-The era that we are living in
-The continents take on their present shape
-Humans emerge and develop
Mesozoic
-The third oldest era
-Dinosaurs and reptiles ruled
-Mammals first appeared
-The asteroid ended this era
Paleozoic
-The second oldest era
-The first organisms appeared on land (reptiles, insects)
-The Appalachian Highlands were formed
Precambrian
-The Oldest Era
-The first multi and single celled organisms (in the water)
-The Canadian Shield was formed
Forces Building Up
and Down
Glaciation
-Snow falls faster than it melts creating a fern (hard ice)
-Its heavy weight causes it to move, creating new land forms like valleys and waterfalls
-A form of erosion
Weathering
-Rocks and other parts of the geosphere are broken
-Weathering and erosion go hand in hand; weathering makes a mess and erosion cleans it up
Erosion
-Carries away broken parts of the geosphere
-Wind, water, and ice cause this
-Lots of mountains have been eroded, like the Appalachian mountains and the Canadian Shield
Faulting
-Where two tectonic plates rub together (Transform Boundary)
-Friction causes seismic waves, which result in earthquakes
-Mountains can form, one side being steep along the fault line
Folding
-Happens when convergent boundaries push against each other and wrinkle
-The highest mountains were made by folding
-The Western Cordillera was formed by folding
Natural Regions
Western Cordillera
-Consists of all rock types
-Located on the Pacific coast
-Formed from folding when the Pacific Plate converged with the North American Plate
Appalachian Highlands
-Consists mostly of sedimentary rock
-Formed in the Paleozoic era
-Heavily eroded; used to be mountains, now only hills
Canadian Shield
-Covers a little less than half of Canada
-Consists mostly of igneous rocks
-Made in the Precambrian era
Natural Disasters
Tornadoes
-Occurs when high air pressure and low air pressure winds meet
-Winds circulate and create a tunnel, which makes an updraft which makes the tornado reach the clouds
Earthquakes
-Happens due to tectonic plate movement
-Strongest around fault lines
-Mostly happens at transform boundaries
Volcanoes
-They usually stand alone and are symmetrical
-Forms due to subduction
-Can form on divergent boundaries
Plate Tectonics
Transform
-Two pate rubbing against each other
-This makes seismic waves which results in earthquakes
Divergent
-Two plate tectonics moving apart
-Volcanoes can form along these boundaries
Convergent
-Two plate tectonics pushing together
-"Subduction" is when an ocean plate get pushed below a continental plate
Rock Cycle
Metamorphic
-"Metamorphic" means "Changed"
-Used to be sedimentary of igneous rock
-Changed due to heat and pressure
-Examples include marble and gneiss
Sedimentary
-Formed in a process that starts with weather and ends in lithification
-Forms in layers
-Examples include sandstone and limestone
Igneous
-"Igneous" means "Fire"
-Rocks made from cooled magma
-Mostly found around volcanoes
-Examples include granite and obsidian
