WORLD GEOGRAPHY VOCABULARY

CORE

• The inside of something
• The middle of the earth is the core

MANTLE

• The part between the crust and the core
• The mantle is in the middle

CRUST

• The part furthest on the outside of a planet
• The outermost part of the earth is called the crust

CONTINENTAL DRIFT

• The theory that the planets disconnected
• Pangea is the main example of continental drift

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

• The circulation of water throughout the whole earth
• Better known as the water cycle

TOPOGRAPHY

• natural and artificial physical features of an area.
• Topography is how high or low something is

TECTONIC PLATE

• The outermost shell of the crust and upper mantle of the earth
• On earth there are seven or eight of these

SEISMOGRAPH

• Measures the size of a earthquake
• The size-mograph measures the size of earthquakes

RICHTER SCALE

• Measures the strength of an earthquake
• A 1 to 10 on earthquakes

RING OF FIRE

• The (Pacific) ring of fire is where many volcanoes are
• The ring of fire is made up of convergent boundaries

WEATHERING

• The breakdown of rocks because of weather
• When weather breaks stuff down

EROSION

• Because of weathering erosion is the movement of these broken down rocks

DRAINAGE BASIN

• A small body of water that contributes to another body of water
• The drainage basin drains into the lake

FAULT

• an extended break in a body of rock, marked by the relative displacement on either side of a particular surface.
• The San Andreas fault

ATMOSPHERE

• The area of gas surrounding a planet
• The Suns energy is absorbed by the atmosphere

BIOSPHERE

• The biosphere is basically all living things on the planey
• Bio-sphere

LITHOSPERE

• The rocky inside part of the planet
• Litho means rock

HYDROSPHERE

• All the water that is on the earth
• Hydro means water

LOESS

• a loosely compacted yellowish-gray deposit of windblown sediment of which extensive deposits occur

HUMUS

• Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays. When plants drop leaves, twigs, and other material to the ground, it piles up. This material is called leaf litter. When animals die, their remains add to the litter.
• Left over from dead things