Alaska

Alaska Facts
Nickname: The Last Frontier
Motto: "North to the future"
Population: 626,932 as of 2000
Size: 570,374 square miles, about 2 1/2 times the size of Texas
Capital: Juneau
State Sport: dog mushing
Products: seafood, timber, fertilizer, zinc, ore, coal, oil
Languages: English and 20 native Alaskan languages, including Inupiaq (pronounced i-noo-pee-ak) and Yupik (pronounced you-pik)
Climate: cold winters and mild summers; frigid winters inland and in Arctic regions

Alaska's Flag
Seventh-grade student Benny Benson won a statewide contest to design the new flag for the territory in 1926.
He placed the Big Dipper and the North Star—eight stars of gold—on a blue background.
The blue represented the blue sky of Alaska and the blue of the state flower, the forget-me-not.
The Alaska Territorial Legislature officially adopted the design in 1927.

Alaska's Song
“Alaska's Flag” was adopted as the official state song by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1955.
The lyrics for Alaska's official state song were written by Marie Drake initially as a poem.
The music was written by Elinor Dusenbury.

Amazing Alaska Facts - A Land of Extremes
Tallest mountain in North America: Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet
Biggest earthquake in North America: The Good Friday quake of March 27, 1964 registered at 9.2 on the Richter scale

Largest state park in the United States: Wood-Tikchik State Park in southwestern Alaska is 1.6 million acres
Greatest concentration of glaciers in the US: Nearly 30,000 square miles or 5% of the state is covered by glaciers
Largest national park: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is more than 13 million square miles, six times bigger than Yellowstone
Most active volcanoes in the US: 80% of all active volcanoes and 10% of all the volcanoes in the world are located in Alaska
Longest earthquake fault system in North America: Denali Fault system runs parallel to the Alaska range
Largest gathering of bald eagles in North America. Some 4,000 eagles come to the Chilkat River near Haines in November to feed on a late run of salmon there.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in the United States was in Alaska.
On January 23, 1971, the temperature dropped to -79.8 (often rounded up to -80) at Prospect Creek. That's only one degree warmer than the coldest temperature ever in North America.
On February 3, 1947, the thermometer at Snag in the Yukon hit -81.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest temperature recorded in the world is -129F at Vostok, Antarctica on July 21, 1983.
Alaska's record warm temperature of 100 degrees at Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915 doesn't come close to the record in North America of 134 degrees at Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913.
The warmest temperature in the world was just two degrees warmer, 136 in Libya on September 13, 1922.
Juneau, Alaska is the cloudiest place in the U.S. Anchorage and Nome also make the list of the top five cloudiest places. Anchorage tied Hilo, Hawaii for the #2 spot at 41%. Nome at 42% sunny was #4.
Yakutat, Alaska holds the record for the rainiest place in the United States. It averages more than 160 inches each year.
The record snowfall in Alaska was set at Thompson Pass, north of Valdez the winter of 1952-1953. That year 974.5 inches of snow fell there. That is well below the record for the United States of 1,140 inches set at Mount Baker during the winter of 1998-1999.
In Alaska you'll find the windiest places and the least windy.
Talkeetna ties Medford, Oregon for the lowest annual wind speed of 4.8 mph.
McGrath is also calm with only an annual wind speed of 5.1 mph.

Native People
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/aw/wr/article/0,28138,577826,00.html

Who are the Alaska Native people?
People have lived in Alaska for at least 15,000 years.
These first Alaskans spread out over Alaska and formed three main groups.
-These are Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts.
Today about 105,000 Alaska Natives still call Alaska home.

Where does everyone live?
Most people (two-thirds of all Alaskans) in live in communities found along the 484-mile stretch of highway and railway between Seward on the Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks. This area is commonly called the Railbelt.
Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage, is home to 279,243 people
That is 40% of all Alaskans. The area is huge.

