What is a Physical Process (Definition)
Naturally occurring actions that the earth does which changes the structure of land.
What are the two main causes of natural disasters?
Weather and Tectonics
What are the two types of Tectonic plates?
Continental and Oceanic
Niagara Falls
- Which process is acting on it?
- Wearing Down
- River Erosion
What are the three main categories of Rock?
Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary
What is Erosion?
The picking-up and movement of weathered rock particles (sediment) by wind, water, ice or gravity.
Name three natural disasters caused by weather
Ice storms
Hail storms
Blizzards
Avalanche
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Water spouts
Wildfires
Flooding (including flash)
Drought
What is a Divergent Plate Boundary?
Two Plates Pulling apart
The Rocky Mountains
Built up
- Plate Tectonics
Worn down
- Weathering and Erosion
What was the cause of the 1998 Montreal Ice Storm?
- Warm air melted the snow into rain, it then passed through cold air near the ground and froze on contact.
What is Weathering?
The breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces (sediment). Entire mountains can be weathered into sediment by wind, water, ice or gravity.
Name three Natural Disasters caused by Plate Tectonics
Landslides
Mudslides
Earthquakes
Tsunami
Volcanic eruption
What is a convergent boundary?
Two plates coming together
Sand Dunes
Built up
- Deposition
What is the difference between Magma and Lava?
MAGMA
Liquid molten rock found INSIDE the earth
Liquid molten rock that is ON the crust
What is Deposition?
The laying down of sediment in a new location. Usually happens when wind, water, or ice that is carrying sediment slows down and drops sediment due to gravity.
Define Mitigation
Mitigation does not mean preventing or stopping a disaster! It is about limiting the damage and deaths. It is about “controlling” what the disaster can do.
What is a transform boundary?
two plates sliding past each other.
The Grand Canyon
Worn Down
- River Erosion
- Weathering
When does Subduction occur?
When an ocean plate and a continental plate collide, the thinner plate (ocean plate) gets pushed underneath the thicker plate (continental plate).
What is Glaciation? How do Glaciers form?
- The formation, movement and melting of ice sheets. Glaciers weather, erode and deposit massive amounts of sediment.
- They form when more snow accumulates than melts throughout the year
What is continental drift theory? (Also called Plate Tectonics theory)
- Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer layer is made up of plates, which have moved throughout Earth's history.
- The theory explains the how and why behind mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes,
What is Convection Currents?
Very hot material at bottom of the mantle rises to the top near the crust
As it hits the crust it cools, get denser/heavier, and sinks
As it sinks it get hotter and hotter until it rises again
This cycle repeats and it pushes the plates apart
Mountains with ice flowing between![]()
Worn Down
- Glaciation
- River erosion
When plates at transform boundaries slide past each other the built-up pressure releases and causes what?
Fault Lines