Page 207 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

MANGROVE ORBIT SHIELD VOLCANO TRAVERTINE
A type of tree that grows on tropical To circle a planet or star. For example, A broad volcano built up from A type of limestone deposited
tidal seashores. Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon layers of fast-flowing basalt lava. by the water of hot springs.
orbits Earth.
MANTLE SILT TROPICAL
The deep layer of hot rock that lies OXBOW LAKE Fine particles carried by water. Describes the hot regions to the
between Earth’s crust and the core. A river meander cut off from the main north and south of the equator.
flow, forming a U-shaped lake. SOLAR SYSTEM
MANTLE PLUME The system of planets, moons, TSUNAMI
An extra-hot region of the mantle that OXIDE and asteroids orbiting the Sun. A giant oceanic wave, often
flows slowly upward to form a hotspot A chemical containing oxygen and generated by an earthquake
beneath the crust. one other element, such as a metal. STORM SURGE on the ocean floor.
A local rise in sea level caused
MEANDER OXYGEN by a storm, such as a hurricane. UNIVERSE
A natural loop in a river created by the The gas that forms 20 percent of The entirety of space.
way the banks are built up on one side Earth’s atmosphere, and is vital to life. STRATOVOLCANO
and eroded on the other. A conical volcano built up from VOLATILE
PLANKTON layers of volcanic ash and Generally, prone to unpredictable
METAMORPHIC ROCK Organisms that drift in water. slow-flowing lava. change. Technically, describes a
A rock that has been transformed by liquid that evaporates at low
a geological process involving heat, PLATEAU SUBDUCTION ZONE temperatures.
intense pressure, or both. A level area of land that lies at Where one plate of Earth’s crust is
high altitude. diving beneath another, usually VOLCANIC ASH
MID-OCEAN RIDGE creating an ocean trench. Solid particles formed from lava
A submarine mountain chain created PREDATOR blown into the air.
by volcanoes erupting from a rift in An animal that kills other animals SULFUR
the ocean floor. for food. A yellow element, common in rocks VOLCANIC GAS
and often erupted from volcanoes. Gas erupted from volcanoes.
MIGRANT PYROCLASTIC FLOW
An animal that regularly moves from An avalanche of very hot rock and SUPERCELL WATER VAPOR
one region to another, and back again. dust that cascades down the flank A huge storm cloud with a rotating An invisible gas formed when water
of an erupting volcano. core that may generate a tornado. evaporates into the air.
MILKY WAY
The galaxy of stars that contains the RIFT SUPERCOOLED WEATHERING
Sun and our solar system. A crack in Earth’s crust caused by Describes a liquid that is cooled to The breaking down of rocks and
tectonic plates pulling apart. below its normal freezing point. minerals by rain, sunlight, ice,
MINERAL and other climatic effects.
A natural solid that usually forms RIFT VALLEY SUPERHEATED
crystals. Rocks are made of minerals. A region where part of Earth’s crust Describes a liquid heated under
has dropped into the gap formed pressure so its temperature rises
MOON by the crust pulling apart. above its normal boiling point.
A small rocky world that orbits a planet.
SALT FLAT SUPERVOLCANO
MORAINE A large expanse of salt, usually A gigantic volcano.
A mass of rock debris carried by a formed in a dried-out lake bed. Abbreviations used in this book
glacier, or piled up at its sides or end. TECTONIC PLATE
SANDSTONE One of the giant slabs of rock that / per—for example,
MUDPOT A rock made of sand grains cemented form Earth’s crust. They move slowly km/h means kilometers
A type of hot spring created by acid together by other minerals. across Earth’s surface. per hour
water reducing rock to liquid mud. °C degrees Celsius
SEAMOUNT TEMPERATE cm centimeter
NITROGEN An ocean-floor volcano, active or A climate that is neither very hot °F degrees Fahrenheit
The gas that forms 78 percent of extinct, that is not high enough nor very cold. ft foot
Earth’s atmosphere. to form an island. in inch
THRUST FAULT kg kilogram
NUCLEAR ENERGY SEDIMENTARY ROCK A major fracture in the rocks of km kilometer
Energy released by the decay of Rock formed from compressed and Earth’s crust where one section is lb pound
radioactive elements, or by the hardened sediments. pushed above another. m meter
fusion or splitting of atomic nuclei. mm millimeter
SEDIMENTS TRANSFORM FAULT mph miles per hour GLOSSARY
NUTRIENTS Solid particles such as sand or A boundary between two slabs Mt Mount
Food substances that are necessary mud that settle in a layer in rivers of Earth’s crust where they slide sq square
for life and growth. or the sea. sideways relative to each other.
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