What is the crust?
solid, outer layer of the earth
What is a topographical map?
a map of surface feature, natural and human, drawn to scale
What is the core?
the central interior of the earth
What is the mantle?
the layer of the earth between the crust and the core
What is the asthenosphere?
the outer layer composed of slow moving molten rock
What is the mesosphere?
the inner layer of the mantle
What is the lithosphere?
a rigid player made up of mantle and crust that sits on the asthenosphere
What is an oceanic plate?
a segment of the earth crust beneath sea level
What is a continental plate?
a segment of the earth crust above sea level
What is the order of the eras?
Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
What happened during the Precambrian era?
Precambrian Shields are formed
What happened during the Paleozoic era?
large parts of North American are covered by shallow seas, Appalachians formed
What happened during the Mesozoic era?
formation of Rocky Mountains begins, Innuitian Mountains formed, shallow seas in the interior of North America at various times
What was Pangaea?
a supercontinent that existed over 300 million years ago
What did the continents start to drift apart?
200 million years ago
Who proposed the theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener
What is a convection current?
the circular movement of a liquid or gas undergoing convection in a limited space
What is convergent?
when two plates move toward each other and collide
What is divergent?
when two plates move away from each other forcing magma to rise and cool along the plate boundary
What is transform?
when two plates slide past each other creating friction
What can happen as a result of convergent?
Mountain formation
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Oceanic trenches
What can happen as a result of divergent?
Rifts (which become rift valleys) and ridges
Underwater volcanoes
Earthquakes
What can happen as a result of transform?
Strike-slip-faults
Earthquakes
What is a subduction zone?
area where one plate slides below another
What to subduction zones cause?
volcanism and earthquakes
What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
where 80% of the world’s earthquakes occur
What is folding?
uplifting of sedimentary rock layers due to tectonic movements
What is faulting?
tectonic movements that create faults in rock strata
What is erosion?
the degradation and removal of rock material by water, wind or ice
What is weathering?
the breakdown of rock by physical and chemical processes
What is glaciation?
the process of being covered by glaciers or ice sheets
What is deposition?
when material, being transported by erosion, is placed down
What is sedimentary rock?
rock formed when grains of sand are moved by water/wind and get laid down in layers and compressed
What is igneous rock?
rock formed when magma solidifies.
What is metamorphic rock?
formed when igneous and sedimentary rocks change into new rock types through heat and pressure
What is an air mass?
a huge body of air that has the characteristics of where it formed
Where do winds blow air masses?
from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure
What are jet streams?
layers of fast moving, high altitude air that forms boundary between cold air masses from the north and warm air masses from the south
What are westerlies?
the prevailing winds in Canada, travel from west to east
What are prevailing winds?
winds that are most commonly found in an area
What is a moderating effect?
effect that large water bodies have on climate over nearby land areas
What are the characteristics of maritime climate?
Moderate temperature, High precipitation
What are the characteristics of continental climate?
More extreme temperature, Low precipitation
What are the numbers that determine whether a climate is maritime or continental?
25 degrees C, 1000 mm
What is a windward slope?
the side of the mountain range that faces the wind and receives more precipitation
What is a leeward slope?
the side of the mountain range that faces away from the wind and receives little precipitation
What is a rain shadow?
area on the leeward side of the mountain that gets little precipitation
What is relief precipitation?
precipitation created when an air mass rises to cross a mountain barrier
What is convectional precipitation?
precipitation caused by a hot summer day, when heated land warms the air causing it to condense and rise. This condenses air causes rainfall and thunder
What is frontal rainfall?
rainfall caused by lighter, warmer air being forced to rise over colder, denser air
What is climate change?
any change that occurs in climate over a long period of time
What is global warming?
climate change that relates to an increase in the world temperatures due to a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and natural fluctuations
What is the greenhouse effect?
the special property of the atmosphere that allows it to radiate reflected energy from the earth’s surface back to the earth
What is permafrost?
soil that is permanently frozen
What are deciduous trees?
broad leaf trees that lose their leaves in the winter
What are coniferous trees?
trees that have cones and needle-like leaves
Who proposed the theory of plate tectonics?
J. Tuzo Wilson
What is the theory of plate tectonics?
earth’s crust is divided into plates, which are in constant motion
How do you calculate Total Annual Precipitation?
Sum of all monthly precipitation
How do you calculate Annual Average Temperature?
Sum of all monthly temp / 12
How do you calculate Temperature Range?
Highest temperature- lowest temperature
