{
  "schema": 1,
  "pack_id": "illustrated-glossary",
  "revision": "2026-10-02",
  "title": "A language for looking",
  "evidence_class": "illustrative",
  "scope": "Concise vocabulary for observing Bryce and the Colorado Plateau. Original diagrams explain concepts, not measured geometry or mapped habitats.",
  "categories": [
    {
      "id": "landforms",
      "label": "Landforms & maps",
      "description": "Read the shapes of a landscape."
    },
    {
      "id": "processes",
      "label": "Forces & change",
      "description": "Follow what breaks, moves and settles."
    },
    {
      "id": "rocks",
      "label": "Rocks & time",
      "description": "Look for stories within the layers."
    },
    {
      "id": "ecology",
      "label": "Living systems",
      "description": "Notice the connections around the rock."
    }
  ],
  "terms": [
    {
      "id": "gl-hoodoo",
      "term": "Hoodoo",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "hoodoos",
        "rock pillar",
        "spire"
      ],
      "definition": "An irregular pillar of rock left as surrounding material wears away. Its changing width reflects differences in how the layers resist weathering and erosion.",
      "observe": "Trace the outline with your eyes: where does it bulge, and where does it narrow?",
      "distinguish": "A hoodoo is a landform. It is not a rock type, and its shape alone cannot reveal its age.",
      "diagram_alt": "An irregular layered rock pillar, with a broad resistant top and narrower recessed layers below.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s01",
        "gg-s02"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-fin",
        "gl-differential-erosion",
        "gl-claron-formation"
      ],
      "model_id": "differential",
      "article": {
        "href": "geology-hoodoos.html",
        "label": "How hoodoos form"
      },
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-hoodoo.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-fin",
      "term": "Fin",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "fins",
        "rock wall"
      ],
      "definition": "A narrow wall of rock standing between spaces opened along fractures. At Bryce, fins can develop windows as weathering enlarges weak areas.",
      "observe": "Look for a long wall seen edge-on, rather than an isolated pillar.",
      "distinguish": "Fin, window and hoodoo describe shapes; they are not a timetable every rock must follow.",
      "diagram_alt": "Three thin parallel rock walls with broad faces, narrow ends and gaps between them.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s03"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-joint",
        "gl-window",
        "gl-hoodoo"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-fin.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-window",
      "term": "Window",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "windows",
        "rock opening"
      ],
      "definition": "A natural opening through a rock wall. Bryce geology descriptions often use window and arch for the same kind of opening.",
      "observe": "Find a patch of sky framed by continuous rock; light and viewing angle affect its visibility.",
      "distinguish": "An opening is not evidence of a stream cutting through it. The formation process needs other clues.",
      "diagram_alt": "A small enclosed opening through a fin, with unbroken rock above, below and to each side.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s03"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-fin",
        "gl-arch",
        "gl-frost-wedging"
      ],
      "model_id": "arch-bridge",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-window.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-arch",
      "term": "Arch",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "arches",
        "natural arch"
      ],
      "definition": "A natural rock opening with a surviving span overhead. Weathering and erosion can enlarge openings along weaknesses in a rock wall.",
      "observe": "Follow the rock span across the opening without assuming how the opening formed.",
      "distinguish": "NPS calls Bryce's feature named Natural Bridge an arch. Names do not always match a geologic classification.",
      "diagram_alt": "A broad rock opening with a labeled overhead span and supports at both sides.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s03",
        "gg-s04"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-window",
        "gl-natural-bridge",
        "gl-weathering"
      ],
      "model_id": "arch-bridge",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-arch.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-natural-bridge",
      "term": "Natural bridge",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "bridge",
        "bridges"
      ],
      "definition": "A natural rock span associated with a stream channel; stream erosion is the usual distinction from other arches. The channel may be dry.",
      "observe": "Ask about the channel and the feature's history, not just its silhouette.",
      "distinguish": "Bryce's named Natural Bridge is described by NPS as an arch. Arch/bridge terminology is not perfectly uniform.",
      "diagram_alt": "A rock span over a winding stream channel; the channel continues through the opening.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s04",
        "gg-s29"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-arch",
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-runoff"
      ],
      "model_id": "arch-bridge",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-natural-bridge.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-amphitheater",
