Earth Science 11th Edition Vocabulary Chapter 10
By Reshawn Brown (GLY 1001 Student North Campus Fall 2006)
1. accretionary wedge (p. 296) – A large wedge shaped mass of sediment that
accumulates in subduction zones. Here sediments is scraped from the subducting
oceanic plate and accreted to the overriding crustal block
2. active continental margin (p. 296) – Usually narrow and consisting of highly
deformed sediments. They occur where oceanic lithosphere is being subducted
beneath the margin of a continent
3. anticline (p.286) – A fold in sedimentary strata resembling an arch
4. basin (p.287) – A circular downfolded structure.
5. brittle failure (brittle deformation) (p.286) – Deformation that involves the
fracturing of rock. Associated with rocks near the surface.
6. deformation (p.284) – The process by which water vapor is changed directly to a
solid without passing through the liquid state
7. dip-slip fault( 288) – A fault in which the movement is parallel to the fault.
8. dome (p.287) – A roughly circular upfolded structure similar to an anticline
9. ductile deformation (p.286) – A type of solid state flow that produces a change
in the size and shape of a rock body without fracturing . Occurs at depths where
temperatures and confining pressures are high
10. fault (p.288) – A break in a rock mass along which movement has occurred
11. fault-block mountains (p.301) – A mountain formed by the displacement of rock
along a fault
12. fault scarp (p.288) – A cliff created by movement along a fault. I t represents the
exposed surface of the fault prior to modification by weathering and erosion
13. fold ( p. 285) - A bent rock layer or series of layers that were originally
horizontal and subsequently deformed
14. graben (p. 288) - A valley formed by the downward displacement of a faultbounded block
15. gravitational collapse ( p. 304) – The gradual subsidence of mountains caused by
lateral spreading of weak material located deep within these structures
16. horst (p. 289) – An elongate, uplifted block of crust bounded by faults
17. isostacy (p. 303) – The concept that Earth’s crust is floating in gravitational
balance upon the material of the mantle.
18. isotatic adjustment (p. 303) – The process of establishing a new level of
gravitational equilibrium
19. joint (p. 294) – A fracture in rock along which thee has been no movement
20. monocline (p. 287) - A one limited flexure in strata. The strata are unusually
flatlying or very getly dipping on both sides of the monocline
21. normal fault (p. 288) – A fault in which the rock above the fault plane has moved
down relative to the rock below
22. orogenesis (p.294) – The processes that collectively result in the formation of
mountains
23. passive continental margin (p. 296) – Margins that consists of continental shelf,
continental slope, and continental rise.
24. reverse fault ( p. 291) – A fault in which the material above the fault plane
moves up in relation to the material below.
25. strike-slip fault ( p. 291) - A fault along which the movement is horizontal
26. syncline (p.286) – A linear downfold in sedimentary strata; the opposite of
anticline
27. terrane (p. 298) – A crustal block bounded by faults, whose geologic history is
distinct from the histories of adjoining crustal blocks
28. thrust fault (p. 291) – A low-angle reverse fault
29. transform fault (p. 291) – A major strike-slip fault that cuts through the
lithosphere and accommodates motion between two plates