Global Connections _ Chp 4

Front 1

geology

Back 1

Science that works with earth’s surface like rocks and stuff

Front 2

Core

Back 2

Earth’s center, where pressures and temperatures are very high

Front 3

abyssal plains

Back 3

Areas of the ocean floor where rocks gradually sink because they have no supporting heat below them; the world’s flattest and smoothest regions

Front 4

alluvial fan

Back 4

Fan shaped deposit of mud and gravel often found along the bases of mountains

Front 5

continental drift

Back 5

The process by which Earth’s plates slowly move across the upper mantle

Front 6

continental shelf

Back 6

Areas where continental surfaces extend under the shallow ocean water around the continents

Front 7

delta

Back 7

Accumulation of sediment at the mouth of a river

Front 8

erosion

Back 8

Movement of surface material from one location to another by water, wind, and ice

Front 9

faults

Back 9

Places where rock masses have been broken apart and are moving away from each other

Front 10

folds

Back 10

Places where rocks have been compressed into bends by colliding plates

Front 11

glaciers

Back 11

Thick masses of ice, including great ice sheets and bodies of ice that flow down mountains like slow rivers

Front 12

Magma

Back 12

Liquid rock within Earth

Front 13

Mantle

Back 13

The section of Earth’s interior that lies above the outer core and has the most mass

Front 14

plate tectonics

Back 14

The theory that Earth’s crust is divided into rigid plates that slowly move across the upper mantle

Front 15

plateau

Back 15

An elevated flatland that rises sharply above nearby land on at least one side

Front 16

rift valleys

Back 16

Places on Earth’s surface where the crust stretches until it breaks

Front 17

sediments

Back 17

Small particles of weathered rock

Front 18

trench

Back 18

A deep valley marking a collision of plates, where one plate slides under another

Front 19

weathering

Back 19

The process by which rocks break and decay over time

Front 20

Desalinization

Back 20

Process of removing salt from ocean water

Front 21

hydrologic cycle

Back 21

Movement of water through the hydrosphere

Front 22

drainage basin

Back 22

A region drained by a river and its tributaries

Front 23

estuaries

Back 23

Semi-enclosed bodies of water, seawater, and freshwater formed where a river meets an inlet of the sea

Front 24

groundwater

Back 24

Water found below ground

Front 25

headwaters

Back 25

First and smallest streams formed from the runoff of a mountain, eventually forming rivers

Front 26

tributary

Back 26

Any smaller stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river

Front 27

watershed

Back 27

The entire region drained by a river and its tributaries

Front 28

wetlands

Back 28

Landscapes that are covered with water for at least part of the year

Front 29

water table –

Back 29

The groundwater level at which all the cracks and spaces in rock are filled with water

Front 30

acid rain

Back 30

Polluted rain that can damage trees and kill fish in lakes

Front 31

alluvial soils –

Back 31

Soils deposited by streams or rivers

Front 32

aquifers –

Back 32

Rock layers where groundwater is plentiful

Front 33

arboreal – Tree

Back 33

dwelling

Front 34

biome

Back 34

a community created with plants and animals ?

Front 35

contour plowing

Back 35

Plowing fields across a hill, rather than up and down the hill

Front 36

crop rotation

Back 36

The practice of planting different crops in a field in alternating years

Front 37

deforestation

Back 37

Destruction or loss of forests

Front 38

desertification –

Back 38

Spreading of desert conditions

Front 39

ecosystems –

Back 39

Communities of plants and animals

Front 40

fossil water –

Back 40

Groundwater that is not replenished by rain

Front 41

humus – Broken

Back 41

down plant and animal matter in soil

Front 42

irrigation

Back 42

A process in which water is artificially supplied to the land

Front 43

leaching

Back 43

Downward movement of minerals and humus in soils

Front 44

lichens –

Back 44

Small plants that consist of algae and fungi

Front 45

permafrost

Back 45

Permanently frozen soil below the ground’s surface

Front 46

reforestation

Back 46

The replanting of a forest

Front 47

soil exhaustion

Back 47

A condition in which soil has lost nutrients and becomes nearly useless for farming

Front 48

soil salinization

Back 48

Salt buildup in the soil

Front 49

peninsula

Back 49

a piece of land that has three sides surrounded by water

Front 50

elevation/altitude

Back 50

the distance above sea level