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Definition
| a summary timeline of all earth's history |
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| the order in which things have happened; based on superposition or rock strata |
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Definition
| the actual number of years before the present |
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Definition
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Definition
| the theory that the same physical processes active in the environment today have been operating forever |
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| Punctuated equilibrium 11 |
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Definition
| interruptions occur in the flow of events, systems jump to new operation levels |
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Term
| Inner Core - Outer Core - Lower Mantle - Upper Mantle - Asthenosphere - Uppermost mantle - Crust 11 |
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Definition
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Definition
| polarity change in earth's magnetic field |
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Definition
| the combined uppermost mantle and crust |
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Definition
| less dense layer of earth's crust made of mostly granite |
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Definition
| more dense layer of earth's crust made of basalt |
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Definition
| when the earth rises and sinks to compensate for what happens on the surface |
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Definition
| the processing of earth materials with the chemical and physical action of water, ice, and wind through erosion, transportation, and deposition |
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Definition
| produces igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks |
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Term
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Definition
| an inorganic natural compound having a specific chemical formula and usually possessing a crystalline structure |
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Definition
| an assemblage of minerals bound together or a mass of a single mineral or a solid organic material (i.e. coal) |
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Definition
| solidifies and crystalizes from a molten state; forms from magma |
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Term
| Intrusive igneous rock 11 |
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Definition
| rock that cools slowly in the crust |
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Term
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Definition
| any intrusive igneous rock body |
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Term
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Definition
| an irregular-shaped mass with a surface greater than 100 km^2 |
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| Extrusive igneous rock 11 |
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Definition
| rock exposed above the crust |
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Term
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Definition
| feldspar and silica; lighter in color and less dense than mafic |
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Term
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Definition
| magnesium and iron; darker in color and greater in density than felsic |
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Definition
| existing rock that is disintegrated and dissolved by weathering, picked up and moved vy erosion and transportation, and deposited along river, beach, and ocean sites where burial initiates the rock-forming process through lithification (cementation) |
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Term
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Definition
| weathered and fragmented rocks that are further worn in transport |
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Term
| chemical sedimentary rocks 11 |
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Definition
| formed from dissolved minerals transported in solution and chemically precipitated from solution |
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Term
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Definition
| igneous or sedimentary rock that has undergone drastic physical or chemical changes under pressure and increased temperature |
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Definition
| cycle that brings heat energy and new material to the surface and recycles material which creates movement and deformation of the crust |
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Definition
| the idea that the earth's landmasses migrate (Wegener) |
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Definition
| the landmass that is made up of all the continents put together |
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Definition
| the process of upwelling of magma; lithospheric plate movements; sea-floor spreading and lithospheric subduction; earthquakes; volcanic activity; lithospheric deformation |
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Term
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Definition
| submarine mountain ranges that are the direct result of upwelling flows of magma from hot areas in the upper mantle and asthenosphere and possibly the lower mmantle |
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Term
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Definition
| where continental crust and oceanic crust slowly collide and the denser ocean floor grinds beneath the lighter continental crust |
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Definition
| individual sites of upwelling material arriving at the surface in tall plumes from the mantle of the near surface that produce thermal effects in groundwater and crust |
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Term
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Definition
| vertical elevation differences in the landscape |
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Term
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Definition
| the undulating form of earth's surface including its relief |
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Term
| Continental landmasses 12 |
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Definition
| portions of crust that reside above or near sea level |
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Term
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Definition
| basins entirely below sea level |
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Definition
| nucleus of ancient crystalline rock on which the continent grows |
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Definition
| a region where a craton is exposed at the surface |
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Definition
| slowly migrating crustal pieces which have become attached or accreted to the plates |
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Term
| Tension (stretching), Compression (shortening), Shear (twisting) 12 |
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Definition
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Term
| Folding (bending) and Faulting (breaking) 12 |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| upfolded rock strata in which layers slope downward from the axis of the fold, or central ridge |
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Definition
| a trough in folded strata with beds that slope toward the axis of the downfold |
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Definition
| a sharp release of energy occurring at the moment of fracture in rock or crust |
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Definition
| a fault that forms when rocks are pulled apart by tensional stress |
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Definition
| a fault that forms when rocks are forced together by compressional stress |
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Definition
| a fault that forms when rocks are torn by lateral-shearing stress |
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Definition
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| Circum-Pacific belt "Ring of Fire" 12 |
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Definition
| the region of active volcanoes and earthquakes around the Pacific |
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Definition
| a device that measures seismic waves of energy transmitted throughout earth's interior or along the crust |
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Definition
| the scale used to determine earthquake magnitude |
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