conodont a P aleozoic toothlike fossil probably from an extinct marine
vertebrate
continent a landmass composed of light,granitic rock that rides on denser
rocks of the upper mantle
continental drift the concept that the continents drift across the surface of
Earth
continental glacier an ice sheet covering a portion of a continent
continental shelf the offshore area of a continent in a shallow sea
continental slope the transition from the continental shelf to the deep-sea
basin
convection a cir cular, vertical flow of a fluid medium by heating from
below; as materials are heated, they become less dense and rise, cool
down, become more dense, and sink
coquina(koh-KEY-nah) a limestone comprised mostly of broken pieces of
marine fossils
coral a large group of shallow-water, bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates
comprising reef-building colonies common in warm waters
Cordillera(kor-dil-ER-ah) a range of mountains that includes the Rock-
ies,Cascades, and Sierra Nevada in North America and the Andes in
South America
correlation(KOR-el-LAY-shen) the tracing of equivalent rock exposures
over distance usually with the aid of fossils
craton(CRAY-ton) the ancient, stable interior region of a continent, usu-
ally composed of Precambrian rocks
crinoid(KRY-noid) an echinoderm with a flowerlike body atop a long
stalk of calcite disks
crossopterygian(CROS-op-tary-gee-an) an extinct Paleozoic fish thought
to give rise to terrestrial vertebrates
crust the outer layers of a planet’s or a moon’s rocks
crustacean(kres-TAY-shen) an arthropod characterized by two pairs of
antenna-like appendages forward of the mouth and three pairs behind it,
including shrimps, crabs, and lobsters
diapir(DIE-ah-per) the buoyant rise of a molten rock through heavier rock
diatom(DIE-ah-tom) microplants whose fossil shells form siliceous sedi-
ments called diatomaceous earth
dinoflagellate(DIE-no-FLA-jeh-late) planktonic single-celled organisms
important in marine food chains
dolomite(DOH-leh-mite) a sedimentary rock formed when calcium in
limestone is replaced by magnesium
drumlin a hill of glacial debris facing in the direction of glacial movement
dune a r idge of windblown sediments usually in motionHistorical Geology