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7th Geo. Vocab. Ch.2
7th grade Geography Vocab. for Chapter # 2
Definition | Word |
---|---|
The shapes of land on Earth's surface | landforms |
Shape, height,and arrangment of landforms in a certain place | topography |
The theory that Earth's surface is divided into several major, slowly moving plates or pieces | plate tectonics |
The movement of one of Earth's heavier tectonic plates underneath a lighter tectonic plate | subduction |
Sudden, violent movements along a fracture in the Earth's crust | earthquakes |
Magma that has broken through the crust to Earth's surface | lava |
A fractured surface in Earth's crust where a mass of rock is in motion | fault |
The process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces through heat, water, or other means | weathering |
The movement of water, ice, or wind of rocky materials to another location | erosion |
A nearly flat surce on Earth's surface | plain |
A fan-shaped landform created by deposits of sediment at the base of a mountain | alluvial fan |
A landform of level ground built by sediment deposited by a river or stream | floodplain |
Landform created by the deposit of sediment at the mouth of a river | delta |
Large, slow moving sheets or rivers of ice | glaciers |
Horizontal ridgesbuilt into the slopes of steep hillsides to prevent soil loss and aid farming | terraces |
Any smaller stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river | tributary |
Water from rainfall, rivers, lakes, and melting snow that seeps into the ground | groundwater |
Inderground, water-bearing layers of rock, sand, gravel | aquifers |
The circulation of water from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back | water cycle |
The process by which heated water becomes water vapor and rises into the air | evaporation |
The gaseous form of water | water vapor |
The process by which water chages from gas into tiny liquid droplets | condensation |
The process by which water falls back to earth | precipitation |
A type of polluted rain, produced when pollution combindes with water vapor | acid rain |
A form of oxygen in the atmospere that helps protect Earth from harmful solar radiation | ozone layer |
A slow increase in Earth's average temperature | global warming |
Process by which Earth's atmospere traps heat | greenhouse effect |
The condition of the atmospere at a given place and time | weather |
Weather conditions in an area over a long period of time | climate |
Breezes that consistently blow in the same direction over large areas of Earth | prevailing winds |
Giant streams of ocean water that move from warm to cold or from cold to warm areas | currents |
Dry area on the side of a mountain opposite the wind | rain shadow |
Materials needed and valued by people, such as soils and forests, that can be replaced by Earth's natural processes | renewable resources |
Resources, such as coal and oil, that cannot be replaced by Earth's natural processes | nonrenewable resources |
Destructiion or loss of forest area | deforestation |
Nonrenewable resources formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals | fossil fuels |
An oily liquid that can be refined into gasoline and other fuels and oils | petroleum |
A renewable energy source produced from dams that harness the energy of falling water to power generators | hydroelectric power |
A renewable energy resource produced from the heatof Earth's interior | geothermal energy |
Heat and light from the sun | solar power |