Environmental Process/Catastrophic Events
Forest fire - an uncontrolled fire in a wooded area
Volcano - an opening in the earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases
are ejected
Earthquake - A sudden movement of the Earth's lithosphere (its crust and upper
mantle). Earthquakes are caused by the release of built-up stress within rocks along
geologic faults or by the movement of magma in volcanic areas. They are usually
followed by aftershocks.
Tsunami - a large destructive ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or
another movement of the Earth's surface
Hurricane - a severe tropical storm with torrential rain and extremely strong winds
tornado - A rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile
and whirling at destructively high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped
downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud.
Landslide - The downward sliding of a relatively dry mass of earth and rock.
Glaciers - are large masses of snow, recrystallized ice and rock debris that accumulate
in great quantities and begin to flow outwards and downwards under the pressure of
their own weight.
Currents - cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the oceans. Ocean
currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by
temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes.