Question | Answer |
Extreme events classified by the extent of their impact on the ecosystem. Examples include: Avalanches, Droughts, Earthquakes, Epidemics, Forest Fires, Landslides/Mudslides, Sinkhole, Terrorists Attacks, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, War. | Catastrophic Events |
An overflow of accumulation of the water that submerges land. | Flooding |
A severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds. | Hurricane |
A localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground. | Tornado |
The BREAKDOWN and changes in rock and sediments at or near the Earth's surface produced by biological, chemical, and mechanical agents. | Weathering |
The breaking down of rocks that changes the chemical composition of the rock through carbonation, hydration, and or oxidation. | Chemical Weathering |
The breaking down of rocks into little itty bitty pieces by the changes in temperature, abrasion, and plant roots. | Mechanical Weathering |
The process of which water, wind, ice, and gravity remove and transport or carry away sediments from one place to another. | Erosion |
The Depositing of sediments and soil into a new location.
(Deposit- Moving elsewhere) | Deposition |
Area of LOOSELY packed soil that are saturated with water and located beneath the surface of the Earth. | Aquifers |
Hazardous materials (such as pesticides, antifreeze, motor oil, paints) that enter the watershed and pollute the water. | Contaminants |
Triangle-shaped landforms at the mouth of a river formed by the deposit of sediments as it empties into another body of water. | Deltas |
Water that collects in cracks and pored underGROUND soil and rock layers. | Groundwater |
Small pieces of rocks. | Sediments |
Water on the surface of the Earth that comes from precipitation - Lakes, rivers, etc. | Surface Water |
An area of LAND where the water that runs off the land drains into local rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. | Watershed |
An area below the surface where the ground is saturated with water. | Water Table |