Timeline of major events in Alaska's history
30,000-10,000 B.C.: Asian tribes migrate across a land bridge linking Asia and Alaska. In 10,000 B.C., Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians settle in Alaska.
1741: The first Russian ships arrive, and Russia claims the land. Animal trappers establish a fur trade.
1867: U.S. Secretary of State William Seward convinces the government to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase is ridiculed as "Seward's folly."
1895-1905: Alaska wins wars against China and Russia, gaining territory and international respect. In 1910, Alaska takes over Korea.
1896: Gold is discovered in the Klondike River, sparking the Klondike Gold Rush. Tens of thousands of treasure seekers pour into Alaska.
1923: President Warren G. Harding drives the last spike in the Alaska Railroad, connecting southern harbors like Seward and Whittier to Alaska's interior.
1959: Alaska becomes the 49th state in the Union.
1964: The deadly Good Friday earthquake strikes south-central Alaska. It is the most powerful quake ever recorded in North America.
1985: Libby Riddles is the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Today: Americans continue to discuss the pros and cons of digging for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Barrow
Barrow is truly the land of the midnight sun.
During the summer, the sun doesn't set at all from May 10 until August 2.
In the winter, though, the sun doesn't rise for 67 days.
Being the northern most community in the U.S. means it's cold in Barrow.
The low temperature is below freezing about 324 days a year.
In Barrow, native Inupiat Eskimos continue their ancient ways of hunting whale, polar bear, seal, caribou, and walrus to feed villagers.

Fairbanks

Just south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks is a popular tourist destination.
People even visit in the winter just to see the aurora borealis or Northern Lights In Fairbanks, people can be seen mining for gold, dog mushing, performing traditional native dances, or floating down the Chena River on an old-fashioned riverboat.

Mt. McKinley
Also called Denali, meaning "The Great One," Mt. McKinley is the highest mountain in North America.
¨Each year climbers from all over the world are drawn to its peaks and tourists come to see the grizzly bears, caribou, sheep, moose, and wolves that live in the area.

Anchorage
Anchorage is Alaska's largest city and home to almost half the state's population.
The city sits between Cook Inlet and the Chugach Mountains.
It began as a railroad camp and grew during World War II.
It also survived the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America.
Each spring, locals come out to cheer on dog sled mushers as the 1,100-mile Iditarod race begins in downtown Anchorage.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Just 200 years ago, the islands of Glacier Bay were covered with ice! In some parts, the ice was once 4,000 feet thick, 20 miles wide and 100 miles long!
Today, the area is protected and limited to tourists.

Scientists from all over the world come to Glacier Bay to study its whales, rare wildlife and plants.

Juneau
Is Alaska's capital city and was founded in the1880s as a gold rush town.
Larger than the state of Rhode Island, Juneau is in the middle of one of the world's largest rainforests!
Before miners and their families settled here, Juneau was home to Tlingit Indians who had lived in the area for thousands of years.
Many descendants of those native tribes still live in Juneau today.

MARINE MAMMALS
Killer Whale or Orca are actually a large species of dolphin.
Bowhead Whale are one of only three species of whales that spend all seasons in Arctic waters.
Beluga (or Belukha) Whale carry the nickname "Sea Canary" because of their loud songs.

BIRDS
Ravens are the largest members of the Corvidae family.
Ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan is the Alaska state bird.

BIG MAMMALS
Black Bear are smaller than grizzly bears and can weigh between 150 and 350 pounds.
Polar Bear As the largest land carnivore, the polar bear has no natural predators.
Moose Moose are the largest living members of the deer family.
Mountain Goat Mountain goats spend almost their entire lives roaming treacherous peaks and rock faces.
Musk Ox Musk oxen have roamed the Earth's tundra for thousands of years, mostly likely since the last Ice Age.

MEDIUM MAMMALS
Wolverine is also known as the devil bear, woods devil, and carcajou.
Lynx can be found almost anywhere in mainland Alaska, as it is the only wild cat native to the state.
Arctic Fox is one of Alaska's most resourceful and well-adapted animals.

SMALL MAMMALS
Lemmings do not hibernate, even when winter is at its coldest.
Arctic Hare are hardly like the cute, fuzzy bunnies found at the pet store.
Ermines or short-tailed weasels, are some of the fiercest little predators in Alaska.

Pinnepeds (Seals, Sea Lions & Walrus)

What is Pinneped?
—The word "pinniped" is Latin for wing- or fin-footed.
-are in the order Carnivora and suborder Pinnipedia, and includes all the seals, sea lions and the walrus.
-There are three families of pinnipeds:
the Phocidae, the earless or ‘true’ seals (e.g., harbor or common seals); -the Otariidae, the eared seals, (e.g., fur seals and sea lions) and
the Odobenidae, the walrus.
-These three families contain 33 species.
-mate, give birth and nurse their young onshore.
-are usually barrel-shaped, have fur and have wide flippers at the end of their short limbs.
-Their streamlined shape and adeptness at swimming makes them quick and agile in the water.


