| A | B |
|---|
| Plain | Large, flat landform that often has thick, fertile soil and is usually found in the interior region of the continent |
| Plateau | Flat, raised landform made up of nearly horizontal rocks that have been uplifted |
| Folded Mountain | Mountains that formed when horizontal rock layers are squeezed from opposite sides, causing them to buckle and fold |
| Upwarped Mountain | Mountains formed when blocks of Earth's crust are pushed up by forces in the Earth |
| Fault-Block Mountain | Mountains formed from huge, tilted blocks of rock that are separated from the surrounding rocks by faults |
| Volcanic Mountain | Mountains formed when molten material reaches Earth's surface through a weak crustal area and piles up into a cone-shaped structure |
| Latitude | Distance in degrees north or south of the equator |
| Longitude | Distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian |
| Equator | Imaginary line that wraps around Earth at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the north and south poles |
| Prime Meridian | Imaginary line that represents 0 degrees longitude and runs from the North Pole through Greenwich, England, to the South Pole |
| Topographic Map | Map that shows the changes in elevation of Earth's surface and indicates such features as roads and cities |
| Contour Line | Line on a map that connects points of equal elevation |
| Map Legend | Explains the meaning of symbols used on a map |
| Weathering | Mechanical or chemical surface processes that break rocks into smaller and smaller pieces |
| Mechanical Weathering | Physical processes that break rocks apart without changing their chemical makeup; can be caused by ice wedging, animals, and plant roots |
| Ice Wedging | Mechanical weathering process that occurs when water freezes in the cracks of rocks and expands, causing the rock to break apart |
| Chemical Weathering | Occurs when chemical reactions dissolve the minerals in rocks or change them into different minerals |
| Oxidation | Chemical weathering process that occurs when metallic material is exposed to oxygen and water over time |
| Climate | Average weather pattern in an area over a long period of time; can be classified by temperature, humidity, precipitation, and vegetation |
| Soil | Mixture of weathered rock, decayed organic material, mineral fragments, water, and air that can take thousands of years to develope |
| Humus | Dark-Colored, decayed organic material that supplies nutrients to plants and is found mainly in topsoil |
| Horizon | Each layer in a soil profile |
| Soil Profile | Vertical section of soil layers, each of which is a horizon |
| Litter | Twigs, leaves, and other organic material that help prevent erosion, hold water, and eventually might be changed into humus by decomposing organisms |
| Leaching | Removal of minerals that have been dissolved in water |
| Terracing | Farming method used to reduce erosion of steep slopes |
| Batholith | Largest intrusive igneous rock body that forms when magma being forced up cools slowly and solidifies underground |
| Caldera | Large, circular-shaped openingformed when the top of a volcano collapses |
| Cinder Cone Volcano | Steep-Sided, loosely packed formed when Tephra falls to the ground |
| Composite Volcano | (Strato Volcano) Volcano built by alternating explosive and quiet eruptions that produce layers of Tephra and lava; found mostly in subduction zones |
| Crater | steep-walled depression around a volcano’s vent. |
| Dike | Igneous rock feature formed when magma is squeezed into a vertical crack that cuts across rock layers and hardens underground |
| Hot Spot | unusually hot area at the boundary between Earth’s mantle and core that forms volcanoes when melted rock is forced upward and breaks through the crust. |
| Shield Volcano | broad, gently sloping volcano formed by quiet eruptions of basaltic lava. |
| Sill | igneous rock feature formed when magma is squeezed into a horizontal crack between layers of rock and hardens underground. |
| Tephra | bits of rock or solidified lava dropped from the air during an explosive volcanic eruption; ranges in size from volcanic ash to volcanic bombs and blocks. |
| Vent | opening where magma is forced up and flows out onto Earth’s surface as lava, forming a volcano. |
| Volcanic Neck | solid igneous core of a volcano left behind after the softer cone has been eroded. |
| Volcano | opening in Earth’s surface from which sulfurous gases, ash, and lava erupt; can form at Earth’s plate boundaries, where plates move apart or together, and at hot spots. |
| Weather | state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place |
| Humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air |
| Relative Humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the amount the air can hold at a particular temperature. |
| Dew Point | TEMPERATURE at which the air is saturated and condensation occurs. |
| Fog | a stratus cloud that forms when air is cooled to the dew point at the ground. |
| Precipitation | water falling from clouds |
| Air Mass | large body of air that has the same characteristics of temperature and moisture content as the part of Earth’s surface over which it formed. |
| Front | boundary between two air masses with different temperatures, density, or moisture. Can be cold, warm, stationary, or occluded. |
| Tornado | violent, whirling windstorm that crosses land in a narrow path and can result from wind shears inside a thunderhead. |
| Hurricane | large, severe storm that forms over tropical oceans, has winds of at least 120 km/h, and loses power when it reaches land. |
| Blizzard | winter storm that lasts at least three hours with temperatures of -12 degrees C or below, poor visibility, and winds of at least 51 km/h. |
