Earth's Layers
Tornadoes
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
100
the thinnest, coolest, outermost layer of the earth.
What is the "crust"?
100
a rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile, that whirls at destructively high speeds up to 300 mph
What is a tornado?
100
hot, molten rock stored in chambers in the earth's mantle until pressure pushes it up through cracks in the earth's surface, causing a volcanic eruption
What is "magma"?
100
a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction.
What is "an earthquake"?
100
a severe tropical storm formed over the ocean, full of heavy rains and violent winds exceeding 74 miles per hour that often travels toward land
What is a "hurricane"?
200
the middle layer of hot rock that has channels of magma flowing through it and makes up about 80% of the earth's mass
What is the "mantle"?
200
The sucking power of a tornado makes it like this household appliance.
What is "a vacuum cleaner"?
200
what magma is called after it erupts out of a volcano and flows down the side of the mountain
What is a "lava"?
200
an area of stress in the earth where broken rocks slide past each other causing a crack in the earth's surface. The largest one is called San Andreas and is responsible for most of the earthquakes in California.
What is "a fault" or "fault line"?
200
the center of the storm which is also the calmest part
What is "the eye of the hurricane"?
300
the hottest, hardest, innermost layer of the earth thought to be made of solid iron
What is the "inner core"?
300
the area of the midwestern United States where most tornadoes occur; includes parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahom, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas
What is "Tornado Alley"?
300
this region is where 75% of all volcanoes and earthquakes occur; mostly on plate margins around the Pacific Ocean
What is "the Ring of Fire"?
300
an instrument that measures and records motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes
What is "a seismometer or seismograph"?
300
the area surrounding the eye of a hurricane composed of dense clouds that contain the highest winds in the storm
What is the "eyewall"?
400
the layer of the earth around the inner core, made of liquid iron and thought to be responsible for the earth's magnetism
What is the "outer core"?
400
This scale is used to measure the strength of a tornado based on the amount of damage is does and the speed of the winds. These ratings range from F0 for a mild tornado to an F5 for the worst tornadoes.
What is "the Fujita scale"?
400
a constructive effect that volcanic eruptions have on the earth's surface that helps crops grow
What is "making soil more fertile"?
400
a scale used to measure the intensity of an earthquake using seismograph data. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded measured a 9.5 on this scale.
What is "the Richter scale"?
400
When is hurricane season?
Summer and early fall
500
the theory that the Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into moving plates, like puzzle pieces
What is "plate tectonics"?
500
If you hear on the radio or see on tv that your area is under a tornado warning, what should you do?
You should find shelter on the lowest floor of your home, like a basement or cellar, or an inner room with no windows. Cover yourself with a mattress to protect you from flying debris.
500
The eruption of this Washington state volcano in 1980 caused the largest landslide in recorded history.
What is "Mount St. Helens"?
500
the point on the earth's surface directly above the source of the earthquake.
What is "the epicenter"?
500
a scale that rates hurricanes by wind speed, pressure, height of storm surge, and amount of damage. Hurricanes can range from Category 1 with minimal damage to Category 5 with catastrophic damage.
What is "the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale"?
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