A Flashcard-like Word List
BY CHARLES BURROWS
Earth Science Vocabulary
Move the cursor over the words to see the definitions.
abrasion
absolute age
absolute humidity
acid precipitation
agents of erosion
air mass
altitude
angle of insolation
Antarctic Circle
anticyclone
aquifer
arctic air mass
Arctic Circle
arid climate
asteroid
asthenosphere
astronomy
atmosphere
avalanche
axis
azimuth
banding
barometer
barrier islands
bed load
bedrock
big bang
bioclastic sedimentary rocks
biological activity
blizzard
boiling
caldera
calorie
capillarity
celestial objects
chemical change
chemical weathering
classification
clastic
cleavage
climate
cloud
cloud-base altitude
comet
compounds
condensation
condensation nuclei
conduction
conservation
contact metamorphism
continental air mass
continental climate
continental glacier
contour line
convection
convection cell
convergence
convergent plate boundary
coordinate system
Coriolis effect
correlation
cosmic background radiation
crater
crystalline sedimentary rocks
cyclone
decay product
decay-product ratio
deforestation
delta
density
deposition
dew
dew point
dew-point temperature
discharge
divergence
divergent plate boundary
Doppler effect
Doppler radar
drainage divides
drainage pattern
drumlins
dune
duration of insolation
dynamic equilibrium
Earth science
earthquake
eccentricity
eclipse
ecology
El Niño
elements
ellipse
epicenter
equator
equilibrium
equinox
erosion
erratics
escarpment
evaporation
evaporation
evolution
extinction
extrusion
faults
felsic
field
floodplain
flotation
fluid
focus
fog
foliation
fossils
fracture
fragmental
freezing
freezing rain
frequency
front
frost
frost wedging
galaxy
geologists
geology
geosphere
glacier
global warming
graded bedding
gradient
gravity
greenhouse effect
Greenwich Mean Time
grooves
groundwater
hail
half-life period
hardness
hazard
horizontal sorting
hot spot
humidity
hurricane
hydrologic cycle
hydrosphere
hygrometer
igneous rocks
inclusion
index fossils
inertia
inference
infiltration
insolation
intrusion
island arc
isobars
isoline
isotherm
isotopes
jet streams
Jovian planet
kettle
lake-effect storms
land breezes
landform
landscape
landslide
latent heat
latitude
lava
levees
lightning
light-year
liquefaction
lithosphere
lithospheric plate
logarithmic
longitude
longshore transport
luminosity
luster
mafic
magma
major axis
maritime air mass
maritime climate
mass movement
meander
mechanical weathering
melting
Mercalli scale
mesosphere
metamorphic rocks
meteor
meteorologist
meteorology
mid-latitude cyclone
mid-ocean ridges
Milky Way Galaxy
mineral
model
Moho
Mohs’ scale
monsoons
moraine
mountain landscape
natural resources
neap tides
nonrenewable resources
nuclear fusion
oblate
observations
ocean trench
oceanography
ores
origin
origin time
original horizontality
outcrop
outgassing
outwash
overland flow
paleontology
paradigm
percent error
permeability
phase
phases of matter
physical weathering
plains
plastic
plate tectonics
plateau
plutonic
polar air mass
polarity
pollution
porosity
precipitation
prevailing winds
primary waves (P-waves)
prime meridian
profile
psychrometer
radar
radiation
radioactive
radioisotope
rain
rain showers
redshift
reflection
refraction
regional metamorphism
relative age
relative humidity
relief
renewable resources
residual soil
Richter scale
rock
runoff
sandbar
satellite
saturated air
scattering
science
sea breezes
sea-floor spreading
secondary waves (S-waves)
sediment
sedimentary rocks
seismic moment
seismograph
seismologists
seismology
silicate
sleet
smog
snow showers
soil
soil horizons
solar noon
solar time
solution
sorting
source region
species
specific heat
spring
spring tides
stratosphere
streak
stream
stream system
stress
striations
subduction zone
summer solstice
superposition
surf zone
suspension
tectonics
temperate climate
temperature
terminal moraine
terrestrial coordinates
terrestrial planet
texture
thermometer
thermosphere
thunderstorm
tidal range
tides
till
topographic map
transform boundary
transpiration
transported soil
travel time
tributary
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
tropical air mass
troposphere
tsunami
unconformity
uniformitarianism
urbanization
valley glaciers
vaporization
velocity
vent
vertical rays
vertical sorting
vesicular
volcanic
volcano
water table
watershed
weather
weathering
winter solstice
zenith
zone of aeration
zone of saturation