Question | Answer |
tectonic plates | enormous moving pieces of he earths lithosphere |
fault | fracture in the earths surface |
earthquake | voilent movement of the earth |
seismograph | measures the size of the waves created b the eathquake |
epicenter | he point directly above the focus of the earthquake; middle |
Richter scale | determines he strength of the earthquake |
tsuanmi | underwater earthquakes; giant wave in the ocean |
volcano | magma, gases, water from the lower part of the crust the mantle collects in the underground chambers and pours out he cracks in the side of the volcono |
lava | magma that has reached the earths surface |
ring of fire | zone around the rim of the pacific ocean is the location of the vast majority of acive volcanoes |
weathering | physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics of rocks |
sediment | small pieces of rock |
mechanical weathering | procecss that breaks roks into smaller pieces |
chemical weathering | occurs when rock is changed into a new substance |
erosion | weathered materials are move by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity |
delta | when a river enters the ocean the sediment is deposited in a fan- like formation |
loess | wind blown by silt and clay sediment that produces fertile soil |
glacier | large, long lasting mass of ice that moves because of gravity |
glaciation | changing of landforms |
moraine | rocks left behind by a glacier |
humus | textures of soil and the amount of organic materials |