Current Vocabulary Terms |
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Tectonic Terms |
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| anticline a bowl-shaped fold in sedimentary rock layers | mid-ocean ridge a long mountain chain that forms on the ocean floor where tectonic plates pull apart; usually extends along the center of ocean basins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| asthenosphere (as THEN uh SFIR) the soft layer of the mantle on which pieces of the lithosphere move | monocline a fold in sedimentary rock layers in which the layers are horizontal on both sides of the fold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| compression the type of stress that occurs when an object is squeezed | normal fault a fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| continental drift the theory that continents can drift apart from one another and have done so in the past | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| convergent boundary the boundary between two colliding tectonic plates | outer core the liquid layer of the Earth’s core that lies beneath the mantle and surrounds the inner core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| core the central, spherical part of the Earth below the mantle | plate tectonics the theory that the Earth’s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move around on top of the asthenosphere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| crust, the thin, outermost layer of the Earth, or the uppermost part of the lithosphere | reverse fault a fault in which the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| deformation is when the rocks of the Earth's crust are bent, broken or fractured, due to stress. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| divergent boundary the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other | sea-floor spreading the process by which new oceanic lithosphere is created at mid-ocean ridges as older materials are pulled away from the ridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| fault a break in the Earth’s crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another due to tectonic forces | stress the amount of force per unit area that is put on a given material | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| fault block a block of the Earth’s crust on one side of a fault | strike-slip fault a fault in which the two fault blocks move past each other horizontally | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| fault-block mountain a mountain that forms when faulting causes large blocks of the Earth’s crust to drop down relative to other blocks | subduction zone the region where an oceanic plate sinks down into the asthenosphere at a convergent boundary usually between continental and oceanic plates (link 2 subduction zone) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| folded mountain a mountain that forms when rock layers are squeezed together and pushed upward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| folding the bending of rock layers due to stress in the Earth’s crust | syncline a trough-shaped fold in sedimentary rock layers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| footwall the fault block that is below a fault | tectonic plate a piece of the lithosphere that moves around on top of the asthenosphere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| hanging wall the block in a fault that is above a fault | tension the type of stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| inner core the solid, dense center of the Earth | Thrust fault | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| lithosphere (LITH oh SFIR) the outermost, rigid layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle | transform boundary the boundary between two tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| magnetic reversal the process by which the Earth’s north and south magnetic poles periodically change places | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| mantle the layer of the Earth between the crust and the core | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| mesosphere literally, the “middle sphere”—the strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Igneous and Sedimentary Rocks |
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| Geology Terms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| gulf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basement Rock |
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| lagoon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| delta | massif | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| and sills | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| deflation | (Interior and coastal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| pluton or batholith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
escarpment |
resistant (to weathering) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| fault | rift | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| fold | rift valley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| sand bar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| sand dune | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||