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A bottom crawler is an underwater exploration and recovery vehicle. It is designed to sink to the bottom of a body of water, where it moves about using traction against the bottom with wheels or treads. It is usually tethered to a surface ship by cables providing power, control, video, and lifting cababilities but this is not required.

Such devices have been proposed for use in recovering deep seabead minerals, such as manganese nodules.

These also have been considered since the late 1960’s for use in offshore oil exploration and production in extremely deep water, but practical devices have used other technologies from the sea surface, such as moored barges and tension leg platforms.

The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention complex. It is the largest auto show in North America (1.2 million sq. ft - 111,200 m²., with over 1,000 vehicles on display) and the third largest in the world (Frankfurt is #1 and Paris is , although those shows are held every other year). The Chicago Auto Show has lately seen a growing number of important introductions, and in 2007 will join the list of shows sanctioned by the OICA Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles.

The Chicago Auto Show, first produced in 1901, has been staged more times than any other auto show in North America and continues to be one of the most well attended in the world. Over one million visitors attend each year.

2008 will mark the Chicago Auto Show’s 100th iteration. It is the first auto show in North America to achieve that distinction.

Due to the vast amount of space available, several auto manufacturers have implemented creative uses of their exhibit space in recent years. For example, at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show, Pontiac and Chrysler hosted free concerts at their exhibits. The BoDeans and OK Go are among those who performed at Pontiac’s stage. Chrysler Group created the world’s largest indoor test track and allowed attendees to test-drive their SUV’s and trucks in extreme simulated conditions in 2005 and 2006

The Jeep Hurricane rockcrawler is a concept vehicle that was unveiled at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit by Jeep, a subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler. The Hurricane’s one-piece body is composed largely of light-weight structural carbon fiber. The Hurricane’s body also serves as the chassis, and all of the car’s components such as the engine, transfer case, and suspension system are mounted directly to the body. Its skid plate is an aluminum spine that connects the chassis to the underside of the vehicle. The Hurricane doesn’t have side doors or a roof, and there is only seating for two people. The driver and passenger have to enter the vehicle “Dukes-of-Hazzard” style. The Hurricane features a MillenWorks designed four-wheel steering system that allows the Hurricane to move sideways. The Hurricane maintains Jeep’s signature seven-slot grille.

Iron oxides and carbonates play a large part in many sedimentary rocks and are especially important as coloring agents. The red sands and limestones, for example, which are so abundant, contain small amounts of iron(III) oxide (hematite), which in a finely divided state gives a red hue to all rocks in which it is present. Limonite and goethite, on the other hand, makes rocks yellow or brown; manganese oxides, asphalt and other carbonaceous substances are the cause of the black color of many sediments. Bluish tints result sometimes from the presence of phosphates or of fluorite; while green is most frequently seen in rocks which contain glauconite or chlorite.

Rocks are classified by mineral and chemical composition, by the texture of the constituent particles and by the processes that formed them. These indicators separate rocks into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They may also be classified according to particle size, in the case of conglomerates and breccias or in the case of individual stones. The transformation of one rock type to another is described by the geological model called the rock cycle.
Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, and metamorphic rock types of North America.
Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, and metamorphic rock types of North America.

Igneous rocks are formed when molten magma cools and are divided into two main categories: plutonic rock and volcanic. Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earth’s crust (example granite), while volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta (examples pumice and basalt) .[1]

Sedimentary rocks are formed by deposition of either clastic sediments, organic matter, or chemical precipitates (evaporites), followed by compaction of the particulate matter and cementation during diagenesis. Sedimentary rocks form at or near the Earth’s surface. Mud rocks comprise 65% (mudstone, shale and siltstone); sandstones 20 to 25% and carbonate rocks 10 to 15% (limestone and dolostone).[1]

Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type (including previously-formed metamorphic rock) to different temperature and pressure conditions than those in which the original rock was formed. These temperatures and pressures are always higher than those at the Earth’s surface and must be sufficiently high so as to change the original minerals into other mineral types or else into other forms of the same minerals (e.g. by recrystallisation).[1] There are also Foliated and nonfoliated rock types.

The three classes of rocks: the igneous, the sedimentary and the metamorphic — are subdivided into many groups. There are, however, no hard and fast boundaries between allied rocks. By increase or diminution in the proportions of their constituent minerals they pass by every gradation into one another, the distinctive structures also of one kind of rock may often be traced gradually merging into those of another. Hence the definitions adopted in establishing rock nomenclature merely correspond to selected points (more or less arbitrary) in a continuously graduated series. This is frequently urged as a reason for reducing rock classification to its simplest possible terms, and using only a few generalized rock designations. But it is clear that many apparently trivial differences tend regularly to recur, and have a real significance, and so long as any variation can be shown to be of this nature it deserves recognition.

Rocks have had a huge impact on the cultural and technological advancement of the human race. Rocks have been used by Homo sapiens and other hominids for millions of years. Lithic technology marks some of the oldest and continuously used technologies. The mining of rocks for their metal ore content has been one of the most important factors of human advancement. Humanity’s advancement has been decided by the kind of metals available from the rocks of a region. The prehistory of civilization is classified into the stone age, Iron Age, and Bronze Age. Rocks have been and continue to be used to construct buildings and infrastructure. When so used, they are dimension stone.