Geography Lecture Notes Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from geography lecture notes, including Earth structure, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, fold mountains, rock cycle, weathering, mass movement, rivers, coastal landscapes, glacial landscapes, and soils.

Crust

Outermost layer of the Earth made of solid rock, broken into tectonic plates.

Mantle

Layer beneath the crust, mostly solid with semi-molten rock (magma), moves in convection currents.

Core

Center of the Earth, made of iron and nickel, with a liquid outer core and solid inner core.

Convection Currents

Large currents of hot magma that move in circles inside the mantle, pushing and pulling Earth’s plates.

Plate Tectonics

Idea that the Earth's crust is broken into big pieces called plates that move because of convection currents in the mantle.

Continental Drift

German scientist Alfred Wegener's idea that all continents were once joined in a supercontinent called Pangaea and drifted apart over time.

Seafloor Spreading

Process where plates separate under the ocean, with molten magma coming to the surface to form new crust.

Continental Plates

Carry land.

Oceanic Plates

Located under the sea.

Plate Boundaries

The edges where plates meet.

Constructive Plate Boundary

Plates move apart.

Destructive Plate Boundary

Plates move towards each other.

Conservative Plate Boundary

Plates move side by side.

Rift

Crack where magma comes to the surface at a constructive plate boundary.

What Forms at Constructive Boundaries?

Volcanoes, volcanic islands, mid-ocean ridges, and earthquakes.

Subduction

Oceanic plate sinks under continental plate, forming fold mountains and volcanoes.

Volcano

A volcanic mountain formed when magma moves up to the Earth's surface through a vent.

Crater

Opening where magma erupts out of the vent.

Lava

Hot magma on Earth's surface.

Active Volcano

Erupts regularly or likely to erupt.

Dormant Volcano

Hasn't erupted in some time.

Extinct Volcano

Has not erupted in historic times.

Pacific Ring of Fire

Zone of active volcanoes and earthquakes around the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Geysers

Shoot hot water into the air when underground water is heated by magma.

Positive Economic Impacts of Volcanoes

Tourism and recreation, heating and electricity, agriculture and fish farming.

Positive Social Impacts of Volcanoes

Clean fuel source improving air quality and reducing climate change impact.

Earthquake

Sudden shaking of the Earth's surface when two plates collide or slide past each other.

Focus

The spot underground where plates slip and the earthquake starts.

Epicenter

Spot on the surface directly above the focus.

Tsunami

Giant wave caused by strong underwater earthquakes.

Fault

Crack in the Earth where plates get stuck.

Seismograph

Machine used to record and measure earthquakes.

Richter Scale

Measures how strong an earthquake is on a scale of 1 to 10.

Mercalli Scale

Measures the damage caused by an earthquake based on what people see and feel.

Short-Term Responses to Volcanoes

Evacuations, emergency aid, rescue teams, and medical help.

Long-Term Responses to Volcanoes

Rebuilding homes and infrastructure, monitoring volcanoes, education and planning.

Predicting (Earthquakes)

Guessing earthquake-prone areas based on ground movement, radon gas, and animal behavior.

Planning (Earthquakes)

Reducing earthquake damage by stopping building on fault lines and making buildings stronger.

Preparation (Earthquakes)

Earthquake drills and training rescue teams.

Anticlines

Long ridges that form mountains when tectonic plates collide.

Synclines

Valleys between the ridges.

Ireland's Fold Mountain History

The Caledonian Mountains, Armorican Mountains, and Alpine Mountains.

Rock Cycle

Atoms make up elements, which combine to form minerals; minerals combine to form rocks.

Igneous Rocks

Form when magma or lava cools.

Sedimentary Rocks

Form when rocks break down into sediments that are buried and pressed together.

Metamorphic Rocks

Form when heat and pressure change igneous or sedimentary rocks.

Granite

Forms when magma cools slowly inside the Earth's crust, grey with speckles, hard and rough texture.

Basalt

Forms when lava cools quickly on the Earth's surface, dark-grey or black, hard and smooth texture.

Limestone

Formed from dead sea creatures, sand, and shells that built up on the sea floor.