10 Facts About Earless & Eared Seals
1. Seals are carnivores.
2. Seals evolved from land animals.
—-Seals are thought to have evolved from bear- or otter-like ancestors who lived on land.
3. Seals are mammals.
—-Seals do spend lots of time in the water, but they breed, give birth to live young and nurse their young on shore.
4. There are many kinds of seals.
—-There are 32 species of seals.
—-The largest is the southern elephant seal, which can grow up to about 13 feet in length and more than 2 tons in weight.
—-The smallest species is the Galapagos fur seal, which grows to up to about 4 feet long and 65 pounds.
5. Seals are distributed throughout the world.
—-Seals are found from polar to tropical waters.
6. Seals insulate themselves using a thick fur coat and layer of blubber.
—-In polar environments, seals restrict blood flow to their skin surface to keep from releasing internal body heat to the ice.
—-In warm environments, the reverse is true. Blood is sent toward the extremities, allowing heat to release into the environment and letting the seal cool its internal temperature.
7. Seals detect prey with their whiskers.
—-The diet of seals is varied depending on the species, but most eat primarily fish and squid.
— -Seals find prey by detecting prey vibrations using their whiskers (vibrissae).
8. Seals can dive underwater deeply and for extended periods.
—-(up to 2 hours for some species) because they have a higher concentration of hemoglobin in their blood and their large amounts of myoglobin in their muscles (both hemoglobin and myoglobin are oxygen-carrying compounds).
—-Like cetaceans, they conserve oxygen when diving by restricting blood flow to only vital organs and slowing their heart rates by about 50-80%.
9. Seals have several natural predators.
—-Natural predators of seals include sharks, orcas (killer whale) and polar bears.
10. Humans are the greatest threats to seals.
—-Seals have long been commercially hunted for their pelts, meat and blubber.
—-Other human threats to seals include pollution (e.g., oil spills, industrial pollutants and competition for prey with humans.

Difference Between Seals and Sea Lions
Phocidae (Earless or 'True' Seals)
-Have no external ear flaps.
-Swim with their hind flippers. Their hind flippers always face backward and are furred.
-Have 2 or 4 teats.
-Can be found in both marine and freshwater environments.
-Examples of earless (true) seals:
—harbor (common) seal (Phoca vitulina),
—grey seal (Halichoerus grypus),
—hooded seal (Cystophora cristata),
—harp seal (Phoca groenlandica),
—elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), and
—monk seal (Monachus sp.)
Otariidae (Eared Seals)
-Have external ear flaps.
-Swim with their front flippers. Unlike earless seals, their hind flippers can turn forward, and they are better able to “walk” on their flippers.
-Have 4 teats.
-Are only found in marine environments.
-Examples of eared seals:
—Steller’s sea lion (eumetopias jubatus),
—California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), and
—Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus).

Gray Seals
-are pinnipeds with a long snout and horse-like head.
-scientific name refers to this characteristic, as it translates to “hook-nosed pig of the sea.”
-Gray seals are large, reaching lengths up to about 8 feet and weights over 600 pounds.
-range in coloration from a dark brown to dark gray coat in males and a lighter grayish-tan in females.
-Both males and females may have spots or patches.
-older males have a more “roman-nosed” appearance than females.
Feeding:
-Gray seals feed on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods (e.g., squid, octopus), and occasionally seabirds.
-Their predators include sharks and orcas.
Migration and Reproduction:
-Female gray seals are mature at 3-5 years and males at 4-6 years.
-Gray seals may mate on land or in the water, but they come ashore to give birth.
-Males will often try to mate with more than one female.
-The gestation period is about 11 months, after which the female gives birth to a pup with a white coat that is about 3 feet long and weighs about 40 pounds.
-The female nurses for about 2 ½ weeks and then the pup is left to fend for itself.
-At first it lives off of its blubber, but then starts feeding at sea when it is about 3-6 weeks old.

