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World Geo 5.7
Chapter 1 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
1.Geography | The study of the earths surface and the processes that shape it, the connections between places, and the complex relationships between people and their environments. |
2.GIS | A geographic information system, which uses computer technology to collect and analyze data about the earth's surface in order to solve geographic problems. |
3.Absolute Location | The position on the earth in which a place can be found. |
4.Hemisphere | A half of the earth; the Equator divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres; the Prime Meridian divides the Eastern and Western hemispheres. |
5.Relative Location | The position of a place in relation to another place. |
6.Character of a place | The physical and human characteristics that help to distinguish a place from others. |
7.Perception | A viewpoint that is influenced by one's own culture and experiences. |
8.Formal region | A group of places that have similar attributes, for |
9.Functional Region | A group of places connected by movement, for example, the region drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. |
10.Perceptual Region | A group of places that is defined by people's feelings and attitudes. |
11.Core | The earths center, consisting of very hot metal that is dense and solid in the inner core and molten, or liquid, in the outter core. |
12.Mantle | A thick layer of mostly solid rock beneath the earths crust that surrounds the earths core. |
13.Crust | The solid, rocky, surface layer of the earth. |
14.Lithosphere | The surfaces features of the earth, including soil, rocks, and land forms. |
15.Atmosphere | The layer of gases, water vapor, and other substances above the earth. |
16.Hydrosphere | The water contained on the oceans, lakes, rivers, and under the ground. |
17.Biosphere | The world of plants, animals, and other living things in earths land and waters. |
18.Continent | Any of the large masses of the earths surfaces: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. |
19.Relief | The differences between elevation, or height, of the land forms in any particular area. |
20.Plate Techtonics | The theory that the earth outer shell is composed of a number of large, unanchored plates, or slabs of rock, whose constant movement explain earthquakes and volcanic activity. |
21.Continental Drift Theory | The idea that continents slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride. |
22.Ring of fire | A ring of volcanic mountains surrounding the Pacific Ocean. |
23.Weathering | The chemical or mechanical process by which rock is gradually broken down, eventually becoming soil. |
24.Mechanical Weathering | The actual breaking up or physical weakening of rock forces such as ice and roots. |
25.Chemical Weathering | The process of which the actual chemical structure of rock is changed, usually when water and carbon dioxide cause a breakdown of the rock. |
26.Acid Rain | Rain whose high concentration of chemicals, usually from industrial pollution, pollute waters, kills plant and animal life, and eats away at the surface of stone and rock; a form of chemical weathering. |
27.Erosion | The movement of weathered materials, including gavel, soil, and sand usually caused by water, wind, and glaciers. |
28.Sediment | Particles of soil and rock carried and deposited by water, wind, or ice. |
29.Loess | Fine-grained, mineral-rich loam, dust, or silt deposited by the wind. |
30.Glacier | A huge, slow-moving mass of snow and ice. |
31.Moraine | A ridge like mass of rock, gravel, sand, and clay carried and deposited by a glacier. |