      "term": "Amphitheater",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "amphitheatre",
        "bowl"
      ],
      "definition": "A broad, bowl-shaped recess in a landscape. Bryce's amphitheaters are cut into the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.",
      "observe": "Look across the curving rim and notice the many rock forms within the larger hollow.",
      "distinguish": "The word describes an overall shape, not one isolated hoodoo or a mapped trail boundary.",
      "diagram_alt": "An oblique view of a horseshoe-shaped recess cut into a plateau edge, open toward the foreground.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s06",
        "gg-s04"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-plateau",
        "gl-rim",
        "gl-hoodoo"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-amphitheater.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-plateau",
      "term": "Plateau",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "upland",
        "tableland"
      ],
      "definition": "A broad region elevated above surrounding land, with a relatively level surface. Relatively level does not mean perfectly flat.",
      "observe": "Compare the extensive upland surface with the steep breaks at its edge.",
      "distinguish": "A plateau names a landform. Uplift names a process that can raise a region.",
      "diagram_alt": "A broad elevated surface above lower country, shown as an illustrative landscape section.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s05"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-rim",
        "gl-uplift",
        "gl-amphitheater"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-plateau.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-rim",
      "term": "Rim",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "plateau edge",
        "canyon edge"
      ],
      "definition": "The upper edge of a steep-sided hollow or escarpment. At Bryce, the rim marks the break between the plateau and the amphitheaters.",
      "observe": "Follow the change from the gentler upland to the steep slope below, from an established viewpoint.",
      "distinguish": "This is a descriptive edge, not a precise survey line or a guarantee of stable ground.",
      "diagram_alt": "A side view of an upland breaking into a steep slope; a pointer identifies the upper break as the rim.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s04",
        "gg-s06"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-plateau",
        "gl-slope",
        "gl-amphitheater"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-rim.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-slope",
      "term": "Slope",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "gradient",
        "steepness",
        "grade"
      ],
      "definition": "How quickly elevation changes over horizontal distance. A larger rise over the same horizontal run means a steeper slope.",
      "observe": "Compare two hillside profiles over an equal horizontal distance.",
      "distinguish": "Percent grade is rise divided by horizontal run, times 100. It is not an angle in degrees.",
      "diagram_alt": "A right triangle marks vertical rise, horizontal run and the sloping surface between them.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s07",
        "gg-s08",
        "gg-s31"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-contour-line",
        "gl-mass-wasting",
        "gl-rim"
      ],
      "model_id": "contours",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-slope.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-contour-line",
      "term": "Contour line",
      "category": "landforms",
      "aliases": [
        "contours",
        "topography",
        "topographic map",
        "elevation"
      ],
      "definition": "A line on a map connecting equal elevations. With a fixed contour interval and map scale, closer lines indicate a steeper slope.",
      "observe": "Read the contour interval before comparing the spacing of the lines.",
      "distinguish": "Contours show height and shape. They do not identify rock types or tell you that a route is walkable.",
      "diagram_alt": "Nested elevation contours form a hill; a tightly spaced side is labeled steeper and a wider-spaced side gentler.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s07",
        "gg-s08",
        "gg-s31"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-slope",
        "gl-plateau",
        "gl-runoff"
      ],
      "model_id": "contours",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-contour-line.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-weathering",
      "term": "Weathering",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "breakdown",
        "physical weathering",
        "chemical weathering"
      ],
      "definition": "The breakdown or chemical alteration of rock at or near its existing position. Weathering can make fragments without carrying them away.",
      "observe": "Look for cracks, loose grains or altered surfaces; then ask separately what moved the material.",
      "distinguish": "Weathering breaks or alters. Erosion removes and transports. Both can operate together.",
      "diagram_alt": "A rock block breaks into separate pieces that remain at the same place; no transport arrow is shown.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s09"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-frost-wedging",
        "gl-dissolution"
      ],
      "model_id": "weathering",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-weathering.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-erosion",
