizaciónthe breaking down of rock where it liesNoun (f)C1
La meteorización redondeó los bloques.The breaking down of rock where it lies rounded the blocks.
la sedimentaciónthe settling out of materialNoun (f)C1
La sedimentación es de un milímetro por año.The settling out of material is a millimetre a year.
la subducciónone plate going under anotherNoun (f)C1
La subducción hunde la placa oceánica.One plate going under another takes the sea floor down with it.
la lavathe molten rock out in the openNoun (f)C1
La lava avanzó dos metros por hora.The molten rock out in the open moved two metres an hour.
la dolinathe hollow where the ground has fallen inNoun (f)C1
La dolina se hundió en una noche.The hollow where the ground has fallen in appeared overnight.
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
This list belongs to Nature and natural sciences — 31 lists and 1 550 words that can also be practised as a whole.