Albedo effect – the reflectivity of Earth’s surface
Antartica – Antarctica is under a special agreement called the Antarctic Treaty (1959) whereby originally 12 countries who had scientists active on the continent agreed to diplomatic cooperation on land found below the latitude 60°S
As of 2016 there were 53 nations involved in the treaty
90 million years ago, Antarctica was covered in a huge, lush, rainforest
Barrier Islands – Islands along ocean shorelines formed by uncemented sediments
Basalt – extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of lava that is rich in magnesium and iron. Common on the surface of Mars
Canada – country that has the longest coastline due to the number of northern islands
Cinnabar – the deadliest mineral on Earth. It is mercury sulfide, an incredibly toxic chemical. You should never handle cinnabar, much less taste it
Coal – sedimentary rock formed when plant matter is buried and compressed over millions of years
Coal – Original source are decaying organic material in boggy, anoxic environments
Contact metamorphism – When a rock is heated and re crystallised close to an igneous intrusion
Convection – the heat transport mechanism that cycles magma in the mantle
Deepest man-made borehole on Earth is 12,262 meters (40,230 feet)
Diamond
Traces of boron turn a diamond blue
The hardest known substance
The Hope Diamond is 45.5 carats. Learn more about
Diatomaceous earth is up made of fossilized skeletons
Divergent boundary – the boundary between two tectonic plates where they are moving away from each other
Divergent boundaries witness the separation of tectonic plates, often leading to the formation of mid-ocean ridges.
Divergent plate boundaries – mostly found at ocean ridges
Earth is covered with 71% oceans
Earth’s magnetic field caused by the movement of liquid iron in the outer core
Earth’s predominant environment is ocean
Earth revolves 1,532 feet per second (467 meters per second) at the equator.
The average surface temperature of Earth is 57 ºF (14 ºC)
It takes 8 minutes for sunlight to travel from the Sun to Earth.
The first person to orbit Earth: Yuri Gagarin
Emeralds are extremely rare
Flint – Ancient humans used flint to make arrowheads and sharp weapons.
Geology – the study of the Earth’s physical structure and substance
Geology is the science that delves into the Earth’s composition, structure, and processes that have shaped its features over time.
Geysers – groundwater heated by magma becomes superheated and flashes into steam
Gigaannum is a term that represents a very long time—one billion years in fact
Gold boils at 2700°C
Grand Canyon was carved by a river slowly wearing away the rock. Water dissolves some of the minerals in the rock, and slowly but surely, erodes the rock away. At first this might just leave a little furrow in the rock, but the Grand Canyon took around 6 million years to form. That’s a lot of time, and that means a lot of erosion.
Great Lakes hold more than 20% of the world’s available fresh water
Halite – A mineral that precipitates from oceans and forms rock salt
The Himalayan Mountains rise was caused by the convergence of the Indo-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate
Hawaii – U.S state formed by a hotspot of magma that was fed to the crust from the mantle
Hypocentre – the point where an earthquake starts. This is where the earthquake rupture originates, the epicenter is the point directly above it on the earth’s surface
Igneous rock – formed from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava
Igneous rocks, like granite and basalt, originate from the cooling and solidification of molten materials
Impactite – One type of rock that can only be formed from the sudden shock and heat of a meteorite impact
Ionosphere – is not part of Earth’s crust
Lake Baikal in southern Russia, is the deepest lake in the world at 1,187 meters deep
Lake Missoula – 15,000 years ago the collapse of an ice dam caused it to catastrophically flood the surrounding area
Limestone – formed by crushed shells or coral
The Mariana Trench – formation caused by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Mariana Plate
The deepest part of the ocean. It extends about 11 kilometres below sea level
Mantle – the part of Earth that lies just beneath the crust
Metamorphic – Type of rock formed by extreme pressure and heat over a long time
Mesozoic Era – geological era is known as the “Age of Dinosaurs”
The Mesozoic Era, spanning from approximately 252 to 66 million years ago, is often referred to as the “Age of Dinosaurs.”