Sandstone

Made from sand layers that were compacted and cemented by silica on the ocean floor.

Marble

Formed when heat from magma changes limestone.

Quartzite

Formed when sandstone is changed by heat from magma.

Drilling

Used to get oil and gas from underground or under the sea.

Opencast Mining/Quarrying

Used when resources are near the surface; cheapest method, but creates noise and damages landscapes.

Shaft Mining

Used for resources deep underground, like coal and metal ores; expensive, dangerous, and damages the land.

Resource Uses

Stone, sand, and gravel for building materials; coal, oil, and gas for energy; metals and precious stones.

Consequences of Rock Exploitation

Impacts due to tailing leaking into waters, effects landscapes visually- reduces CO₂ emission

Weathering Definition

A process that affects rocks that causes them to be broken into smaller pieces over time.

Mechanical (Physical) Weathering

Breakdown of rock without changing its chemical composition.

Chemical Weathering

Breakdown of rock through chemical reactions (Carbonation).

Carbonation

Rainwater absorbs CO₂, forming carbonic acid that dissolves limestone.

Biological Weathering

Breakdown of rock by living organisms (tree roots, burrowing animals, lichens).

Erosion Definition

The removal of rock and soil by moving agents such as water, wind, ice or biological activity

Swallow Holes

Streams disappear underground.

Stalactites

Hang from the ceiling (from dripping water losing CO₂ and depositing calcite).

Stalagmites

Build up from the floor beneath stalactites.

Mass Movement

Movement of loose, weathered material downslope due to gravity.

Types of Mass Movement

Soil Creep, Landslide, Bog Burst, Mudflow.

Bog Burst (Bog Slide)

Peat becomes saturated and slides down hills, destroying everything in its path.

Landslides

Over Saturation of Soil causing fast movement of rock/soil.

Preventing Mass Movement

Terracing/Benching (flattens slopes), Anchor Bolts, Geomesh, Concrete Walls, Metal Sheet Piles, Drainage, Planting Trees.

River

A body of water that flows in a channel, shaping the landscape.

River Processes

Erosion, Transportation, Deposition.

Hydraulic Action

Water hits the riverbanks and bed with force, breaking pieces away.

Attrition

Rocks and stones hit each other and break into smaller, smoother pieces.

Abrasion

Stones carried by the river scrape and wear away the riverbed and banks.

Solution

Water dissolves certain types of rock, like limestone.

Rolling (Traction)

Big stones roll along the riverbed.

Bouncing (Saltation)

Small stones and sand bounce along the bottom.

Suspension

Fine particles like silt and clay float in the water.

Solution

Dissolved materials (like salts) are carried invisibly in the water.

V-Shaped Valley

Narrow valley with steep sides.

Interlocking Spurs

High ground jutting out on either side of river.

Meanders

Large bends in a river.

Levees

Raised ridges beside riverbanks.

Deltas

Triangular area of land at a river mouth.

Dams

Concrete wall across a river to control flow or create energy, forming a reservoir.

Waves

ripples on the sea, caused by wind.

Swash

Water that rushes up the beach after a wave breaks.

Backwash

Water that flows back down the beach.

Coastal Defenses

Groynes, rock armour, seawalls and gabions

Tombolos

Sand/shingle ridge connecting an island to the mainland.

Groynes

Walls made from wood or concrete, built at right angles to the shore to trap sand.

Rock Armour (Boulders)

Big rocks placed at the base of cliffs or dunes to absorb wave energy.

Sea Walls

Strong walls built at the back of beaches, often curved to reflect waves back into the sea.

Gabions

Wire cages filled with stones, placed in front of dunes or at the back of beaches to absorb wave energy.

Glaciation

Earth has experienced periods of much colder climate.

Plucking

Ice melts, enters cracks, refreezes, sticks to rock, moving glacier pulls out the rock.

Abrasion

Plucked rocks at glacier’s base scrape the ground, acting like sandpaper, leaves striations.

Moraines

Long ridges of unsorted, loose rock left behind as landforms of deposition after glaciers melt.