WORLD GEO Chapter 2
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Created by:
annabsheff on August 30, 2011
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Description:
Mr. Feinberg's 1st hour
Ch 2. IDs
Quiz 9/2/11
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80 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 continents | landmasses above water on Earth, controversial |
| solar system | planets and celestial bodies that orbit the Sun |
| core | center of the Earth |
| core | made of very dense iron and nickel |
| mantle | surrounds the core |
| mantle | has several layers and contains most of Earth's mass |
| magma | molten rock located underground |
| crust | thin layer of rock at the Earth's surface |
| atmosphere | layer of gases surrounding the Earth, mostly comprised of nitrogen |
| lithosphere | solid rock portion of the Earth's surface, including the crust and uppermost mantle |
| hydrosphere | water elements on Earth |
| biosphere | part of Earth where plants and animals live |
| continental drift | hypothesis that the Earth was once a super-continent that divided and slowly drifted over millions of years |
| ocean motion | currents, waves, and tides |
| ocean motion | help distribute heat on the planet |
| hydrologic cycle | continuous circulation of water between atmosphere, oceans and earth |
| drainage basin | area drained by a major river or body of water |
| ground water | water held in the pores of rock |
| water table | level at which the rock is saturated |
| close to the surface | Baton Rouge's water table is...? |
| landforms | naturally formed features on the surface of the Earth |
| continental shelf | Earth's surface from the edge of a continent to the deep point of the ocean |
| relief | difference in the elevation of a landform from its lowest point to its highest point |
| topography | combination of the surface shape and composition of the landforms and their distribution in a region |
| tectonic plates | enormous moving pieces of the Earth's lithosphere |
| divergent boundary | plates move apart spreading horizontally |
| convergent boundary | plates collide, causing either one plate to dive under the other or the edges of both plates to crumble |
| transform boundary | plates slide past one another |
| fault | fracture in the earth's crust |
| earthquake | violent movement of the earth |
| seismograph | device that measures the size of waves made by earthquakes |
| epicenter | point directly above the focus of an earthquake |
| destruction | The depth of an earthquake affects...? |
| Richter scale | used to determine the relative strength of an earthquake |
| tsunami | a giant wave in the ocean |
| volcano | crack in the Earth's surface that materials pour out of |
| lava | magma that has reached the Earth's surface |
| ring of fire | zone around the Pacific Ocean, location of majority of active volcanoes |
| weathering | physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics of rock on or near the Earth's surface |
| sediment | small pieces of rock - mud, sand, silt |
| mechanical weathering | breaks rock into smaller pieces |
| chemical weathering | when rock is changed into a new substance |
| chemical weathering | this process makes precious gems |
| erosion | breaks landforms down |
| erosion | weathered material is moved by wind, water, ice or gravity |
| water erosion | The Grand Canyon was created by...? |
| ice erosion | The Great Lakes were created by...? |
| delta | formed when sediment is deposited in a fan-like landform where a river enters the ocean |
| loess | windblown silt and clay sediment that produce very fertile soil |
| glacier | large, long-lasting mass of ice that moves because of gravity |
| all around the world, Mexico, the Alps | Glaciers are located ____, including ____ and ____ |
| glaciation | changing of landforms by slowly moving glaciers |
| affects landforms | The weight of glaciers ...? |
| moraine | ridge or hill formed by the rocks a glacier left behind |
| soil | loose mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, air and water that supports plant growth |
| humus | organic material in soil |
| volcano | an opening in the earth, usually raised, through which gases and lava escape from the earth's interior |
| strait | a narrow channel connecting two larger bodies of water |
| cape/peninsula | a point of land extending into an ocean or lake |
| sea level | level of the ocean's surface, used as a reference point when measuring the height or depth of the earth's surface |
| bay/gulf | part of an ocean or lake partially enclosed by land |
| harbor | a sheltered area of water deep enough for docking ships |
| river mouth | the place where a river flows into a lake or ocean |
| marsh | soft, wet, low-lying grassy land that serves as a transition between water and land |
| delta | a triangular area of land formed from deposits at the mouth of a river |
| island | a body of land surrounded by water |
| flood plain | flat land near the edges of rivers formed by mud and silt deposited by floods |
| swamp | a lowland region that is saturated by water |
| butte | a raised, flat area of land with steep cliffs, smaller than a mesa |
| oasis | a spot of fertile land in a desert, fed by water from wells or underground springs |
| prairie | a large, level area of grassland with few or no trees |
| steppe | a wide, treeless plain |
| mountain | natural elevation of the earth's surface with steep sides and greater height than a hill |
| valley | low land between hills or mountains |
| glacier | a large ice mass that moves slowly down a mountain or over land |
| mesa | a wide, flat-topped mountain with steep sides, larger than a butte |
| plateau | a broad, flat area of land higher than the surrounding land |
| cataract | a step-like series of waterfalls |
| canyon | a narrow, deep valley with steep sides |
| cliff | the steep, almost vertical edge of a hill, mountain or plain |
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