      "term": "Erosion",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "transport",
        "removal"
      ],
      "definition": "The removal and transport of rock or sediment by agents such as moving water, wind, ice or gravity.",
      "observe": "Follow the likely path from a loosened fragment toward a channel or the foot of a slope.",
      "distinguish": "A cracked rock still in place shows weathering. Material carried elsewhere shows transport.",
      "diagram_alt": "Loose rock fragments move down a slope along arrows, leaving their original position.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s10",
        "gg-s16"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-weathering",
        "gl-deposition",
        "gl-runoff"
      ],
      "model_id": "weathering",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-erosion.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-deposition",
      "term": "Deposition",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "settling",
        "sedimentation"
      ],
      "definition": "The laying down or accumulation of material. Transported sediment can become a new deposit when it settles or is left behind.",
      "observe": "Look for accumulated grains or fragments where moving material has come to rest.",
      "distinguish": "Deposition makes a sediment deposit. Turning that deposit into solid rock requires further processes.",
      "diagram_alt": "Particles descend from water into a new layer on the bottom of a basin.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s16",
        "gg-s13"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-sediment",
        "gl-sedimentary-rock"
      ],
      "model_id": "weathering",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-deposition.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-frost-wedging",
      "term": "Frost wedging",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "ice wedging",
        "freeze thaw",
        "freeze-thaw"
      ],
      "definition": "Physical weathering in which freezing water and growing ice exert pressure within rock cracks, helping widen or break them.",
      "observe": "Notice existing fractures; a single visit cannot show how many freezing events helped open them.",
      "distinguish": "The demonstration exaggerates crack movement. It is not a temperature, stress or erosion-rate simulation.",
      "diagram_alt": "Water occupies a crack; a second panel shows a wider ice-filled crack with outward pressure arrows.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s01",
        "gg-s09"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-joint",
        "gl-weathering",
        "gl-window"
      ],
      "model_id": "frost",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-frost-wedging.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-dissolution",
      "term": "Dissolution",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "solution",
        "dissolve",
        "chemical solution"
      ],
      "definition": "Mineral material enters solution in water. Weakly acidic water can dissolve carbonate minerals, contributing to chemical weathering.",
      "observe": "Consider composition as well as shape: different minerals respond differently to the same water.",
      "distinguish": "Dissolved material is not the same as visible grains suspended in a stream.",
      "diagram_alt": "A carbonate surface loses tiny material units into water; dissolved units are symbolic, not visible particles.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s09",
        "gg-s02"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-weathering",
        "gl-limestone",
        "gl-differential-erosion"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-dissolution.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-differential-erosion",
      "term": "Differential erosion",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "resistance",
        "caprock",
        "differential weathering"
      ],
      "definition": "Unequal wearing away of materials with different resistance. Weathering differences also help produce ledges, recesses and narrow necks.",
      "observe": "Compare protruding layers with the recessed rock immediately above or below them.",
      "distinguish": "A protective cap is one useful model, not a universal recipe for every hoodoo.",
      "diagram_alt": "A resistant upper layer overhangs a more deeply recessed lower layer; dashed lines show the earlier outline.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s01",
        "gg-s02",
        "gg-s04"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-hoodoo",
        "gl-bedding",
        "gl-weathering"
      ],
      "model_id": "differential",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-differential-erosion.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-runoff",
      "term": "Runoff",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "surface water",
        "overland flow",
        "rain",
        "snowmelt"
      ],
      "definition": "Water that flows over the land surface toward channels or lower ground, including water from rain or melting snow.",
      "observe": "Read the small channels and downhill routes without assuming that they flow all year.",
      "distinguish": "Not all precipitation becomes surface runoff: some soaks in, evaporates or is used by plants.",
      "diagram_alt": "Rain reaches a hillside; arrows separate downhill surface flow from water entering the ground.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s12"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-slope",
