CHAPTER 1 THE EARTH (main) . Facts About Earth a.Age: Scientists estimate the Earth to be around 4.6 billion years old. b.Day: A day is how long it takes the Earth to make one revolution. It takes the Earth 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds to make this journey. c.Year: A year is how long it takes the Earth to go around the sun once. This takes 365 days, 5 hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds. The extra time is why we add a day to the calendar every four years. This is called leap year. d.Circumference: The circumference of the earth at the equator is approximately 29,401.55 miles. However, since the Earth bulges in the center, measuring the Earth’s circumference around the north and south poles gives a slightly smaller circumference of 24,859.82 miles. e.Depth: From the surface to the center, the depth of the Earth measures 3,963 miles. f.Elements: The Earth is made up of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, aluminum and other trace elements. g.Water to Land Ratio: The Earth is mostly made up of water. Seventy percent of the world is ocean; only thirty percent is land. h.Natural Satellites: Unlike other planets, Earth has only one natural satellite, the moon. i.Hottest Day: The hottest day in recorded history occurred in El Azizia, Libia, at 136 degrees Fahrenheit. Coming in a close second at a 134 degrees was a temperature recorded in Death Valley, California. j.Coldest Day: Vostok in Antarctica boasts the coldest day in recorded history at −129 degrees Fahrenheit. k.Wettest Location: Lloro, Columbia receives more than forty inches of rain a year. l.Driest Location: Arica located in Chile receives less than an inch of rain a year. m.Highest Point: Measuring from the center of the earth to the furthest point, Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador which is at a 20,564 foot elevation since it is along the equatorial bulge. The highest point above sea level is Mount Everest in Nepal which is 29,029 foot above sea level. n.Lowest Point: The Dead Sea shore in Israel-Jordan rests −1,385 feet below sea level. o.Largest Island: Greenland is the largest island on Earth. a.An example of Earth is the third planet from the sun. Biosphere that part of the earth’s surface where most forms of life exist, specifically those parts where there is water or atmosphere. chthonic, chthonian having to do with the underworld. cosmosphere a hollow glass globe for depicting the position of the earth in relation to the fixed stars at a given time. diastrophism the process of movement that causes the earth’s crust to form continents, mountains, oceans, etc. —diastrophe, n. —diastrophic, adj. epeirogeny the vertical movement or tilting of the earth’s crust, affecting broad expanses of continents. —epeirogenic, epeirogenetic, adj. geochronology the branch of geology that describes the past in terms of geologic rather than human time. —geochronologist, n. —geochronologic, geochronological, adj. geodynamics the science of the forces at work within the earth. —geodynamic, adj. geogony a theory or science about the formation of the earth. —geogonic, adj. geolatry Rare. worship of the things of the earth or of the earth itself. geology the science that studies the physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the changes the earth has undergone and is undergoing. —geologist. n. —geologic, geological, adj. geomalism the tendency of organisms, under the influence of gravity, to be symmetrical. —geomalic, adj. geomancy a form of divination that analyzes the pattern of a handful of earth thrown down at random or dots made at random on paper. —geomancer, n. geomorphology the branch of geology that studies the form of the earth’s surface. —geomorphologist, n. —geomorphologic, geomorphological, adj. geophagy the eating of earthy matter, especially clay or chalk. —geophagist, n. —geophagous, adj. georama a large globe or sphere in which a spectator can stand and view a representation of the earth’s surface. inclinometer an instrument for measuring the inclination or dip of the earth’s magnetic force. lithogenesy the science of explaining the minerals of which the earth is composed, their origins, and the cause of their form and arrangement. lithosphere the solid part of the earth, as contrasted with the atmosphere and hydrosphere. nutation the periodic oscillation that can be observed in the precession of the earth’s axis and the precession of the equinoxes. See also head. —nutational, adj. obliquity the inclination of the earth’s equator or the angle between the plane of the earth’s orbit and the plane of the equator (23°27″). See also astronomy. Also called obliquity of the ecliptic. —obliquitous, adj. planation the formation of a flat or level surface by the process of erosion. sphericist. Rare a person who believes that the earth is round. tellurist a dweller on the earth. Also tellurian
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 10:52:00 +0000
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