- aftershock: shaking of the crust after the original earthquake
- cinder-cone volcano: a type of volcano made mostly of cinders and other rock particles that have been blown into the air
- composite volcano: Also called a Strato volcano.
- continental movement: idea that all continents were together but broke apart by moving plates
- crater: cup-like hollow that forms at the top of the volcano around the vent
- crust: the inner layer of the Earth above the mantle
- earthquake: calm or violent shaking of the earth
- epicenter: point on earths surface directly above the focus/hypocenter
- fault: a huge crack in the rust at/below the surface
- geothermal: of or relating to the heat in the interior of the earth
- hot spot: very hot part of the mantle
- hypocenter: it is also known as focus. It is the actual location or starting point of an earthquake underground.
- mantle: area in the earth below the crust
- P wave: first but weaker wave that comes first in a earthquake
- plate tectonics: the study of large scale movement and deformation of the earth's outer layers in terms of rigid plates over a partly molten layer of the upper mantle
- Richter Scale: a logarithmic scale of 1 to 10 used to express the energy released by an earthquake
- S wave: second but stronger wave that comes after the P wave
- seismograph: a measuring instrument for detecting and measuring the intensity and direction and duration of movements of the ground (as an earthquake)
- shield volcano: A low, flat, gently sloping volcano built from many flows of fluid, low-viscosity basaltic lava
- The Ring of Fire: a band of volcanoes circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean
- tsunami: extremely large wave/waves that often happen after a large earthquake
- vent: opening in a volcanic area were magma may escape