Chapter IV Flashcards
earth’s center, where pressures and temperatures are very high
core
the section of earth’s interior that lies above the outer core and has the most mass
mantle
liquid rock within earth
magma
the theory that earth’s crust is divided into rigid plates that slowly move across the upper mantle
plate tectonics
the process by which earth’s plates slowly move across the upper mantle
continental drift
places on earth’s surface where the crust stretches until it breaks
rift valleys
areas of the ocean floor where rocks gradually sink, because they have no supporting heat below them; the world’s flattest and smoothest regions
abyssal plains
areas where continental surfaces extend under the shallow ocean water around the continents
continental shelves
a deep valley marking a collision of plates, where one plate slides under another
trench
places where rocks have been compressed into bends by colliding plates
folds
places where rock masses have been broken apart and are moving away from each other
faults
the process by which rocks break and decay over time
weathering
small particles if weathered rock
sediment
process of removing salt from ocean water
desalinization
movement of water through the hydrosphere
hydrologic cycle
