HCHS Geo Mid Year Vocab

altitude

height of a place above sea level

biological weathering

the breaking up of rock by plant roots and burrowing animals

chemical weathering

rock is broken down by chemical reactions, for example with water

earthquake

the shaking of Earth’s crust, caused by sudden rock movement

erosion

the wearing away of rock, stones and soil by rivers, waves, wind or glaciers

fold mountain

formed by plates pushing into each other; the rock at the plate edges gets folded upwards, making mountains

fumarole

a vent or opening in Earth’s crust which emits steam and gases

geyser

a spring of water which shoots into the air every so often; hot rock below ground heats it, and the pressure builds up

igneous rock

forms when melted rock hardens

lava

melted rock at Earth’s surface

magma

melted rock below Earth’s surface

magnitude

how much energy an earthquake gives out (measured on the Richter scale); greater magnitude means greater damage

metamorphic rock

forms when rock is changed through the action of heat and/or pressure, without melting

mineral

a natural compound in rock; rock is a mixture of different minerals

physical weathering

weathering which breaks rock into smaller bits

plateau

an area of fairly flat high land

plates

Earth’s hard outer part is broken into big slabs called plates, which move around

Ring of Fire

the ring of volcanoes that circles the Pacific Ocean

sediment

a layer of material (stones, sand, mud) deposited by a river, or the wind

sedimentary rock

formed from sediment; sandstone is formed from a sediment of sand

steppe

a large flat area of treeless grassland

tsunami

waves generated by an earthquake in the ocean floor

volcano

where lava erupts at Earth’s surface

weathering

the breaking down of rock, by the action of things in its environment: heat, cold, rain, plant roots and so on