Volcanoes, Earthquakes, & Tsunamis (copy)

Hotspot

the location of volcanoes on Earth's surface directly above a mantle plume

Constructive process

builds up the Earth's surface (example: volcanic activity)

Destructive process

breaks down the Earth's surface (example: weathering and erosion)

Hawaiian Islands

chain of hotspot volcanic islands located in the middle of the Pacific Plate

Caldera

bowl-shaped volcanic feature

Mantle plume

narrow channel of magma that rises up through the mantle

Earthquake

Shaking and vibration of Earth's surface resulting from two slabs of lithosphere slipping past each other

Focus

point below the surface where an earthquake starts

Epicenter

point on the surface; directly above the focus

Fault

crack in the Earth's crust, often caused by an Earthquake

Tsunami

generated by a sudden displacement of a large amount of water

Magma

melted rock below the surface

Lava

melted rock above the surface

Elastic Deformation

rock stretches then reaches a breaking point, releasing energy

Richter Scale

Actual measurement of seismic activity from seismographs

Mercalli Scale

Human reactions to shaking, based on Opinion

Volcano

a vent that connects magma from the mantle to Earth's surface

Magma chamber

a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth

Islands

formed when oceanic volcanoes cool

Active volcano

a volcano that has erupted in the last 10,000 yrs

Erupting volcano

a volcano that is currently erupting

Dormant volcano

a volcano that is not erupting but supposed to erupt again

Extinct volcano

a volcano that is unlikely to ever erupt again and has cooled on land

Effusive eruption

hot Magma, gas escapes easily, lava flows easily, builds gentle sloping volcanoes

Explosive eruption

cool, thick magma, gas can not escape easily, creates pressure and explosions of lava into the air, lava does not flow easily, builds steep sloped volcanoes

Stratovolcano (composite)

explosive, occasionally dormant, layers of lava and rock

Cinder volcano

can be explosive, mostly ash producing, no horizontal layers

Shield volcano

not generally very large, lava producing, non-explosive

Mount Vesuvius

volcano that erupted in 79 AD that killed many people and buried the city of Pompeii

Ring of fire

A chain of volcanoes and earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean that includes 90% of Earth's earthquakes and 75% of Earth's volcanoes