EGGS 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Mass Wasting, Open-Pit Mining, Plate Tectonics

• School: Bloomsburg University
• Department: Environ, Geog, & Geol Sciences
• Course: EGGS 100
• Professor: Matthew Ricker

Document Summary

Geology: the study of earth"s physical features, processes, and history. Asthenosphere: inside the mantle, very soft or melted rock. Lithosphere: harder rock that contains the mantle and crust. Crust: the thin, brittle, low-density layer of rock. Plate tectonics: movement of lithospheric plates, heat from inner earth drives convection. Divergent plate boundaries: rising magma (molten rock) pushes plates apart creating new crust. Transform plate boundaries: two plates meet, slipping and grinding, friction spawns earthquakes along strike-slip faults. Strike-slip fault: a fault in which rock are displaced mainly in a horizontal direction, parallel to the line of the fault. The rock cycle: heating, melting, cooling, breaking, and reassembling of rocks and minerals. Sedimentary rocks: formed as sediments are pressed together and bound by dissolved materials. Metamorphic rocks: rock deep underground is subjected to great heat or pressure, changing its form. Earthquake: a release of pressure along plate boundaries and faults. Volcano: molten rock, hot gas, or ash erupts through earth"s surface.