Unit 5- Class Notes and My Notes

Question 1

In what 5 ways is Earth “unique”?

Answer 1

1) Abundant life, including complex life forms.
2) Abundant LIQUID water (other planets and moons may have ice, but no water)
3) Large liquid Fe/No core (outer core), resulting in a magnetic field (Earth is the only one with a liquid core even though others may have iron cores)
4) Plate Tectonics (process)
5) Semi-unique: asteroid impacts–inner solar system vs. outer. Comets are a different matter.

Question 2

What is the top of lithosphere controlled by?

Answer 2

what happened in the past (geologically)

Question 3

What is the top of the lithosphere composed of?

Answer 3

continental crust and oceanic crust

Question 4

How is oceanic crust different that continental crust?

Answer 4

The oceans are not merely topographically low places full of salty water. They re fundamentally different, with different (though related) geological histories.

Question 5

What is the difference in the age of rocks in the continental crust and oceanic crust?

Answer 5

Rocks in C.C. range from Now in age, back to about 4.1 Ga. The oldest rock in the OC is only about 160 million years old.

Question 6

What are the 7 geomorphic features (topography and geology) of the continual-oceanic edge?

Answer 6

1) shorelines
2) continual shelfs and slopes
3) abyssal plains and hills, sea mounts, and volcanoes
4) Mid-oceanic ridges and rises (MOR)–volcanoes
5) Tectonic mountain belts
6) Precambrian shields
7) continental platforms “Phanerozoic”

Question 7

Continual Margin___(Atlantic) Type

Answer 7

passive

Question 8

What is the Continental Margin Passive (Atlantic) type of oc-cc edge?

Answer 8

Oceanic and continual are butted together.

Question 9

What is the active (pacific) type of cc-oc edge related to?

Answer 9

• volcanoes
• earthquakes
• subduction
• trenches

Question 10

What happens at the oc-cc active type of edge?

Answer 10

One plate subjecting under the other plate and creates a trench which is the deepest part of the ocean

Question 11

What is the deepest part of the ocean?

Answer 11

ocean trench (has to do with convergent plate boundaries)

Question 12

What is Plate tectonics?

Answer 12

OC and CC in motion relative to each other

Question 13

OC will always go__CC because the OC is more dense than CC…this is called?

Answer 13

under

-isostasy

Question 14

What is a mountain?

Answer 14

A large rise of land, much higher than surrounding land

Question 15

What is a mountain belt or system?

Answer 15

A region or chain of mountains

Question 16

What are the 3 causes of mountains?

Answer 16

1) Volcanism (e.g. isolated or vol. arcs)
2) Intrusion of batholiths (least common)
3) Orogeny (materials is folded, creates fault)

Question 17

What is orogeny? How long does it last?

Answer 17

A period of time of (or the event of) folding and faulting (lasts for about 100 Ma)

Question 18

Orogeny includes___and___at depth

Answer 18

Metamorphism and intrusion

Question 19

Orogeny results in___to form mountain belt and___of topographic surface. Isostatic___(rebound) also takes place.

Answer 19

• uplift
• erosion
• uplift

Question 20

Which orogeny, what is slowly reduced as once deeply exposed rocks become exposed.

Answer 20

topography

Question 21

What is orogeny related to? What location?

Answer 21

Related to plate tectonics, mostly at Convergent Boundaries.

Question 22

What is Orogen?

Answer 22

A belt or region in which orogenic mountain building has taken place, over a specific time span, even if no longer mountains.

Question 23

How are orogens identified?

Answer 23

Any mountains or high hilly area whose rocks were deformed (regional meta. locally) during a specific relatively recent time span.

Question 24

A region containing deformed and meta. rocks, now fairly flat topographically because, whatever the original topography, erosion has planed the region flat and isostasy has brought upon deeply buried rocks…what is this?

Answer 24

orogeny over a specific time span.

Question 25

Young Orogeny mostly

Answer 25

150

Question 26

What is a young orogen?

Answer 26

erosion has not eroded the region flat

Question 27

Ancient orogen >___Ma and up to>___Ma

Answer 27

150, 3500

Question 28

What are shields?

Answer 28

• Ancient parts of continents >570 Ma
• Made of various orogens formed over ~3000 Ma
• Mostly topographically low

Question 29

What is carton?

Answer 29

Ancient stable land (an block composed of ancient orogens).

Question 30

When did the Cordilleran Mountain belt start to form?

Answer 30

150 ma

Question 31

What caused the cordilleran Mnt. belt to form?

Answer 31

when two tectonic plates were coming together

Question 32

What mountain belt discussed is still slightly active

Answer 32

1) Alpine Himalayan Belt

Question 33

What is the Ring of Fire?

Answer 33

Volcanoes stude most of the way around the pacific ocean

Question 34

How did the Ring of Fire form?

Answer 34

through tectonic mountain belts (orogenic process)

Question 35

Orogenic Mountain belts = ___

Answer 35

tectonic mountain belts

Question 36

Why are Ural and Appalachian mountains not high?

Answer 36

because of at least 250 million years of erosion

Question 37

How old are areas rich in precambrian rocks?

Answer 37

over 1.8 billion years old

Question 38

In most precambrian areas, all rocks have undergone___building.

Answer 38

orogenic

Question 39

Every continent is made up of rocks that were once a part of an___mountain belt.

Answer 39

orogenic

Question 40

What is a shield?

Answer 40

• ancient parts of continents >570 Ma (rock ages)
• made of various orogens formed over ~3000 Ma
• mostly now topographically low

Question 41

What is a carton?

Answer 41

-ancient stable land block (composed of ancient orogens)