geography: the study of people, places, and things are located and of the ways in which things relate

absolute location: the position on the earth which a place can be found

equator: an imaginary circle around the middle of the earth, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole

longitude: imaganary lines that run north and south of merideans

hemisphere: half of the earth usually referred to as eastern or western; northern or southern

latitude: an imaginary line around the Earth parallel to the equator

relative location: where a place is located in relation to other places

prime meridean: immagionary line that is 0 longitude and runs from the north pole to the south pole

formal region: areas in which certain characteristics are found throughout the area

functional region: one centeral place and the surrounding places

core: center of the Earth that contains very hot metal, iron and nickle

mantle: a thick layer of rock

crust: the rocky surface layer

contients: large landmasses in the oceans

relief: differences in elavation between the highest and lowest points

lava: molten rock

fold: rock layers bend and buckle

faults: breaks in the Earth’s crust

plate tectonics: the therory that the Earth’s outer shell is composed of a number of large, unanchored plates, or slabs of rock, whose constant movement explains earthquakes and volcanic activity

contiental drift therory: the idea that contients slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride

Ring of Fire: a circle of valcanos surrounding the Pacific Ocean

geology: the study of the earth’s physical structure and history

mechanical weathering: when rock is actually broken or weakened physically

chemical weathering: the process of altering a rock’s chemical makeup by changing the minerals that form the rock of combining them with new chemical elements

weathering: the breakdown of rock at or near the Earth’s surface into smaller and smaller pieces

acid rain: chemicals in the polluted air combine with water vapor and fall back to earth

erosion: the movement of weathered materials

sediment: small particles of sand, soil, and gravel

loess: windblown deposits of mineral-rich dust and silt

glaciers: huge, slow-moving sheets of ice

moraines: ridgelike piles of rock and debris left behind from glaciers