APES Geology 1

206324403	Cenozoic Era	"Age of Mammals" 65 mya - present; characterized by rapid radiation of mammals
206324404	Paleozoic Era	543 mya - 252 mya; rapid radiation of fish and amphibians
206324405	Mesozoic Era	"Age of Reptiles" 252 mya - 65 mya; reptiles were dominant life form, ended after Cretaceous Period with mass extinction of dinosaurs
206324406	geologic time scale	the division of Earth history into blocks of time--eons, eras, periods, and epochs. The time scale was created using relative dating principles.
206324407	era	a geologic time unit; a subunit of eocs, and composed of multiple periods
206324408	Precambrian Era	4.6 billion to 544 million years ago; life developed as bacteria and softbodied, multicelled organisms. First mass extinction probably occurred near the end of the Precambrian
206324409	core	the central part of the Earth; containing both the inner and the outer core
206324410	mantle	thickest layer of the Earth; contains the plastic asthenosphere and a solid portion where convection currents are found
206324411	crust	the thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle
206324412	lithosphere	the solid part of the earth consisting of the crust and outer mantle
206324413	asthenosphere	The solid, plastic layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere; made of mantle rock that flows very slowly, which allows tectonic plates to move on top of it
206324414	igneous rock	rock formed by the solidification of molten magma
206324415	sedimentary rock	A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together
206324416	metamorphic rock	rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions
206324417	erosion	(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
206324418	weathering	the decomposition and disintegration of rocks and minerals at the earth's surface by a mechanical and chemical process
206324419	tectonic plate	a piece of the lithosphere that moves around on top of the asthenosphere
206324420	continental drift	the gradual movement and formation of continents (as described by plate tectonics)
206324421	seafloor spreading	the process that creates new sea floor as plates move away from each other at the mid-ocean ridges
206324422	pangaea	(plate tectonics) a hypothetical continent including all the landmass of the earth prior to the Triassic period when it split into Laurasia and Gondwanaland
206324423	plate boundary	the region where two tectonic plates are in contact
206324424	convection current	a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid
206324425	fault	(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
206324426	circum-pacific ring of fire	a zone of intense eartquake and valcaanic activity that that encircles the Pacific ocean basin; also calle the Circum-Pacific Belt.
206324427	transform boundary	the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally
206324428	convergent boundary	boundary between two colliding plates, often associated with mountain building ocean trenches and volcanic islands
206324429	divergent boundary	boundary between tectonic plates in which the two plates move away from each other, and new crust is created between them
206324430	subduction zone	the region where an oceanic plate sinks down into the asthenosphere at a convergent boundary, usually between continental and oceanic plates