Earth and Space Science Changing Earth’s Surface

Natural events, human actions 1. Most environments are constantly changing. Environmental changes can be caused by ___________ ____________ or _____________ _______________.

floods, storms, volcanoes, droughts 2. Natural events include natural disasters and changes caused by organisms other than humans. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, _____________, _______________, _____________ and ________________ can drastically alter environments.

sudden, violent, dams 3. Natural disasters can cause _________________ and _________________ changes to Earth’s surface. These changes greatly affect the plants, animals, and people living where these disasters occur. Beavers, for example, build _________. Their dams can cause flooding, but the dams can also be beneficial by creating new habitats.

People, habitats, pesticides, polluting 4. ______________________ can also cause changes to the environment by destroying __________________, using __________________, and _________________.

Tsunami, tsunami 5. One of the most damaging natural disasters is a _______________. A __________________ is a series of huge waves caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption beneath the ocean.

Increases, slow 6. The speed of a tsunami depends on the depth of the water. As the waves reach shallow water, the height of the wave _________________ and the waves ___________ down.

Richter Scale 7. On December 26, 2004, and earthquake measuring between 9.0 and 9.3 on the ______________ _____________ occurred in the Indian Ocean. The earthquake triggered a tsunami that sent a series of waves crashing into coastlines of Asia destroying whole villages and killing hundreds and thousands of people

warn 8. Tsunamis often take hours to travel across the ocean. It may be possible to __________ people before the waves reach the shore.

large, rain 9. Floods are usually caused by a ____________ amount of ___________ that falls in a short period of time.

force 10. Floods are dangerous to nearby inhabitants because of the ____________ of flowing flood water and people sometimes driving through floodwater.

levees 11. In areas that are in a river’s flood plain, people try to control the water’s flow by building dams or structures called _________________.

levee, Levees, more water 12. A _____________ is a wall or a large amount of Earth built along a river to prevent it from flooding. _________________ raise or extend the banks of a river so that _______________ _______________ than usual can flow in the river.

power, gas 13. When earthquakes occur in an area populated with people, _____________ and ________________ lines can be broken which can cause destructive fires.

landslide, volcanoes, earthquakes 14. A _________________________ can occur from heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt, ____________ and _______________. A landslide can carry buildings down a hillside or bury highways under debris

natural disasters 15. The sudden changes caused by _________ _______________ can have long-term effects on Earth and its habitats.

volcanoes, climate 17. Some natural disasters, such as ___________________, can affect the _______________ for both short or long periods of time.

floods, landslides 18. __________________ and ____________________ can add to the soil by leaving behind nutrient-rich mud.

positive changes 19. Natural disasters cause harm, but they can also bring about _____________ ____________

Volcanoes (island chains) tsunami flooding