Ch.2 Sec. 1 Geography Flashcards
Upper and lower mantle
Consists of molten rock called Magma
1800 miles thick
Outer core
Made of molten, iron, nickel
1400 miles thick
Inner core
2000 degrees Fahrenheit
Made of iron
Solid bc of pressure
700 miles thick
Tectonic plates
The sections of earths crust
Continental drift
The slow movement of the continents
Mountain
A high steep elevation
Hill
Slopes upward but less steep and rigid than a mountain
Plain
A level area
Plateau
A plain that sits high above sea level and usually has a cliff on all sides
Continental shelf
The edge of a continent often extends out under the water
Continental rise
Beyond the slope, before the ocean floor where the land slopes slightly upward
Valley
Low-lying area that is surrounded by mountains
Crust
Outer part of the earth
About 30 miles thick
Solid
Large bodies of salt water
Oceans
Smaller bodies of salt water
Seas
The process by which rocks and soil slowly break apart and are swept away
Erosion
Process where the sun heats the ocean and water vapor rises into the atmosphere
Evaporation
Large body of water that is surrounded by land
Lake
Process of water droplets falling back to the earth
Precipitation
When air water wind or ice slowly where away rocks and soil
Weathering
A mountain that erupts in an explosion of molten rock gases and ashes
Volcano
Continuously moving flows of water that circulate through the oceans and affect climate
Currents
The beginning of spring and autumn
Equinox
Earth’s tilt creates these
Seasons