Chapter 11 Flashcards
Ancestral Rockies
The late Paleozoic uplifts of the Rocky Mountain region. they eroded away long before the present Rocky Mountains formed
Basin and Range Province
A broad, Cenozoic continental rift that has affected a portion of the western United States in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. in this province, tilted fault blocks form ranges, and alluvium-filled valleys are basins
differentiation
In the context of planet formation, the process by which a planet separates into a metallic core and a rocky mantle very early in its history
Hadean Eon
The oldest of the Precambrian eons. the time between Earth’s origin and the formation of the first rocks that have been preserved
Pleistocene ice age
The period of time from about 2 Ma to 14,000 years ago, during which the Earth experienced an ice age
shield
An older, interior region of a continent
superplume
A huge mantle plume, underlies the african continent and is breaking the continent apart
Alpine-Himalayan Chain
The largest orogeny on earth
craton
An old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging & breaking.
Gondwana
late Paleozoic continent that formed the southern portion of Pangaea, consisting of all or parts of present-day South America, Africa, Australia, India, and Antarctica
How and when the land masses begin to form on the Earth’s surface?
During the Archean Eon, volcanic arcs and hot spot volcanoes became too buoyant to be subducted.
When and how was oxygen added to the atmosphere?
During the proterozoic eon, through photosynthesis. Creation of the Ozone shield.
What ends to Proterozoic eon and the Precambrian era?
Ice age, mass extinction
In the cambrian period, what major event/changes took place?
Cambrian explosion, first shellfish and corals and many organisms with skeletons appear
K-T Boundary event
event dividing the mesozoic and cenozoic eras, caused mass extinction–perhaps related to Deccan traps in India