        "gl-riparian"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-runoff.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-mass-wasting",
      "term": "Mass wasting",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "rockfall",
        "landslide",
        "gravity",
        "slope movement"
      ],
      "definition": "Rock or soil moves downhill under gravity. Rockfalls, slumps and debris flows are examples.",
      "observe": "From a maintained route, look for fallen blocks at a slope's base.",
      "distinguish": "A diagram of past movement cannot predict the timing or reach of a future rockfall.",
      "diagram_alt": "A block detaches from a steep face and follows a downward path to a pile at the slope base.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s11"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-slope",
        "gl-weathering",
        "gl-erosion"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-mass-wasting.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-uplift",
      "term": "Uplift",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "tectonic uplift",
        "rise"
      ],
      "definition": "An increase in the elevation of part of Earth's crust. Regional uplift helped raise the rocks now exposed at Bryce.",
      "observe": "Separate the story of rock formation from the later story of rising land.",
      "distinguish": "Uplift raises land; deposition adds material. Neither is a direct measure of a hoodoo's age.",
      "diagram_alt": "A layered rock block is shown at a higher position with upward arrows and a former-position outline.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s01",
        "gg-s02"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-plateau",
        "gl-claron-formation",
        "gl-deposition"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-uplift.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-joint",
      "term": "Joint",
      "category": "processes",
      "aliases": [
        "fracture",
        "crack"
      ],
      "definition": "A fracture in rock without appreciable sliding displacement across it. Joints can provide pathways for water and weathering.",
      "observe": "Trace a crack across several layers and compare the layers on its two sides.",
      "distinguish": "A fault has displacement. A joint is a fracture without that appreciable offset.",
      "diagram_alt": "A vertical fracture crosses three aligned layers; the layers remain at equal heights on both sides.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s05",
        "gg-s03"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-fin",
        "gl-frost-wedging",
        "gl-bedding"
      ],
      "model_id": "frost",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-joint.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-sediment",
      "term": "Sediment",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "grains",
        "particles",
        "sand",
        "silt",
        "clay",
        "gravel"
      ],
      "definition": "Material such as rock fragments, mineral grains or biological remains that accumulates in deposits. Sediment ranges from tiny particles to large fragments.",
      "observe": "Compare the sizes and shapes of visible particles without collecting or disturbing them.",
      "distinguish": "Loose sediment is not yet necessarily a sedimentary rock.",
      "diagram_alt": "Separate large fragments, sand-sized grains and finer particles are shown as a symbolic grain-size comparison.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s13",
        "gg-s15"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-deposition",
        "gl-sedimentary-rock",
        "gl-sandstone"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-sediment.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-sedimentary-rock",
      "term": "Sedimentary rock",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "lithification",
        "cementation",
        "compaction"
      ],
      "definition": "Rock formed from accumulated sediment or material precipitated from water. Burial, compaction and mineral cement can turn loose grains into rock.",
      "observe": "Look for grains, layers or preserved remains that offer clues to the starting material.",
      "distinguish": "Not every sedimentary rock forms from sand, and not every one forms in the sea.",
      "diagram_alt": "Loose grains at left become packed and cemented into a coherent rock at right.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s13",
        "gg-s15"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-sediment",
        "gl-bedding",
        "gl-limestone",
        "gl-fossil"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-sedimentary-rock.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-limestone",
      "term": "Limestone",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "carbonate",
        "calcium carbonate",
        "calcite"
      ],
      "definition": "A sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate. It can form in freshwater or marine settings by biological and chemical processes.",
      "observe": "Use the rock's context and a reliable description; pale color alone is not an identification.",
      "distinguish": "Limestone does not automatically mean an ancient ocean. Bryce's Claron includes lake and floodplain deposits.",
      "diagram_alt": "A symbolic carbonate rock section, with carbonate grains and a small shell motif; not a sampled specimen.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s05",
        "gg-s15",
        "gg-s01"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-dissolution",
