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Unit 5 Vocabulary. Catastrophic Event . A violent, usually destructive natural occurrence. *Drought. A prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation; a shortage of water resulting from this. *Earthquake. the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust. *Tsunami.
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Catastrophic Event • A violent, usually destructive natural occurrence.
*Drought • A prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation; a shortage of water resulting from this.
*Earthquake • the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust.
*Tsunami • is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean.
*Flood • an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land.
*Hurricanes • A storm with a violent wind, in particular a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean.
*Tornado • a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud.
*Volcano • an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface.
*Wildfire • A large, destructive fire that spreads quickly.
Ecoregion • is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem.
Weathering • the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth’s atmosphere and waters. Mechanical Chemical
Erosion • is the process by which materials are removed from a region of the Earth's surface.
Deposition • is the geological process by which material is added to a landform or land mass.
Watershed • The region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.
Aquifer • A layer of rock or soil able to hold or transmit much water.
Ground Water • is water that is found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
Porosity • the ratio of the volume of openings (voids) to the total volume of material. • Porosity represents the storage capacity of the geologic material.
Permeability • is a measure of the ability of a porous material (often, a rock or unconsolidated material) to allow fluids to pass through it.
Pollution • the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem.
Percolation • Percolation is the movement of water through the soil, and it's layers, by gravity and capillary forces.
Infiltration • the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil