F

facilitate, felicitate 'The field officer was facilitated in his work by the manager of the Hudson's Bay Company store' is the wrong use of facilitate: the work may have been facilitated, but not the officer. Do not confuse facilitate with felicitate, meaning 'to congratulate'.

fact Avoid using such meaningless phrases as: as a matter of fact, in fact, the fact is, and actually.

factor A factor is 'something that contributes to an effect', but too commonly it is used instead of: circumstance, component, consideration, constituent, element, event, and fact.

fall line

fallout (n., adj.), fall out (vb.)

far-reaching, far-reaching events

farther, further Use farther when implying distance, as in farther from the base; but use further when implying something additional, as with this requires further research.

fast ice

fault Capitalized as in San Andreas Fault

fault-block mountain

favour

feasible

fecal (not faecal)

feeding structure (ichnology), but deposit feeder structure (not deposit feeding structure — deposits do not feed and a structure feeding a deposit would be a delta).

feel See BELIEVE.

feet Written as 5 ft. or five feet. The SI equivalent should be stated in parentheses.

feldspar, feldspar porphyry, but feldspar-phyric

felicitate See FACILITATE.

felsenmeer

felsic, mafic When describing rocks, the terms felsic and mafic are used. Salic and femic are used for discussing 'norms'. See also SALIC, FEMIC.

femic See SALIC; see also FELSIC, MAFIC.

ferromagnesian

fetid

few, a few Few emphasizes the fact that 'the number is small'. A few emphasizes the fact that 'there is more than one'.

fewer, less, lesser The word less should not be misused for fewer. Less takes a singular noun: there is less choice; fewer takes a plural noun: there are fewer choices.

Fewer is used when referring to number (i.e. countable items): There were fewer phenocrysts in the porphyry on the southern edge of the exposure. Do not add number to fewer by writing 'fewer number' or 'fewer in number'.

Less or lesser are used when referring to 'relative quantity, amount, mass, bulk, or size': The porphyry has a lesser content of phenocrysts near its southern margin.

fibre (not fiber)

field geology, field map, field season, field trip, but fieldwork

Figure The word 'Figure', referring to text or pocket illustrations, is capitalized when written out in the text (in singular and plural) and when abbreviated in parentheses:

Note that a semicolon is used to separate references to different items in parentheses:

Full page groups of black and white photographs or photomicrographs, in other than paleontological reports, are called 'Figures'. Individual illustrations in these 'Figures' are identified by letters.

See also PLATE.

fine grained See COARSE GRAINED.

fining-upward cycles, fining-upward sequences (not upward-fining sequences, or fining-up sequences)

fiords, not fjords

first, firstly When several facts or items are being listed one by one, do you use first, second, third or firstly, secondly, thirdly? Although both are correct, first, second, third is preferred. The main thing is to be consistent in your use.

first-order (adj.)

first two This is correct (not two first)

fit, fitted, but fitful

fix Fix means 'to make firm or to place definitely'. Avoid using fix to mean 'arrange, prepare, or repair'.

flatland, but flat-lying

flight line

floodplain, floodwater

flowslide, flowtill

fluorescent, fluorescence The light is fluorescent; the property of the mineral or substance is fluorescence.

fluorite

fluviodeltaic, fluvioglacial, fluviolacustrine

focus (pl. focuses)

focused (not focussed)

-fold Numerical compounds with fold are written as one word: twofold, sixtyfold, a thousandfold, but 24-fold.

fold belt (n., not foldbelt), fold-belt (adj.) feature

follow-up (n., adj.), follow up (vb.)

following Following should not be used as a preposition substituting for 'after' or 'as a result of', but only as a participle, when it agrees with a noun or pronoun: Such success, following the careful preparations, was to be expected.

foothills Capitalize as in the Alberta Foothills, the Rocky Mountain Foothills, and the Foothills (when referring to the previous two). Note also the Foothills Belt.

footnote

footwall used in GSC text (n. and adj.), but hanging wall (n.) and hanging-wall (adj.)

for, of John Smith is manager of a mine for a company.

foraminifers, Foraminifera The word Foraminifera is a 'taxonomic term', and should not be used in a sentence where the writer means 'fossils belonging to the order Foraminifera'. Thus write: rocks contain foraminifers (or brachiopods, conodonts, etc.), not 'rocks contain Foraminifera (or Brachiopoda, Conodonta, etc.)'. It is also correct to use foraminiferal limestone, foraminiferal ooze, and foraminiferal test.

forecast, prediction Although in most dictionaries, forecast and predict are regarded as synonymous, there is a distinction between the terms when applied to geophysical phenomena. Forecast is 'a description of the ambient conditions over some period of time in the future over some region'. Prediction is 'the indication of a particular event at a particular time and place'. Whereas weather conditions and magnetic storms are forecast, earthquakes are predicted. The past tense and past participle are forecast, not forecasted. See also AFTERSHOCK, FORESHOCK; INTENSITY, MAGNITUDE.

foredeep, foreland, foreset, foreslope

foregoing, forgoing Foregoing refers to 'something that has gone before (preceding)'. Forgoing means 'abstaining from something'.

foreign

fore reef

foreshock See AFTERSHOCK.

foreword, forward Whereas a foreword is similar to a preface, forward means 'ahead'.

format, formatting

formation Warspite Formation; Nullataktok Formation; but Warspite and Nullataktok formations.

former, latter These are useful words where used to avoid awkward or lengthy repetition of two nouns or names. The words refer to something that has been mentioned, usually in the preceding sentence, as the first (former) or second (latter) of two. Latter should not be used for the final item or person in a list. Where three or more items are under consideration, do not use 'the former' or 'the latter'. The words the first and the last are then appropriate. Try to avoid overusing former and latter, for in many cases it is clearer to simply repeat the actual nouns. See 'Former' and 'latter' in 'Grammar'.

formula (pl. formulas)

Forty-ninth Parallel, 49th Parallel Capitalized if the International Boundary, not otherwise: fifty- first parallel, 51st parallel.

fossilize

fourfold, fourscore

fractions Hyphenate fractions used as modifiers and written in full, unless the numerator or denominator already contains a hyphen: a one-third share, twenty-fiftieths calcium, twenty-nine fiftieths calcium (29/50 is preferable). Do not hyphenate fractions used as nouns: four fifths of the sample was sand.

Fraser River delta

freeze-and-thaw

freeze-dried food

freeze-up (n.), freeze up (vb.)

frequently See TIME TERMS.

fresh water (n.); freshwater (adj.). For example: A freshwater lake consists of fresh water.

frontispiece

frost heave, frost table

fulfil, fulfilment

fulgurite The burrow-like trace of a lightning strike.

further See FARTHER