| Cirrus | fibrous or curly and made of ice. Associated with fair weather, but can indicate approaching storms |
| Cumulus | masses of puffy, white clouds with flat bases. Can be associated with fair weather or storms. |
| Stratus | layered clouds that usually form at low elevations may be associated with fair weather, or rain or snow. |
| Cirro | high clouds |
| Strato | low clouds |
| Alto | mid elevation clouds |
| Meteorologist | a person who studies weather |
| Station Model | indicates weather conditions at a specific location, using a combination of symbols on a map. |
| Isotherm | lines on a map that connect areas of equal temperature. |
| Isobar | lines on a map that connect areas of equal barometric pressure. |
| Barometer | an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure. |
| Anenometer | an instrument that measures wind speed and direction. |
| Continental Drift | Wegner’s hypothesis that all continents were once connected in a single, large landmass |
| Pangaea | large, ancient landmass that was composed of all the continents joined together. |
| Seafloor Spreading | 28. Hess’s theory that new seafloor is formed when magma is forced upward toward the surface at mid-ocean ridges. |
| Plate Tectonics | theory that Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken into plates that float and move around on a plastic-like layer of the mantle |
| Lithosphere | rigid layer of the Earth about 100 km thick made of the crust and part of the upper mantle. |
| Asthenosphere | plastic-like layer of the Earth on which the lithospheric plates float and move around. |
| Convection Current | current in the Earth’s mantle that transfers heat in Earth’s interior and is the driving force for plate tectonics. |
| Crust | The outer most layer of the Earth. |
| Mantle | Majority of Earth, located below the crust. Majority rocky material. |
| Outer Core | layer of the Earth below the mantle. Liquid iron/nickel. |
| Inner Core | innermost layer of the Earth. Thought to be solid iron. |
| Divergent Plate Boundary | Boundary where plates are being pushed apart. (mid-ocean ridges) |
| Convergent Plate Boundary | Boundary where plates are colliding. Can be Oceanic Crust-Oceanic Crust collision. Oceanic – Continental crust collision, or Continental –Continental Crust Collision. |
| Transform Plate Boundary | where plates are sliding past each other. |
| Specific Heat | the amount of heat/energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. |
| Climate | pattern of weather that occurs in an area over many years |
| Tropics | region between 23.5° N and South of the Equator – receives most solar radiation |
| Polar Zone | region 66.5° - 90° N and South of the equator. – receives least solar radiation |
| Temperate Zone | region 23.5° - 66.5° N and South of the equator. Have seasons. Moderate temperatures. |
| Adaptation | any structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment. |
| Hibernation | period of greatly reduced activity in the winter. |
| Estivation | period of greatly reduced activity in the summer. |
| Season | short periods of climate change caused by changes in the amount of solar radiation an area receives. |
| Greenhouse Effect | natural heating that occurs when certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere such as methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, trap heat. |
| El Nino | climatic event involves Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere b. Warm waters move back towards S. America |
| La Nina | climatic event involves Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere. b. Warm water accumulates in the W. Pacific. |
| Global Warming | increase in the average global temperatures of the Earth. |
| Deforestation | destruction and cutting down of forests – often to clear land for mining, roads, and grazing cattle |
| Fault | surface along which rock moves when they pass their elastic limit and break. |
| Earthquake | vibrations produced when rock breaks along a fault. |
| Normal Fault | break in rock caused by tension forces, where rock above the fault surface moves down relative to the rock below the fault surface. |
| Reverse Fault | break in rock caused by compressive forces, where rock above the fault surface moves upward. |
| Strike-Slip Fault | break in rock caused by shear forces, where rock moves past each other without much vertical movement. |
| Seismic Wave | wave generated by an earthquake. |
| Focus | in an earthquake, the point below the Earth’s surface where energy is released in the form of seismic waves. |
| Primary Wave | seismic wave that moves rock particles back and forth in the same direction that the wave travels. (compression waves) |
| Secondary Wave | seismic wave that moves rock particles at right angles to the direction of the wave. (shearing waves) |
| Surface Wave | (Raleigh and Love Waves) – seismic wave that moves rock particles up and down in a backward rolling motion and side to side in a swaying motion. |
| Epicenter | point on Earth’s surface directly above an earthquake’s focus. |
| Seismograph | instrument used to register earthquakes waves and record the time that each arrived. |
| Magnitude | measure of the energy released during an earthquake. |
| Liquefaction | occurs when wet soil acts more like a liquid during an earthquake. |
| Tsunami | seismic sea wave that begins over an earthquake focus and can be highly destructive when it crashes on shore |
| Mercalli Scale | scale used for measuring the INTENSITY of an earthquake. |
| Richter Scale | (has no upper limit) – scale used for measuring the ENERGY RELEASED during an earthquake. |
