Meridian (Longitude)
Line of Longitude, From N to S Pole
Latitude
Lines going horizontally
Physical Map
A map showing terrain, mountains, rivers, etc.
Political Map
A map showing boundaries, cities, roads, etc.
Earth's Layers
(Inner Core, Outer Core, Mantle, Crust)
Lithosphere
The surface features of the earth, including soil, rocks, and land forms.
Atmosphere
The layer of gases, water vapor, and other substances above the earth.
Biosphere
The world of plants, animals, and other living things in the earth's land and waters.
Hydrosphere
The water contained in oceans, lakes, rivers, and under the ground.
Plate Tectonics
The theory that the earth's outer shell is composed of a number of large, un-anchored plates, or slabs of rock, whose constant movement explains earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Continental Drift Teory
The idea that continents slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride.
Subduction
Oceanic plate going under continental plate. (Volcanoes)
Converging
Come together from different directions so as eventually to meet.
Diverging/Spreading
Separate from another route, especially a main one, and go in a different direction.
Archipelago
A group of islands.
Glaciers
A huge, slow-moving mass of snow and ice.
Chemical Weathering
The process by which the actual chemical structure of rock is changed, usually when water and carbon dioxide cause a breakdown of the rock.
Mechanical Weathering
The actual breaking up or physical weakening of rock by forces such as ice and roots. Includes of plants and water.
Water
A colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.
Wind
Air in motion.
GPS
A radio navigation system that allows land, sea, and airborne users to determine their exact location, velocity, and time 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions, anywhere in the world.
Convection
The movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat.
Erosion
The process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.
Sediment
Particles of soil, sand, and gravel carried and deposited by wind or water.
Climate
The average weather of an area over a long period of time...greatly affected by its location
Fossils
Mineral remains of animals or plants that lived in the distant past
Physical Process
Shape the features on Earth's surface naturally
Renewable Resource
Can be used repeatedly and is produced naturally
Nonrenewable Resource
Cannot be readily replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption
Human Process
Created by people to shape the Earth's surface