        "gl-sedimentary-rock",
        "gl-claron-formation"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-limestone.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-sandstone",
      "term": "Sandstone",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "sand grains",
        "cemented sand"
      ],
      "definition": "A sedimentary rock made predominantly of sand-sized grains bound into rock.",
      "observe": "Look for a visibly granular texture from a permitted viewing position.",
      "distinguish": "Sandstone describes grain size and rock character. It does not, by itself, identify a desert or marine origin.",
      "diagram_alt": "Rounded sand grains sit within a cemented block, with a magnified grain-and-cement detail.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s16",
        "gg-s15"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-sediment",
        "gl-sedimentary-rock",
        "gl-mudstone"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-sandstone.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-mudstone",
      "term": "Mudstone",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "mud rock",
        "fine grained",
        "mud"
      ],
      "definition": "A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from mud, including silt- and clay-sized particles.",
      "observe": "Compare its apparently smooth texture with a visibly sandy rock.",
      "distinguish": "An illustration enlarges the particles so you can see the idea; it cannot show real grain size at this scale.",
      "diagram_alt": "A fine-textured block is paired with an enlarged field of small particles, explicitly shown as a schematic magnification.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s16",
        "gg-s15"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-sandstone",
        "gl-sediment",
        "gl-claron-formation"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-mudstone.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-bedding",
      "term": "Bedding",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "bed",
        "beds",
        "strata",
        "layers"
      ],
      "definition": "The arrangement of sedimentary rock into layers, or beds. Layer boundaries can record changes during deposition.",
      "observe": "Follow one visible layer sideways and note where its thickness or appearance changes.",
      "distinguish": "In a sequence that has not been overturned, lower beds are older than those above. Not every color stripe marks a separate formation.",
      "diagram_alt": "Three beds stack one above another, with boundaries traced sideways and younger above older in this undisturbed example.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s13",
        "gg-s14"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-formation",
        "gl-deposition",
        "gl-unconformity"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-bedding.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-formation",
      "term": "Formation",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "rock unit",
        "geologic formation",
        "lithostratigraphy"
      ],
      "definition": "A named, mappable body of rock recognized by its physical characteristics. A formation can contain more than one rock type.",
      "observe": "Read a geologic map's legend to learn which rock unit is being described.",
      "distinguish": "In everyday speech, formation may mean a striking shape. In stratigraphy it means a defined rock unit.",
      "diagram_alt": "Several beds are grouped by a bracket as one named rock unit, distinct from a second unit above.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s05",
        "gg-s28"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-claron-formation",
        "gl-bedding",
        "gl-hoodoo"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-formation.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-unconformity",
      "term": "Unconformity",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "missing time",
        "time gap",
        "hiatus"
      ],
      "definition": "A surface representing missing time in the rock record because material was eroded away or was not deposited.",
      "observe": "Imagine the history that may be absent between the rocks below and above a contact.",
      "distinguish": "A wavy line in a diagram is a symbol. Recognizing a real unconformity requires geologic evidence.",
      "diagram_alt": "An uneven erosional surface separates older beds below from younger beds above; a label marks missing time.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s05",
        "gg-s28"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-bedding",
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-deposition"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-unconformity.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-fossil",
      "term": "Fossil",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "trace fossil",
        "past life",
        "footprint"
      ],
      "definition": "Naturally preserved evidence of past life, including remains and traces such as tracks or burrows.",
      "observe": "Distinguish a preserved body part from a trace of an organism's activity.",
      "distinguish": "Fossils need not be turned to stone. A ripple mark without evidence of life is not a trace fossil.",
      "diagram_alt": "A shell shape represents body evidence and a track represents activity; both are illustrative examples of fossils.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s15"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-sedimentary-rock",
        "gl-deposition",
