Earth Forces Earth Forces Tools A B crust The thin, outer layer of EArth weathering The process of breaking rock into soil, asnd, and other tiny pieces mantle The layer of rock beneath Earth's crust deposition The process of dropping, or depositing, sediment in a new location erosion The process of moving sediment from one place to another core The center of the Earth mass movement The downhill movement of rock and soil because of gravity plate A rigid block of crust and upper mantle rock magma Hot, soft rock from Earth's lower mantle volcano A mountain formed by lava and ash earthquake A shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy in Earth's crust fault A break or place where pieces of Earth's crust move continental drift A theory of how Earth's continents move over its surface Pangea A supercontinent containing all of Earth's land that existed abouty 225 million years ago fossil The remains or traces of past life found in sedimentary rock landform A physical feature on EArth's surface