| A | B |
|---|
| barrier islands | strip of land that shields the mainland from the waves and high winds |
| crust | rocky outer layer of the earth's surface - thinnest layer - includes the continents and ocean floor |
| delta | triangular-shaped deposit of soil particles that forms where a river enters a larger body of water |
| deposition | process of dropping off pieces of eroded rock |
| earthquake | sudden shaking of Earth's crust |
| epicenter | the point on Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake |
| fault | a deep crack in Earth's crust |
| floodplain | land near a river that is likely to be under water during a flood |
| focus | the point where an earthquake starts |
| hot spot | location in Earth's mantle where magma melts through a tectonic plate - formed the Hawaiin islands |
| core | solid layer of iron and nickel inside the Earth |
| lava | hot, melted rock that reaches Earth's surface |
| magma | hot, melted rock below Earth's surface |
| continental drift | theory that describes the movement of tectonic plates |
| sediment | particles of soil or rock that may be eroded and deposited |
| tsunami | huge wave caused by an earthquake under the ocean |
| volcano | opening in Earth's crust through which lava may flow |
| weathering | rocks or other materials are broken down into smaller pieces |
| pangea | theory of what continents looked like 250 million years ago |
| mantle | molten rock layer of the Earth |
| constructive | process that builds landforms |
| destructive | process that destroys landforms |
| physical weathering | process that breaks down rocks and soil due to freezing water, plants, heat, and pressure. |
| chemical weathering | process that changes the composition of the rocks and soil and causes it to break down or dissolve |
| erosion | movement of sediments and soil by wind, water, ice, or mass movement. |
| seismologist | scientist who studies earthquakes and seismic waves |
| beach reclamation | adding sand to replace spots where the shore has been eroded |
| Ring of Fire | area located in the Pacific Ocean where plates meet and has almost all of the world's earthquake and volcano eruptions |
| levee | wall along a river's shore built to protect from flooding |
| caldera | larger depressions created by collapse of the upper portions of the volcano into the emptied magma chamber |
| vent | opening in Earth's crust where molten lava and gases escape |
| richter scale | used to desribe the magnitude of earthquakes |
| mass movement | rock and soil that fall due to gravity |
| glacier | huge mass of ice that erodes the rock beneath as it flows over it |
