A habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean.
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Littoral zone
area closest to the shore
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Earthquake
The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.
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Crust
The thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth
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Mantle
The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.
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Core
Center of the earth
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Seismic
relating to or caused by an earthquake
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Ocean Crust
Dense layer made up of primarily basaltic rocks filled with iron and magnesium
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Continental crust
Layer of the earth's crust that primarily contains granite, is less dense than oceanic crust
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Continental drift
Wegner's theory that the continents slowly moved over Earth's surface and once were joined into a single landmass known as Pangea
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Plate tectonics
The process where large sections (plates) of the Earth's crust are in constant movement over the fluid mantle, causing earthquakes and volcanoes at the borders between the plates
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Lithosphere
The outermost layer of the Earth's crust
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Mid-ocean ridge
a mountain range with a central valley on an ocean floor at the boundary between two diverging tectonic plates, where new crust forms from upwelling magma
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Paleomagnetic stripes
The pattern of magnetic stripes on the ocean floor due to reversals in the Earth's magnetic field and seafloor spreading
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Polarity
having two opposite states of being on either end (such as North and South pole, or the positive and negative end of a magnet)
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Divergent Boundary
where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other
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Convection current
the movement of fluids or air based on density differences caused by differing temperature
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Convergent boundary
when two or more tectonic plates come together
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Subduction
the process where one lithospheric plate slides below another at a convergent plate boundary
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Trench
a long, narrow and deep depression on the ocean floor with relatively steep sides; caused by convergent plate boundaries
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Volcano
a mountain or hill with a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour and gas are being forced from the Earth's crust
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Tsunami
a seismic sea wave created by an underwater earthquake or volcanic event; not noticeable in the open ocean but building to great heights in shallow water
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Hydrothermal Vent
an area where cold ocean water that has seeped into the Earth's crust is superheated by underlying magma and forced through vents in the ocean floor
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Transform Boundary
when two plates are moving in an antiparallel direction, creating friction between them
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Abyssal Plain
a flat, sandy region of the ocean floor found between trenches and continental rise
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