Harp Seal
-are ice-loving pinnepeds that live in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.
-are fuzzy white when born, but their coat gradually changes as they mature, turning into a silvery gray with a darker harp-shaped pattern on the adult's back and sides.
-grow to about 6.5 feet in length and 287 pounds in weight.
Feeding:
-Harp seals eat smaller fish such as capelin, cod, herring, sculpin, halibut, redfish and plaice.
-They also dine on crustaceans (such as krill and shrimp).
-Their predators include humans, polar bears, killer whales, sharks and walruses.
Migration and Reproduction:
—Harp seals are migratory, gathering to breed on pack ice in the winter and early spring, and
—then dispersing to feed in cold arctic and subarctic waters in the warmer summer and autumn months.
—After about an 11.5 month gestation period, 3-foot long, 25-pound harp seal pups are born in February to April.
—The pup nurses for about 12 days, and then is weaned, where it stays on the ice for about 2 more weeks before it starts to swim and feed on its own.
—The pups are born with yellowish fur, which turns white after a couple of days.
—After 2-4 weeks, the pup molts this white fur and grows a silvery gray coat with dark spots, which eventually turns into an adult coat which is silvery gray with the characteristic darker "harp" shape.
—Adult males have a black head.
—The harp seal's lifespan is thought to be 30-35 years.

Trivia Facts
1. A barrel of water weighs 20 pounds. What must you add to it to make it weigh 12 pounds?
Answer Holes.
2. A farmer had seventeen sheep, all but nine died, how many did he have left?
Answer Nine
3. A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son.
Answer A girl or daughter.
4. A man builds a house with all 4 sides facing south. A bear walks past the house. What color is the bear?
Answer White: the house is built directly on the North Pole.
5. How much dirt is in a hole 4 feet deep and 2 feet wide?
Answer There is no dirt in a hole
6. I know a word of letters three, Add two and fewer there will be.
Answer Few.
7. If you were in a dark room with a candle, a woodstove, a match and a gas lamp which do you light first?
Answer The match.
8. There are sixty cups on a table. If one falls down, then how many remain?
Answer six tea cups . So if one falls down then 5 tea cups will remain!
9. What goes up and down, but still remains in the same place?
Answer Stairs!
10. Which letter of the English alphabet flies, sings and stings?

Answer 'B' (bee).

Guiness Book of Records

Tallest Man
WHO: Robert Pershing Wadlow
WHAT: 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
WHERE: Alton, Illinois, USA
WHEN: Last measured on July 15, 1940
He was born at Alton, Illinois, USA, on February 22, 1918
His shoe size was 37AA (47 cm, 18½ in long) and
His hands measured 32.4 cm (12¾ in) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger.
He wore a size 25 ring.
His arm span was 2.88 m (9 ft 5¾ in)
His peak daily food consumption was 8000 calories.





Shortest Man
WHO: Edward Niño Hernandez
WHAT: 2 ft 3.46 in (70.21 cm)
WHERE: Colombia
WHEN: 6 September 2010
A whole 4 cm (2 in) shorter than Pingping (previous record holder)
Nepal’s Khagendra Thapa Magar, will turn 18 on the 14th October, and at last measurement was 2 ft 1.8 in tall; 2 inches shorter than Niño.



Loudest Burp
WHO: Paul Hunn
WHAT: 107.1 db
WHERE: London, UK
WHEN: 24 September 2008
The record for the loudest burp is 107.1 db on the set of The New Paul O’Grady Show


Longest Ear Hair
WHO: Anthony Victor
WHAT: 18.1 cm (7.12 in)
WHERE: Madurai, India
WHEN: As of 26 August 2007
Anthony Victor (India) has hair sprouting from the centre of his outer ears (middle of the pinna) that measures 18.1 cm (7.12 in) at its longest point.


Longest Hair
WHO: Xie Qiuping
WHAT: 5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in)
WHERE: Guangxi Province, China
WHEN: May 8, 2004
5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in)
She has been growing her hair since 1973 from the age of 13.





Longest Tongue
WHO: Stephen Taylor
WHAT: 9.8 cm (3.86 in)
WHERE: Coventry, United Kingdom
WHEN: 11 February 2009
From the tip to the middle of his closed top lip.