What is happening to the crust at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
It’s spreading at a rate of approximately 2.5 centimeters each year as tectonic plates move away from each other
Minerals – About 4,000 minerals are known to exist
Moh’s Scale – scale that rates the hardness of rocks
Moon – geologists think Earth’s moon formed as the result of a massive impact on Earth.
While it’s not the only theory, geologists think a planet the size of Mars may have impacted Earth and created the moon not long after Earth formed.
Moraines are geologic features that can form ridges, rolling hills or wedge-shaped areas. What process causes them to form?
Glaciers scoop rocky debris from the ground and slowly carry it forward, eventually depositing the debris when the glacial ice melts
Mt Everest’s peak was once under water.
Part of the Himalayas, a mountain range formed by tectonic plate movement. The Indian plate, moving forward about 4.3 cm per year, is being slowly pushed under or subducted by the Eurasian plate, which obstinately refuses to move. As a result, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau continue to rise about 5 to 10 millimeters each year. The summit of Mt Everest is made of marine limestone that contains 400-million year old fossils of sea creatures and shells
Mount Tambora – produced the largest volcanic eruption recorded in human history
Nano gold is purple. Particle size can change the colour we see
Opal – gemstone that is a hydrated amorphous form of silica and has types such as Fire, Black, and Boulder. It is the birthstone for the month of October and a precious one of these often displays iridescence. Has been discovered on Mars
Pacific Ocean – largest ocean in the world
Pacific Plate; North American Plate – the two tectonic plates that come together in our area
Paleomorphic is not a top variety of rock.
Pangaea what geologists call Earth’s continents that were once joined as a single massive supercontinent
The Greek name Pangaea can be roughly translated to English as “whole Earth.”
Areas known as karst are characterized by extensive cave systems and are commonly associated with limestone
Niagra Falls – Erosion has caused the waterfall to retreat more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in the last 10,000 years
An oblate spheroid is a squashed sphere – Earth is slightly flatter at the poles and bulges at the Equator
Oxygen – the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust at roughly 46.6%
Pahoehoe – a type of lava flow
Petrologist – Professional rock experts
Photosynthesis – About 3.5 gigaannumms ago was when what critical process used to convert light energy into chemical energy is estimated to have begun
Post-Glacial Rebound – when the crust gradually lifts back up after being depressed by the incredible weight of glacial ice
Pumice – only rock that floats on water. However, once water enters into the rock itself it will then sink
Pyrite – mineral commonly known as “fool’s gold” due to its metallic luster
Pyrite, with its brassy color and metallic sheen, is often mistaken for gold, earning it the nickname “fool’s gold
Richter scale – the scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes
The Richter scale quantifies the magnitude of earthquakes based on seismic waves’ amplitude.
Ring of Fire – area around the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean characterized by frequent, intense seismic activity
The series of active tectonic plate boundaries surrounding the Pacific Ocean accounts for the majority of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes
Rocks – the oldest rocks are about 4 billion years old.
Rubies and Sapphires – They’re both forms of corundum (Al2O3), with small traces of iron in the mineral creating the red colour in rubies whereas traces of titanium or chromium create the blue colour in a sapphire
Russia has the largest landmass
The Sahara Desert – the largest desert in the world
Salt – mineral once considered so valuable that ancient Roman soldiers were partially paid with it
San Andreas fault, a transform plate boundary along California
Sedimentary Rocks formed by deposition, compaction and solidification of sediments (eg. sand, silt and mud)
Seismographs first invented in approximately A.D. 200 in China
Seismologists map Earth’s interior by seeing different types of waves from earthquakes propagate through areas of different density within the interior
Stonehenge – Humans moved stones to create Stonehenge over 4,500 years ago
Tidal waves are caused by the moon & Sun’s gravitational pull combined with prevailing winds and water currents
Tsunamis are caused by water displacement as a result of an undersea earthquake or a landslide
VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) – A measure of the size of a volcanic eruption
‘Vulcan,’ the god by which volcanoes got their name, is the Roman god of fire, metals work, and forging. Vulcan was the blacksmith of the gods, and the volcano was believed to be his workshop
Weathering – process by which rocks are broken down into smaller particles by natural forces
Weathering is the gradual breakdown of rocks into smaller particles through processes like mechanical abrasion and chemical decomposition.
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