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World Geography: Chapter 2 Vocabulary

Terms in this set (40)

continent
a landmass above water on the earth
solar system
consists of the sun and nine known planets, as well as other celestial bodies that orbit the sun
core
the earth's center, made up of iron and nickel; the inner core is solid, and the outer core is liquid
mantle
a rock layer about 1,800 miles thick that is between the earth's crust and the earth's core
magma
the molten rock material formed when solid rock in the earth's mantle or crust melts
crust
the thin rock layer making up earth's surface
atmosphere
the layers of gasses immediately surrounding the earth
lithosphere
the solid rock portion of the earth's surface
hydrosphere
the waters comprising the earth's surface, including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and vapor in the atmosphere
biosphere
all the parts of the earth where plants and animals live, including the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and the hydrosphere
continental drfit
the hypothesis that all continents were once joined into a super-continent that split apart over millions of years
hydrologic cricle
the continuous circulation of water among the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth
drainage basin
an area drained by a major river and its tributaries
ground water
the water held under earth's surface, often in and around the pores of rocks
water table
the level at which rock is saturated
landform
a naturally formed feature on the surface of the earth
continental shelf
the earth's surface from the edge of a continent to the deep part of the ocean
releif
the difference in elevation of a landform the lowest point to the highest point
topography
the combined characteristics of landforms and their distribution in a region
tectonic plate
an enormous moving shelf that forms the earth's crust
fault
a fracture in the earth's crust
earthquake
a sometimes violent movement of the earth, produced when tectonic plates grind or slip past each other at a fault
seismograph
a device that measures the size of the waves created by an earthquake
epicenter
the point on the earth's surface that corresponds to the location in the earth where an earthquake begins
Richter scale
uses information collected by seismographs to determine the relative strength of an earthquake
tsunami
a giant ocean wave, caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption, with great destructive power
volcano
a natural event, formed when magma, gasses, and water from the lower part of the crust or mantle collect in underground chambers and eventually erupt and pour out of cracks in the earth's surface
lava
magma that has reached the earth's surface
Ring of Fire
the chain of volcanoes that lines the Pacific Rim
weathering
physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics of rock on or near the earth's surface, occuring slowly over many years
sediment
small pieces of rock, produced by weathering processes
mechanical weathering
natural processes that break rock into smaller pieces
chemical weathering
a process that changes rock into a new substance through interactions among elements in the air or water and the minerals in the rock
erosion
the result of weathering on matter, created by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity
delta
a fan-like landform made of deposited sediment, left by a river that slows as it enters the ocean
loess
wind-blown silt and clay sediment that produces very fertile soil
glacier
large, long-lasting mass of ice that moves because of gravity
glaciation
the changing of landforms by slowly moving glaciers
moraine
a ridge or hill of rock carried and finally deposited by a glacier
humus
organic material in soil
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