Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to the appropriate section of the glossary.
agriculture - farming
arsonist - a person who deliberately lights fires.
atmospheric pressure - the pressure at a particular place, caused by the weight of the earth's
atmosphere.
bacterial - caused by bacteria.
cholera - an often fatal bacterial disease causing severe vomiting and diarrhoea, spread by
contaminated water.
combustible - able to burn.
convection - the transferring of heat in a liquid of gas, due to lighter parts rising and denser parts
sinking.
coup - a sudden effective move.
crater - a large hole or depression.
cumulonimbus cloud - a towering, dark mass of cumulus cloud associated with thunder and
lightning.
displacing - putting out of its usual place.
earthquake - a movement in the earth's crust or mantle.
famine - a widespread and serious shortage, especially of food. hotspots - places where volcanoes occur other than on the edges of plates.
epicentre - the point on the earth's surface directly above the origin of an earthquake.
erosion - the process of eroding, especially the wearing away of the earth's surface.
eucalypt - a gum tree.
- F -
fault - a break in a rock formation caused by movement of the earth's crust.
flammable - able to ignite.
focus - the point at where an earthquake starts.
- G H -
- I J K L -
incinerate - to burn to ashes.
irrigation - to supply with water using a system of canals and pipes in order to increase productivity.
Krakatoa - A volcano located in the Pacific Ocean.
lahar - a mudflow.
magma - the molten rock layer contained in the mantle. (Lava before it erupts)
magma chambers - the large voids in a volcano where magma is formed.
malaria - a recurrent disease transmitted by mosquitoes, causing fever and chills.
malnutrition - poor nutrition due to a lack of the correct foods, especially vitamins or protein.
meningitis - a serious illness caused by inflammation of the meninges (brain), resulting in headache,
vomiting, fever and a stiff neck.
mercalli scale - a scale used to measure the destruction and severity of earthquakes.
plate - one of the sections of the earth's crust.
plate tectonics - the idea that the earth's upper crust consists of a sequence of rigid plates.
prone - tending or liable to.
rain depression - a low-pressure region of rainfall often the result of a deteriorated cyclone.
Richter scale - a scale measuring earthquakes by force.
Ring of fire - the area around the Pacific Ocean consiting of many volcanoes; a high risk area for
earthquakes.
sedentary - to want or have the need of a sitting position (a sedentary occupation = a sitting occupation.)
seismic waves - the waves generated from an earthquake.
silt - earthy matter like very fine sand which is carried by running water and then left behind on the river bottom.
subduction - the process of one tectonic plate diving beneath another.
tsunami - a series of about eight abnormally large waves.