Question | Answer |
the study of the earth's surface, climate, continents, countries, peoples, industries, and products | geography |
natural features of the earth's surface | landforms |
all of the surrounding things, conditions, and influences affecting the growth or development of living things | environment |
global positioning system | GPS |
Geographic Information System | GIS |
an object made by someone in the past | artifact |
the perserved trace, imprint, or remains of a plant or animal | fossils |
the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field | solar system |
the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another | orbit |
the mass of air surrounding the Earth | atmosphere |
an imaginery line that runs through the Earth's center connecting the two poles | axis |
a single complete turn of the Earth around the sun | revolution |
a year in which an extra day is added to the calendar | leap year |
June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point | summer solstice |
December 22, when the sun is at its southernmost pointDecember 22 | winter solstice |
either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length | equinox |
the central part of the Earth | core |
the layer of the earth between the crust and the core | mantle |
molten rock in the earth's crust | magma |
the outer layer of the Earth | crust |
One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. | continents |
Theory that great slabs or plates of Earth's outer layer float on a hot, semi-molten mantle. All plates are moving slowly and have rafted continents to new positions over time. | plate tectonics theory |
shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity | earthquake |
A giant wave caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor | tsunamis |
cracks in the earth's crust | faults |
The breaking down of rocks and other materials on the Earth's surface. | weathering |
condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind | erosion |
huge sheets of ice | glaciers |
height above or below sea level | elevation |
large pieces of flat land. | plains |
Large area of high flat or gently rolling land | plateaus |
a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas | isthmus |
land surrounded by water on three sides | peninsula |
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water | island |
the gently sloping part of a continent that is under water and rings each continent | continental shelf |
a V-shaped valley on the ocean floor | trenches |
a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water | strait |
a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vessels | channel |
a low triangular area where a river divides before entering a larger body of water | delta |