 Now can you explain how these things can be used to help us understand the world better?

 Core  Mantle  Crust  Magma  Earth’s center, high temps and pressure. › Outer-liquid iron & nickel › Inner- solid  Area outside of the core, holds most of the mass.  Thin outer layer of the earth  Liquid rock w/in the Earth’s surface

Plate Tectonics Continental Drift  This is a theory where the Earth’s crust is divided into slow moving plates. Some of these plates span a quarter of the planet, while are a few miles across. These plates are believed to be constantly moving at extremely slow speed.  This is the theory of plates, both oceanic and continental moving.

 Areas in the middle of Continental plates may erode and break down.  Volcanoes form around plate boundaries  Broke apart the super continent “Pangaea”  Earth quakes- the breaking of the Earth’s crust by tectonic force.

 Scientists believe that over 200 million years ago only one continent existed. It was called Pangaea.  This super continent would later break into 2 separate pieces. They were called Gondwana and Laurasia.  After several hundred years these continents broke into many pieces eventually leading to what we know as the Earth now.

 Rift Valleys- when plates spread & stretch the crust until it breaks. The biggest is found in East Africa  Abyssal plains- rocks on the ocean floor sink due to heat. Sediment buries all features. World’s flattest and smoothest regions.  Continental Shelves- continental surface extends out under shallow ocean waters until a steep drop off into abyssal plain.

 Trench- the deep valley that forms when plates collide on the ocean floor one slides under the other causing a subduction zone.  Volcanoes- form around areas where plates grind together.  Faults- where rock masses move apart from the impact of colliding plates.

 Squeezing can and will produce mountain ranges. This is how both the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains were formed.  Spreading can produce valleys.

 Weathering  Sediment  The process of rocks breaking down and decaying over time. › Eg- The Grand Canyon, Hill Tops, Plateaus  Small particles as a result from weathering. › Eg- Sand, gravel, mud.

DDefinition – movement of surface materials from one location to another. AAgents – Water, Wind, and Ice. WWeathering breaks down rocks and the particles are moved by one or more of the agents, until they settle in another location. Sometimes this causes new landforms.

 Glaciers are thick masses of ice that erode rock and move sediment.  They create landforms by moving rocks, grinding rocks, and carving into mountains causing valleys.

 Tectonic Process › Mountains & Valleys are created when plates move causing volcanoes, faulting, & folding.  Erosion › Plateau- Weaker rock & sediment are moved away to expose harder rock hidden underneath.  Sediment Depositions › Delta- sediment is carried out and deposited at the mouth of a river.

See also the diagram on page 70 of your textbook.

 Headwaters  Tributary  Watershed  Drainage Basin  1 st and smallest streams of runoff flowing down hill.  Smaller stream or river that flows into a larger one.  Area drained by a river and its tributaries.  See previous definition.

 Estuaries  Wetlands  Surface water where a river meets an inlet or small arm of the sea, causing a mixture of fresh and sea water.  Any landscape covered in water for part of the year.

 By draining, paving, and filling wetlands.  They are then used for farm land, housing developments, and industrial sites.

 Ground Water  Water Table  Floods  Water that is found below the ground.  Level at which all the spaces in the rock are filled w/ water.  When water of rivers or streams exceeds the channel capacity.

TThese things limit the areas where water can sink & be absorbed by the soil. TThis increases the amount of runoff.

 Soil  Humus  Soil Horizons  Leaching  Natural material that includes both rocky sediment and organic matter.  Broken down plant and animal material.  The different layers of the soil.  The downward movement of minerals and humus soil.

 Weathering through chemical reactions  Freezing and Thawing  Tectonic activity

 Contour Plowing  Soil Exhaustion  Irrigation  Soil Salinization  Plowing across a hill to reduce erosion.  Planting different crops on different years.  Artifically supplying water to land.  Building up of salt in soil.

 Definition – Destruction or loss of forests  Importance › Source of: food, air, medicines, oils, and rubber. › Home to many animals › Prevent erosion  Trees are cut down for lumber, to clear area for farming, and for fuel consumption

 Planting of new trees after cutting down others.

 When chemicals in air pollution combine with water vapor in clouds.  The mixture has effects similar to vinager. › Can damage paint › Can kill fish › Cause damage to trees

 Aqueduct  Aquifers  Fossil Water  Ore  Fossil Fuel  Artifical channels for transporting water.  Rock layers where ground water is plentiful.  Water not being replenished by rain.  Mineral bearing rock.  Energy resources including coal, natural gas, & petroleum.

 Petrochemicals  Geothermal energy  Chemicals made using fossil fuels  Heat for inside the Earth.