        "gl-bedding"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-fossil.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-claron-formation",
      "term": "Claron Formation",
      "category": "rocks",
      "aliases": [
        "claron",
        "pink cliffs"
      ],
      "definition": "The rock unit that supplies much of Bryce's famous hoodoo landscape, including carbonate-rich rocks deposited in ancient lake and floodplain settings.",
      "observe": "Read the landscape at two scales: the rock unit, then the shapes carved from it.",
      "distinguish": "The age of the deposited rocks is much older than the age of today's individual hoodoo shapes.",
      "diagram_alt": "A lake-and-floodplain scene is connected to a later layered rock exposure; the two panels are conceptual, not a reconstruction.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s01",
        "gg-s02"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-formation",
        "gl-limestone",
        "gl-hoodoo"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "article": {
        "href": "geology-claron.html",
        "label": "The Claron story"
      },
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-claron-formation.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-habitat",
      "term": "Habitat",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "home",
        "shelter",
        "space"
      ],
      "definition": "The place and conditions that provide an organism with its needs, including food, water, shelter and space.",
      "observe": "Choose one organism and ask what it needs from the place around it.",
      "distinguish": "A habitat is relative to an organism. Different species can use the same landscape in different ways.",
      "diagram_alt": "A generic bird illustration is surrounded by labeled food, water, shelter and space connections.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s18"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-ecosystem",
        "gl-riparian",
        "gl-adaptation"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-habitat.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-ecosystem",
      "term": "Ecosystem",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "community",
        "living and nonliving",
        "ecology"
      ],
      "definition": "Organisms and their physical surroundings interacting as a system: living things, water, air, soil and light all matter.",
      "observe": "Name one living component and one nonliving component, then look for a connection between them.",
      "distinguish": "An ecosystem includes the physical setting as well as the community of organisms.",
      "diagram_alt": "Plants, sunlight, water and soil connect within an outlined system boundary.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s18"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-food-web",
        "gl-succession",
        "gl-biological-soil-crust"
      ],
      "model_id": "food-web",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-ecosystem.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-riparian",
      "term": "Riparian",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "streamside",
        "water edge",
        "riverbank"
      ],
      "definition": "Relating to land and habitats along water sources such as streams, rivers, springs and washes, including some that flow only intermittently.",
      "observe": "Compare vegetation beside water with vegetation farther away; avoid assuming that greener always means permanently wet.",
      "distinguish": "Riparian describes a relationship to water. It is not a single tree species or a claim of year-round flow.",
      "diagram_alt": "A winding channel has a vegetated strip along its banks, contrasted with drier surrounding ground.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s19",
        "gg-s17"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-runoff",
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-deciduous"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-riparian.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-conifer",
      "term": "Conifer",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "pine",
        "spruce",
        "fir",
        "cone",
        "needles"
      ],
      "definition": "A cone-bearing tree or shrub, commonly with needle-like or scale-like leaves. Pines, firs and spruces are examples.",
      "observe": "Look for both leaf form and cones; a general silhouette is not enough to identify a species.",
      "distinguish": "Most conifers are evergreen, but some are deciduous. Conifer and evergreen are not synonyms.",
      "diagram_alt": "A generic needle-bearing branch and a seed cone are shown together, without a species identification.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s20"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-deciduous",
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-adaptation"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "article": {
        "href": "living-bryce.html",
        "label": "Meet the living landscape"
      },
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-conifer.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-deciduous",
      "term": "Deciduous",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "leaf fall",
        "autumn",
        "aspen"
      ],
      "definition": "Shedding leaves seasonally. At Bryce, quaking aspen is a familiar deciduous tree.",
      "observe": "Compare a leafy crown with its winter branching pattern rather than treating bare branches as proof of death.",
      "distinguish": "Deciduous describes a seasonal habit, not a single family of plants.",
