Chapter 3 Flashcards

1
Q

A violent upheaval of change in the earth’s crust

A

Cataclysm

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2
Q

Those who believed in an old earth developing over billions of years tried to explain that the surface of the earth was gradually shaped by observable natural processes over cast spans of time

A

Uniformitarianism

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3
Q

What most professional geologists call themselves today

A

Neocatastrophists

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4
Q

The outer “skin” of the earth

A

Crust

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5
Q

The layer of hot, plastic material that is after the Crust

A

Mantle

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6
Q

What the surface of the earth is divided into

A

Continents

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7
Q

The variation in the landscape

A

Landform

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8
Q

The three types of landforms

A

Mountains, Plains, Plateaus

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9
Q

The formation where several mountains appear together

A

Mountain Range

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10
Q

Wide areas of level land

A

Plains

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11
Q

Wide areas of relatively flat land but they rise abruptly above surrounding lands

A

Plateaus

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12
Q

Deposits of sediment

A

Alluvium

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13
Q

The covering of air that surrounds our planet

A

Atmosphere

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14
Q

The solid part of the earth

A

Lithosphere

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15
Q

The water on the earth’s surface

A

Hydrosphere

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16
Q

The system where all the oceans flow into each other

A

World Ocean

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17
Q

Rivers that “feed” other rivers

A

Tributaries

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18
Q

The main river and all its tributaries

A

River System

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19
Q

What features determine the “greatest” river systems

A

Length, Discharge, Drainage Area

20
Q

Arms of the ocean partially enclosed by land

A

Seas

21
Q

The theory that the plates crash into and pull apart from one another, releasing energy from the earth’s interior and causing earthquakes and volcanoes

A

Plate Tectonics Theory

22
Q

Deep cracks in the earth’s surface where two pieces of land have moved in different directions

A

Faults

23
Q

The latitude zone that lies between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer (Northern Hemisphere) and the Tropic of Capricorn (Southern Hemisphere)

A

Low Latitudes

24
Q

The latitude zone that lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Ocean (Northern Hemisphere) and between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle (Southern Hemisphere)

A

Middle Latitudes

25
Q

The latitude zone that lies between. the Arctic Circle and the North Pole (Northern Hemisphere) and between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole (Southern Hemisphere)

A

High Latitudes

26
Q

Another name for low latitudes

A

Tropics

27
Q

Another name for middle latitudes

A

Temperate Zone

28
Q

Another name for high latitudes

A

Polar Regions

29
Q

Warm air holding a lot of water vapor

A

Humidity

30
Q

The point at which water vapor begins condensation

A

Dew Point

31
Q

When the temperature drops, the water vapor loses energy, condensation occurs, and water falls to the earth

A

Precipitation

32
Q

The process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

A

Hydrologic Cycle

33
Q

When a warm mass of humid air passes over a mountainous area, the air moves upward and cools rapidly. Water vapor condenses into droplets, clouds form, and precipitation quickly follows

A

Orographic

34
Q

The land beyond the mountains that is usually very dry because little water vapor survives passage over the mountains.

A

Rainshadow

35
Q

Water that seeps through the soil and forms slow-moving rivers under the ground

A

Ground Water

36
Q

The line where two air masses meet

A

Front

37
Q

The rise of warm air over a hot surface

A

Convection

38
Q

The typical weather in a region over a long period of time

A

Climate

39
Q

The atmospheric conditions of a location at a specific moment in time

A

Weather

40
Q

The five climates of the world

A

Tropical Rainy, Dry, Moderate, Cold, Other

41
Q

The rate the temperature drops that happens at higher elevation

A

Lapse Rate

42
Q

Any large region where distinct populations of plants and animals are found living together

A

Biome

43
Q

The three main types of biomes

A

Forests, Grasslands, Wastelands

44
Q

Trees that produce their seeds in a cone

A

Conifers

45
Q

Trees that lose their leaves during a particular season of the year

A

Deciduous

46
Q

Soil that remains frozen year-round

A

Permafrost