unit 2
Processes by which rock, sand, and soil are broken down and carried away?
Erosion
The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations (sid does this)
continental drift
A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.
convergent boundary
an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks
floodplain
A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.
geographic information system
the slow downhill movement of weathered rock material.
slope
The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.
Subduction
a break or crack in Earth's surface. Caused by shifting and moving plates.
fault line
A hill or ridge of sand shaped by the wind
dune
A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.
seismic wave
A line on a topographic map that connects points of equal elevation
contour line
A theory stating that the earth's surface is broken into plates that move.
plate tectonics
the steepness of a line on a graph, equal to its vertical change divided by its horizontal change
slope
A wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt
loess
The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere
mesosphere
On a topographic map, tells the distance in elevation between adjacent contour lines.
contour interval
the bending, tilting, and breaking of Earth's crust; the change in the shape of rock in response to stress.
deformation
The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor
sea-floor spreading
the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.
topography
The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.
mantle
A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
lithosphere
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.
divergent boundary
Process in which sediment is laid down in new locations due to gravity's downward pull
deposition
A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.
Global Positioning System
a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid
convection current