      "diagram_alt": "The same branching tree appears with summer leaves and then bare in winter.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s20",
        "gg-s21"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-conifer",
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-succession"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-deciduous.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-adaptation",
      "term": "Adaptation",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "inherited trait",
        "survival",
        "thick bark"
      ],
      "definition": "An inherited feature that can help organisms survive and reproduce in a particular environment.",
      "observe": "Consider how thick bark can help a mature ponderosa pine withstand some fires.",
      "distinguish": "Adaptations do not make an organism invulnerable. Fire resistance depends on conditions, including the tree and the fire.",
      "diagram_alt": "A tree-trunk cross-section highlights a thick outer bark layer as one illustrative protective trait.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s22",
        "gg-s27"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-conifer",
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-succession"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-adaptation.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-biological-soil-crust",
      "term": "Biological soil crust",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "biocrust",
        "cryptobiotic soil",
        "soil crust",
        "lichen",
        "cyanobacteria"
      ],
      "definition": "A living surface community that can include cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses and fungi. It helps bind soil particles together in many dry landscapes.",
      "observe": "Look from an existing trail. Some young crusts look much like bare soil.",
      "distinguish": "This is a regional concept illustration, not a map or a claim of crust at a particular Bryce location.",
      "diagram_alt": "A magnified soil surface shows a thin living crust connecting soil particles above deeper ground.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s23"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-erosion",
        "gl-ecosystem",
        "gl-decomposition"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-biological-soil-crust.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-decomposition",
      "term": "Decomposition",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "decay",
        "decomposer",
        "fungi",
        "nutrients"
      ],
      "definition": "The breakdown of dead organic material. Decomposers such as fungi and bacteria help release nutrients that other organisms can use.",
      "observe": "Notice fallen leaves and wood as parts of the living system, not simply waste.",
      "distinguish": "Nutrients can cycle through an ecosystem. Energy flows through it and is eventually dissipated as heat.",
      "diagram_alt": "Dead leaves connect to fungi and soil nutrients, then to a growing plant; the diagram labels nutrient return.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s25",
        "gg-s30"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-food-web",
        "gl-ecosystem",
        "gl-succession"
      ],
      "model_id": "food-web",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-decomposition.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-food-web",
      "term": "Food web",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "producer",
        "consumer",
        "predator",
        "prey",
        "energy flow"
      ],
      "definition": "A network of feeding relationships. Multiple food chains connect organisms through what eats what.",
      "observe": "Ask where an organism's food comes from and what may feed on it.",
      "distinguish": "Here arrows point from food to eater. The demonstration uses generic roles, not a surveyed Bryce feeding network.",
      "diagram_alt": "A plant links to two herbivores, which link to a predator; arrows point from food toward the eater.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s24",
        "gg-s25",
        "gg-s32"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-decomposition",
        "gl-habitat",
        "gl-ecosystem"
      ],
      "model_id": "food-web",
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-food-web.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gl-succession",
      "term": "Succession",
      "category": "ecology",
      "aliases": [
        "regrowth",
        "fire ecology",
        "community change"
      ],
      "definition": "Change in a biological community over time. After disturbance, shifts in light, resources and surviving organisms can shape what grows next.",
      "observe": "Compare open ground, young growth and older vegetation without assigning ages from appearance alone.",
      "distinguish": "This is not a fixed ladder with an inevitable endpoint. Actual recovery depends on place and conditions.",
      "diagram_alt": "Three conceptual panels show open ground, low regrowth and a developing woodland; no years or inevitable endpoint are assigned.",
      "source_ids": [
        "gg-s26"
      ],
      "related_ids": [
        "gl-ecosystem",
        "gl-adaptation",
        "gl-decomposition"
      ],
      "model_id": null,
      "diagram": {
        "path": "diagrams/gl-succession.svg",
        "width": 480,
        "height": 320,
        "evidence_class": "illustrative",
        "rights": "Original BCC concept diagram; no third-party media copied."
      }
    }
  ]
}