Visual ImageDefinitionWord Each of the two days in a year on which day and night are equal in length; marks the beginning of spring and autumn. Either of the two times of year when the sun’s rays shine directly overhead at noon at the farthest points north or south, and marks the beginning of summer and winter. Condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time Weather conditions at a particular location over a long period of time. Falling water droplets in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail. The land on the leeward side of hills or mountains that gets little rain from the descending dry air. Use Chapter 2 and your notes to find the vocabulary word that matches the definition and image. Name ________________ Chapter 2 Vocabulary

Storms that form over warm, tropical ocean waters. A tropical storm, like a hurricane, that occurs in the western Pacific. A powerful funnel-shaped column of spiraling air. A region in the United States where violent funnel clouds appear frequently between May and October. A heavy snowstorm with winds of more than 35 miles per hour and reduced visibility.

A long period of time without rain or with very minimal rainfall. When water spreads over land not normally covered with water. The transfer of heat in the atmosphere, by upward motion of the air. The layer of gases released by the burning of coal and petroleum that traps solar energy, causing global temperatures to increase. The flat, treeless lands forming a ring around the Arctic Ocean.

Permanently frozen ground. Broadleaf trees, such as maple, oak. birch, and cottonwood. Needleleaf trees that are cone bearing air. Flat, grassy, mostly treeless plains found in the tropical grassland regions. Temperate grasslands found in the Northern Hemisphere. + ground

A tool used to show the average daily temperature and precipitation for each month of the year for a specific location, The height in elevation above which trees can not grow. Drought resistant shrubs and small trees found in the Mediterranean climate. Evergreen coniferous forest across the Northern Hemisphere – Russian word for “forest”. Flat, grassy, treeless plains that are found in the Tropical Wet and Dry climate region.

Visual ImageDefinitionWord The supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago. The name was first used by Alfred Wegener (originator of the continental drift theory) A fracture in the earth’s crust. A sometimes violent movement of the earth, produced when tectonic plates grind or slip past each other at a fault. A device that measures the size of the waves created by an earthquake. Not in the Book! The continuous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans and the earth. The result of weathering on matter, created by an action of wind, water, ice, or gravity.

The chain of volcanoes that line the Pacific Rim. Eight tectonic plates meet here. A giant ocean wave, caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. Mountain or rock created as liquid rock and ash erupt from inside the Earth. Magma that reaches the surface. Large, thick body of slowly moving ice.