Fastest Time to Eat 12” Pizza
WHO: Josh Anderson
WHAT: 1 min 45.37
WHERE: Wellington, NZ
WHEN: 22 March 2008

Fastest Time to Carve a Pumpkin
WHO: Stephen Clarke
WHAT: 24.03 seconds
WHERE: Orlando, Florida, USA
WHEN: July 23, 2006

Most Books Typed Backwards
WHO: Michele Santelia
WHAT: 68 books (3,663,324 words, 20,680,060 characters , 24,154 pages, 266,741 paragraphs, 516,498 lines)
WHERE: Campobasso, Italy
WHEN: June 16, 2009




Largest Human Logo
WHO: Realizar Eventos Especiais
WHAT: 34,309
WHERE: Lisbon, Portugal
WHEN: July 24, 1999
gathered at the National Stadium of Jamor
to create the Portuguese logo for Euro2004
The kicking leg of the player in the logo was composed of 651 gymnasts wearing black and white capes, which when swapped over, created the illusion of the player kicking the ball.
Once the ball was kicked, it released 10,000 red and green helium balloons - the colours of the Portuguese flag.
As part of the bid, the crowd shouted 'Portugal we love football' and sang the national anthem.



Fastest 100m Team Aircraft Pull(737 Class)

WHO: Royal Marine Reserves
WHAT: 43.2 seconds
WHERE: Manchester Airport, UK
WHEN: January 27, 2001
A team of 10 Royal Marine reserves from all over the UK pulled a Boeing 737-300, weighing 37 tonnes (81,500 lb), a distance of 100 m (328 ft)


Largest Swimming Pool
WHO: San Alfonso del Mar WHAT: 1,013 m (3,324 ft) long - Area of 8 ha (19.77 acre)
WHERE: Algarrobo, Chile
WHEN: December 2006





Largest Hotel Suite
WHO: Grand Hills Hotel & Spa
WHAT: 4,131 m²
WHERE: Broummana, Lebanon
WHEN: May 2008



Smallest Commercially Available Stitched Teddy Bear
WHO: Cheryl Moss
WHAT: 9 mm (0.29 in)
WHERE: Gauteng, South Africa
WHEN: May 2003




Smallest Bottle of Wine - Retail
WHO: Steve Klein of Klein Designs
WHAT: 3.2 cm (1.2 in)
WHERE: Encino, California, USA
WHEN: 1999






Heaviest Apple
WHO: Chisato Iwasaki
WHAT: 1.849 kg (4 lb 1 oz)
WHERE: Hirosaki City, Japan
WHEN: October 24, 2005



Heaviest Lemon
WHO: Aharon Shemoel
WHAT: 5.265 kg (11 lb 9.7 oz)
WHERE: Kefar Zeitim, Israel
WHEN: January 8, 2003

Types of Rocks

EARTH’S CRUST
The crust of earth is made of rocks & minerals.
The Crust makes up less than 1% of the Earth’s mass (0.4%)
There are 8 elements that make up 99% of the Earth’s crust:
It is made of oxygen, magnesium aluminium, silicon calcium, sodium ,potassium, iron.
The Mantle is the solid casing of the Earth and is about 2900 km thick.
It makes up about 70% of the Earth’s mass (68.1%).
It is made up of silicon, oxygen, aluminium and iron.
The Core is mainly made of iron and nickel and makes up about 30% of the Earth’s mass (31.5%).
The Outer Core is 2200 km thick and is liquid and the Inner Core is 1270 km thick and is solid.

EARTH’S LAYERS
How are earth’s layers similar to an egg?
Shell=crust
Egg white=mantle
Yolk=core

ROCKS
The rocks you see around you - the mountains, canyons & riverbeds, are all made of minerals.
A rock is made up of 2 or more minerals.
Think of a chocolate chip cookie as a rock. The cookie is made of flour, butter, sugar & chocolate. The cookie is like a rock and the flour, butter, sugar & chocolate are like minerals.
You need minerals to make rocks, but you don't need rocks to make minerals.

MINERALS
A mineral is composed of the same substance throughout. If you were to cut a mineral sample, it would look the same throughout.
There are about 3000 different minerals in the world.
Minerals are made of chemicals - either a single chemical or a combination of chemicals.
There are 103 known chemical elements.

SOIL, SAND & DIRT
When rocks break down into smaller & smaller pieces, they turn into sand.
If you look at the sand under a microscope, sand is made up of the same minerals as the rocks that the sand came from.
Soil is very important to life on earth. It supports plant life. We could not live without plants.
Soil is made up of sand and decomposing plants and animals.
Soil has many names including: clay, silt, mud, dirt, topsoil, dust, potting soil and humus.

