A Living Planet

The Earth Inside and Out

• Continents– North America– South America– Europe– Asia– Africa– Antarctica– Australia

The Solar System

• Consists of sun and nine planets– comets, asteroids

Earth’s Structure

• Three main layers• Core

– Inner• Iron and nickel

– Outer• Liquid

• Mantle– Most of Earth’s mass

Earth’s Structure

• Crust– Thin layer at earth’s

surface

Earth’s Structure

• Atmosphere– Layer of gas around Earth

• Lithosphere– Crust and uppermost mantle

• Hydrosphere– Water elements of the Earth

• Biosphere– Atmosphere, lithosphere,

and hydrosphere

Earth’s Structure

• Continental Drift– Wegener

• Pangaea or supercontinent

Bodies of Water and Landforms

• Oceans – Atlantic– Pacific– Indian– Arctic

Bodies of Water and Landforms

• Seas– Bering– Caribbean– Baltic– Mediterranean – Black– Sea of Japan– North

Lakes, Rivers, and Streams

• Lakes– Largest Freshwater

is Baikal (Russia)– Largest Saltwater is

Caspian Sea (Western Asia)

Internal Forces Shaping the Earth

• Plate Tectonics– Molten rock flows

slowly– Tectonic plates ride

on flowing rock– There are 7 large

plates

Plate Tectonics

• Eurasian• North American• South American• Antarctic• African• Indo-Australian• Pacific

Plate Tectonics

• Plates move in four ways– Spreading– Subduction– Collision– Sliding

Plate Tectonics

• Three types of boundaries form– Divergent

• Move apart

– Convergent• Collide

– Transform• Slide past

Plate Tectonics

• Find an example of each in your textbook and put them in your notes– Pg 38

Plate tectonics

• Folds and Faults– Caused by extreme

pressure – Flexible rocks fold– Inflexible rocks crack

causing faults

Plate Tectonics

• Earthquakes– Caused when plates

contact each other– 95% of all earthquakes

occur around pacific plates

– Tsunamis• Caused by underwater

earthquakes

Plate Tectonics

• Volcanoes– Found mostly along

plate boundaries– What are hot spots?– Ring of Fire

• Pacific Ocean• Location of vast

majority of active volcanoes

External Forces Shaping the Earth

• Weathering– Changes the

characteristics of rock • Mechanical

– How does it occur?

• Chemical– How does it occur?

• What is the difference between the two types of weathering?

• Erosion– When weather

material is moved from one location to another

• Water• Wind • Glacial

External Forces Shaping the Earth

Mount St Helens

• Before and After– Erupted in 1980

Mount St Helens

This is an infra-red photo of Mount St. Helens taken in March of 1980, before the eruption. In an infra- red photo, all living things register as red. The picture was taken by a LandSat satellite.

And this is an infra-red photo taken by the same satellite, 3 months later. Notice that almost all the red is gone, which means that there is very little life left on the surface.