Materials that are found on Earth naturally and used by people.

A material-such as petroleum, coal, natural gas and many minerals-that cannot be easily or quickly replaced by natural systems.

Characteristics that make a material unique.

The purchase or use of things, including natural resources.

The process of digging into the Earth’s surface to remove resources.

Areas containing significant amounts of a resource.

A fuel produced by living plant materials that have been buried and changed by heat and pressure under layers within the earth over millions of years of time.

A naturally occurring (solid) material that has a specific chemical composition, crystal form, and characteristic physical properties.

Rock that contains economically valuable concentrations of a metal or other mineral

The processes, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, erosion, and weathering, that form and shape Earth’s surface.

Small pieces of earth such as rocks, shells, and other debris.

The large sections of Earth’s outermost layer, known as the lithosphere, that is broken off.

Water found beneath Earth’s surface in water-bearing earth materials and in underground lakes and rivers.

An underground area of rock that contains a large amount of trapped groundwater.