Looking @ Earth
Water & Land
 Earth is made up of 70% water (hydrosphere) & 30% land
(lithosphere).
 Tallest point on earth is Mount Everest in Asia standing
29,028 ft. above sea level
 Lowest is the shore of the Dead Sea 1,312 ft. below sea level
Earth’s Structure
 Composed of 3 layers:
 1- Crust= Outer layer only 3-30 miles deep, land includes the




continents that float on lava from the upper mantle
2: Mantle= largest layer of earth made mostly of dense hot
rock.
3: Outer/Inner Core
A. Outer core= begins 1,800 miles below the surface & made
of melted iron & magnesium.
B. Inner core= begins 4,000 miles below the surface & made
of solid iron & nickel.
Shaping/Moving Earth
 Do the Continents move & if so how do they move?
 Continents sit on top of plates that are floating on the




magma of the upper mantle.
Movement of the plates can have different effects on the
earth.
A. Spread Apart= causes melted rock to form ridges
B. Slide past each other= Forming a trench
C. Bump together= forming mountains
 When the plate’s movement happens, this causes an
earthquake.
Shaping/Moving Earth
Shaping/Moving Earth
Shaping/Moving Earth
 How safe are we from a major earthquake?
Haiti Earthquake
 The quake struck on January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
 The 7.0 magnitude quake's epicenter hit just 10 miles west of
Porte-au-Prince & its 2 million inhabitants
 Happened when the Caribbean Plate & the NA Plate slid &
compressed against each other.
Haiti Fast Facts
 Population of nearly 10 million people.
 Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty
line.
 Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.
 Haiti has no real construction standards.
 Death toll from the quake is around 100,000-200,000
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/haiti.quake/
Shaping/Moving Earth
 External forces that cause
the earth to be shaped are
 1. Weathering- the
breaking down of earth’s
rocks, solids, & minerals.
 2 Types: Chemical &
Physical
 2.Erosion- the wearing
away of the earth’s surface
by wind & water.
Landforms
 7 continents
 N & S America located
in the Western
Hemisphere.
 Antarctica is located in
both E & W
hemispheres
 Asia is the LARGEST
 Australia is the
 Europe & Africa are
mostly in the eastern
hemisphere.
smallest.
Major Landforms
 Landforms are very different across
earth.
 4 major kinds
 1. Mountains- have steep slopes &
have some kind of peak or summit.
Highest landforms on earth.
 2.Hills- more rounded than a Mt.
 3. Plateau- higher than the
surrounding land & usually
has @ least 1 steep side.
 4. Plains- gently rolling or
flat lands.
Earth’s Resources
 Natural Resources- Elements from the earth that aren’t
made by people but used by them.
 Important cause they support & assist human life.
 Minerals- substances from earth not made of living things.
(aluminum, gold, kaolin etc.)
 Fossil Fuels- formed from the remains of plants & animals
Their Value
 Don’t have the same value all over the world.
 What things influence the value of resources?
 1. Supply- depending on location affects the value.
 Where there is a small supply of something, its usually
given a greater value.
 The value of a resource can change
Distribution of Resources
 Can have great effect on how





countries relate w/ each other.
Resources aren’t evenly
distributed throughout the
world.
When countries need or desire
a certain type of resource they
trade w/ other countries.
Imports- goods brought in
from another country.
Exports- goods sent from one
country.
Many times throughout
history, the uneven
distribution of natural
resources has caused conflict
btw countries.