NOVA - Making North America: Origins

According to the narrator, which place is a “paradise for geologists”?

• Grand Canyon
• Gooseberry Park
• Central Park

What is the top layer of the Grand Canyon made of?

• Sandstone 300 million years old

• Limestone 250 million years old

• Shale 200 million years old

• Granite 400 million years old

Which type of rock forms “layer after layer”?

• Igneous
• Sedimentary
• Metamorphic

What is the second layer made of?

• Limestone (340 MYA) formed from dead micro

• Granite

• Sandstone

• Basalt

When did a warm, shallow sea cover the American southwest?

• 300 million years ago
• 340 million years ago
• 1.7 billion years

What type of stone did “trillions of microscopic marine organisms” become compressed into?

• Limestone
• Shale
• Sandstone

How long ago was the bottom rock of the Grand Canyon formed?

• 4000 ft below -- 1.7 BYA

• 5000 ft below -- 2.5 BYA

• 3000 ft below -- 1.2 BYA

• 6000 ft below -- 3.0 BYA

All land started as what?

• Volcanic lava cools into rock

• Sedimentary deposits

• Meteorite impacts

• Erosion of mountains

According to the narrator, where is a place that resembles Earth’s earliest land?

• Arizona
• Hawaii
• Lake Superior

How does basalt turn into granite?

• Through a process of intense heat and pressure over millions of years

• By being submerged under ocean water

• Through volcanic eruptions

• By being exposed to sunlight