Geological Glossary - K

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Krakatoa	Active volcano, elevation 813 m (2667 ft), which form an island in West Indonesia between Java and Sumatra (6.102 S, 105.423 E). Its eruption in 1883, which was one of the most violent in modern times, scattered debris and darkened skies over vast areas. Additional eruptions occurred in late 1927 and in the 1960s.
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karst topography	A distinctive landscape (topography) that can develop where the underlying bedrock, often limestone or marble, is partially dissoved by surface or ground water.
kerogen	A mixture of organic substances found in many fine-grained sedimentary rocks and a major constituent of oil shale.
kettle	A small hollow or depression formed in glacial deposits when outwash was deposited around a residual block of ice that later melted.
kilobar	A unit of pressure equal to 1000 bar.
kimberlite	A peridotite containing garnet and olivine and found in volcanic pipe, through which it may come from the upper Mantle.
kipuka	A Hawaiian term for an island of land completely surrounded by one or more younger lava flows. A kipuka form when lava encircles a hill or a slight rise in the ground as it moves downslope or across relatively flat ground. Because they are surrounded by more recent flows, kipukas are often covered with mature vegetation.
klippe	A remmant of a nappe.
komatilte	Volcanic rock mainly found in Precambrian continental shield and containing more than 18 perceny by weight MgO.
kyanite	An aluminum-rich, blue to light green silicate mineral. Kyanite form in metamorphic rocks at moderate temperature and high pressure.