THE ROCK CYCLE
Rocks are constantly being formed, worn down and then formed again.
This is known as the Rock Cycle.
It is like the water cycle but it takes a lot longer.
It takes thousands and millions of years for rocks to change.
Rocks are divided into 3 types: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. They are classified by how they were formed.

IGNEOUS ROCKS
Igneous means made from fire or heat.
When volcanoes erupt and the liquid rock comes up to the earth's surface, then new igneous rock is made. When the rock is liquid & inside the earth, it is called magma.
When the magmas that comes from Earth’s core gets hard inside the crust, it turns into granite.
Most mountains are made of granite. It cools very slowly and is very hard.
When the magma gets up to the surface and flows out, like what happens when a volcano erupts, then the liquid is called lava.
Lava flows down the sides of the volcano. When it cools & turns hard it is called obsidian, lava rock or pumice
Obsidian is nature’s glass. It is glassy and smooth.
Pumice is full of air pockets that were trapped when the lava cooled when it frothed out onto the surface. It is the only rock that floats.
There are 5 kinds of igneous rocks, depending on the mix of minerals in the rocks.
Granite, Diorite, Gabbro, Periodotite, Pegmatite

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Lots of rock gets worn away due to erosion. Eventually most of the broken bits of the rock end up in the streams & rivers that flow down from the mountains. These little bits of rock & sand are called sediments.
When the water slows down enough, these sediments settle to the bottom of the lake or oceans they run into. Over many years, layers of different rock bits settle at the bottom of lakes and oceans.Over time the layers of sand and mud at the bottom of lakes & oceans turned into rocks.
These are called sedimentary rocks. Eg. sandstone and shale
Sedimentary rocks are usually formed in layers called strata.
Sedimentary rocks often have fossils in them.
When large amounts of plants are deposited in sedimentary rocks, then they turn into carbon. This gives us our coal, oil, natural gas and petroleum.
Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the earth’s surface.
6 Kinds of Sedimentary Rocks depending on the appearance of the rock.
Conglomerate rock, Sandstone, Shale, Limestone, Gypsum, common salt or Epsom salt, Breccia

METAMORPHIC ROCKS
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have changed.
Word comes from the Greek "meta" and "morph" which means to change form.
Metamorphic rocks were originally igneous or sedimentary, but due to movement of the earth's crust, were changed.
If you squeeze your hands together very hard, you will feel heat and pressure. When the earth's crust moves, it causes rocks to get squeezed so hard that the heat causes the rock to change.
Marble is an example of a sedimentary rock that has been changed into a metamorphic rock.
Metamorphic rocks are the least common of the 3 kinds of rocks.

EROSION
Erosion is a key part of the rock cycle. Erosion happens mainly as a result of weathering – the effect of water, temperature and wind on the landscape.
Water causes much erosion. When it falls as acid rain, it can dissolve rocks that are sensitive to acid.
Acid Rain: chemicals in the air combine with precipitation. When it rains it dissolves certain minerals sensitive to acid.
Leaching by ground water: water soaks into the soil, picks up chemicals. This allows the water to leach or dissolve rocks it comes in contact with at bedrock.
Other causes are precipitation, freeze/thaw cycle, flood and wind

CRYSTALS
Crystals are minerals that have had the chance to grow in the shape that they were meant to be. When there is just a big hunk of a mineral, it is called a massive mineral.
If there is a definite shape with easy to see flat sides, it is called a mineral crystal.
Most of the earth's crystals were formed millions of years ago.
Crystals form when the liquid rock from inside the earth cool and harden. Sometimes crystals form when liquids underground find their way into cracks and slowly deposit minerals.
Most mineral crystals take thousands of years to "grow" but some like salt (halite) can form very quickly.
Amethyst is a very common quartz crystal.

GEMSTONES
Gemstones are often what people mean when they talk about "crystals".
There are many gemstones and most are used for jewellery or decoration. Some gemstones look similar to what the mineral looks like when found in nature and others are very different. Few minerals found in nature are suitable to use unaltered in jewellery.
One exception is the "Herkimer Diamond" which forms in vugs of gray rock and are found near Herkimer, New York.
These are not real diamonds - they are quartz crystals that look like they have been cut & polished like a diamond.

BIRTHSTONES