LC Geography General Terms

Earth's structure

inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

The core

centre of the earth.
inner core- solid sphere of metals under severe pressure.
outer core- completely molten due to intense heat.

The mantle

75% volume of the earth

Asthenosphere

The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move

Lithosphere

A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.

Moho

boundary between crust and mantle

Crust

Earth's outermost layer.

Continental crust

The portion of the earth's crust that primarily contains granite.
SIAL

Oceanic Crust

the portion of Earth's crust that is usually below the oceans.
SIMA

Plate tectonics

A theory stating that the earth's surface is broken into plates that move.

7 major plates

North American, South American, Pacific, African, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, and Antartic

continental drift

The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass (Pangaea), broke up, and drifted to their present locations

Convection Currents

Circular currents in the mantle caused by the magma being heated by the core off the Earth.

Mid ocean ridge

An underwater moutain chain where new ocean floor is formed

Sea floor spreading

The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor

Subduction

When the heavier plate in a collision sinks below the lighter one back into the mantle.

Slab pull

the pulling of a tectonic plate as its edge subducts deep into the mantle

Plate separation
(divergent) (constructive)

When plates move away from each other because molten magma rises to the surface.
-mid ocean ridges
-volcanic mts.
-volcanic islands ( Tenerife and Iceland)
- Rift Valley (Eastern Africa)
Eg. North American and Eurasian Plate.

Plate collision (convergent) (destructive)

Oceanic to oceanic - tsunami, earthquake, trench, volcanic island (Nasca and Pacific Plate)
oceanic to continental-tsunami, earthquake, trench, fold mts,volcanic mts. (Nasca and South American Plate)
continental to continental-earthquakes and fold mountains (Himalayan Mts.) (Eurasian and Indo Australian Plate).

Passive Boundary (sliding) (transform)

Plates move laterally and the edges are rigid causing friction.
this can cause major earthquakes. ( North American and Pacific Plate)

Fault line

place where an Earthquake originated due to a build up of pressure.
Gap between two tectonic plates or fractures in the rock caused by plate movement.

Focus

the point where the earthquake begins

Epicenter

Point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus

Seismic Wave

A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.

Richter scale

A scale that rates an earthquake's magnitude based on the size of its seismic waves.

Seismograph

A device that records ground movements (in the crust) caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth ( 1-10)

Mercalli scale

Visual analysis of the damage and of people's accounts . (1-12)

movement magnitude scale (MMS)

combines seismograph readings with the amount of rock movement recorded by strain-meters and tilt-meters.

Tsunami

Submarine Earthquake

Liquefaction

The process by which an earthquake's violent movement suddenly turns loose soil into liquid mud

early warning system

Alert people of seismic activity in the Pacific Ocean.

climate

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time
eg. Ireland has a cool temperate oceanic climate

geomorphological region

area defined by their unique distinctive landscapes and features
eg. the Burren, Co.Clare

administrative region

areas with political boundaries which governments divide countries into smaller sections to make easier to govern.
eg. county councils in Ireland and departments in France

cultural region

an area in which a group of people share a similar culture and language
eg. The Gaeltacht (decline)

culture

Beliefs (religion), customs, language and traditions of a specific group of people.

Belgium

divided into Wallonia (South/French) and Flanders (North/Flemish-The Netherlands)
cultural divide- language line dividing the country, Brussels (headquarters of the EU) favours French speakers, language groups don't mix for marriage, education and jobs, government don't support Wallonia after the decline of the Sambre Meuse, Walloons have migrate to Flanders for work and they resent this, National Government has difficulty implementing policies to allows both regions development.

Northern Ireland

division of religion:
-Ulster Plantation
-Partition of Ireland
-The Troubles
-Good Friday Agreement

socio economic region

core region (GDA/Paris Basin) - highly developed area, high population density, high living standards, centre of transport/health/education/decision making.

peripheral region

lower living standards, low population density, lacking education/health/transport services.

hinterland

area around a city serviced by that city (area of influence)

nodal point

A place at which things converge (transport routes of air, rail, road, sea)

urban sprawl

uncontrolled outward spread of a city

conurbations

when 2 or more urban areas blend into 1 larger urban area. eg. Randstad, The Netherlands

primate city

when the capital is twice as big as the next city

industrial decline

a region that was previously heavily industrialised

de-industrialisation

when an area is no longer able to sustain this level of economic activity.
eg. Sambre Meuse

Sambre Meuse

GROWTH
- industrial development from the Industrial Revolution (1800s).
-coal and iron ore deposits were mined.
-approximately 125,000 employed.
-economic core of Belgium.

DECLINE
-1960s onwards.
-coal and iron ore deposits depleted (mines closed).
-coal was replaced by imported oil and gas.
-new integrated steel works developed along the coast of Antwerps.

EFFECTS
-mass unemployment.
-outward migration.
-high levels of industrial pollution and waste (very little inward investment).
-Flanders became the economic core region.

REVIVAL
-1980s onwards.
-Government and EU invested in the area.
-cleaning up of the landscape.
-development of new modern industrial estates.
-promotion of tourism.
-Ryanair based it's European hub in Charleroi.
-Caterpillar (CAT) have located in the Sambre Meuse also.

Islamic World

Islam religion began in the 17th century from the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad. Muslims follow the Qu'ran. they believe in the one god of Allah and pray 5 times daily. worship at Mosques. dress in hijabs and niqabs. Ramedan. Alcohol and gambling prohibited. negative views connected to extremists acts connected to the Islamic faith.

Fold mountains

Areas of land which have been uplifted and are caused by bending and buckling in zones of plate collision
Eg. Himalayas and the Andes

Anticline

A fold in rock that bends upward into an arch
block mts and Horst are its features

Syncline

A fold in rock that bends downward to form a valley
rift valleys and grabens are it's features

Symmetrical folding

When rock bends symmetrically

Asymmetrical folding

When rock folds in a diagonal form

Overturned folding

When rock fold so much that it collocates in itself

Caledonian Mts

450myo
rounded in appearance due to weathering and erosion.
eg. Dublin - Wicklow mts

Armorican Mts

270-250myo
less rounded in appearance due to younger age and less exposure to weathering and erosion
eg. Comeragh mts ( Waterford) and the Macgillycuddy Reeks (Kerry)

Alpine Mts

60myo
highest mts of the world due to short period of exposure to weathering and erosion.
eg. Himalayas and Andes

Monocline

Caused by the localised uplifting of weaker rock which is compressed and causes a tilt in one direction
eg. Ben Bulben (Sligo)

Doming

Caused by the localised pressure of rising magma which causes the overlying weaker rock to bulge upwards
eg. Slieve Bloom (Laois)

fault

a crack in the earth's crust

Faulting

process of cracking that occurs when the folded land cannot be bent any further. It's when rocks are put under extreme pressure in zones where plates are separating (tension), colliding (compression) or sliding last one another (shearing).

Normal Fault

Fault caused by tension as plates separate
- known as a Horst and graben topography
eg. Rift Valley of East Africa

Reverse Fault

Fault caused by the compression when plates separate.
eg. Ox mts in Mayo

Transform Fault

Fault caused by the shearing if plates as they slide past each other
eg. San Andreas Fault-line in California