Changes in the Earth’s Surface

Erosion Sediments Ridge Trench Weathering The process in which rocks are broken down into pieces. Erosion The process in sediments are carried away by moving water, wind, or ice. Sediments Very small pieces of rock like sand. Continental drift The movement of continents due to shifting plates. Ridge a long, narrow elevation of land; a chain of hills or mountains. Trench a long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor

Fault Crust Mantle Lithosphere Plate Tectonic a break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture Fault Plate Tectonic lithosphere is divided into a number of crustal plates, each of which moves on the plastic asthenosphere more or less independently to collide with, slide under, or move past adjacent plates. Crust The uppermost layer of the Earth Mantle The thick layer of Earth that is between the crust and the outer core Lithosphere Where the solid upper mantel and crust combine.

Magma Lava Glacier Volcano Earthquake Molten material beneath or with in the earth’s crust where igneous rocks are made. Magma Lava The molten or fluid rock that comes from a volcano Glacier A large chunk of ice that is moving very slowly creating mountains or valleys in its path. A vent within the Earth’s crust that spews lava, steam, or ash Volcano Earthquake A vibration from the Earth caused by shifting plates

Tsunami Deposition Chemical Weathering A large sea wave created by an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Deposition Sediment that is being left behind during erosion Mechanical Weathering The breaking down on larger rock into smaller rock, called sediment. Chemical Weathering Changing rock into other materials or dissolving rock.