Unit 5 Geology Lessons 1-5

Front

What is a catastrophe?

Back

A terrible, sudden event

Front

Erupt

Back

To send out rock, lava, and ash in a sudden explosion

Front

Who is a geologist?

Back

A scientist who studies the makeup of the earth and the forces and processes that shape and change it

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

A process in which continents slowly move over time on the surface of the earth

Front

Dense

Back

Thick or heavy

Front

What is a seismic wave?

Back

A surge of energy traveling out from an earthquake’s source through the earth

Front

What is basalt?

Back

Heavy, dense rock formed from cooled, hardened lava

Front

What is an ocean trench?

Back

A narrow, extremely deep valley formed when the seafloor dips down as one tectonic plate slides under another

Front

What is plate tectonics?

Back

A theory that Earth’s crust and the solid top part of the mantle are broken up into sections that fit together but move against each other

Front

What is a tsunami?

Back

A gigantic wave of seawater caused by an earthquake in oceanic crust