| Caldera |
large, steep-sided circular depression resulting from the explosion and subsidence of a stratovolcano |
| Canyon |
steep-sided bedrock valley with a narrow floor limited to the width of a stream channel |
| Cartography |
the science and art of making maps |
| Celsius scale |
temperature scale in which the freezing point of water is 0°, the boiling point 100° |
| Chaparral |
scrub and dwarf forest plants found throughout out the coastal mountain ranges and hills of central and southern California |
| Cinder Cone |
conical hill built of coarse tephra ejected from a narrow volcanic vent; a type of volcano |
| Circle of Illumination |
great circle that divides the globe at all times into a sunlit hemisphere and a shadowed hemisphere |
| Cliff |
sheer, near-vertical rock wall formed from flat-lying resistant layered rocks |
| Climate |
the meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region |
| Climatology |
the study of climates |
| Cloud Forest |
a type of low evergreen rainforest that occurs high on mountain slopes, where clouds and fog are frequent |
| Cloud |
dense concentrations of suspended water or ice particles |
| Coastline (Coast) |
the shape, outline, or boundary of a coast, where coastal processes operate |
| Continent |
one of the principle landmasses on Earth, usually Africa, Antarctica, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia |
| Coral Reef |
rocklike accumulation secreted by corals and algae in shall water along a shoreline |
| Coral-Reef Coast |
coast built out by coral reefs |
| Core of Earth |
the center most sphere in the Earth composed of iron with an outer liquid zone and an inner solid zone |
| Coriolis Effect |
effect of the Earth’s rotation tending to turn the direction of motion of any object toward the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere |
| Corrosion |
erosion of bedrock of a stream channel by chemical reactions between solutions in stream water and mineral surfaces |
| Crater |
central summit depression associated with the principle vent of a volcano |
| Crevasse |
gaping crack in the brittle surface ice of a glacier |
| Crust of Earth |
outer most solid shell or layer of the Earth |
| Cumuliform Clouds |
clouds of globular shape, often with extended vertical development
Cumulonimbus Cloud—large, dense cumuliform cloud yielding precipitation |
| Cumulus |
cloud type consisting of low-lying, white cloud masses of globular shape well separated from one another |
| Cyclone |
center of low atmospheric pressure |
| Cyclonic Storm |
intense weather disturbance within a moving cyclone generating strong winds, cloudiness, and precipitation
|
|
|
| Return to Top of |
C |
is
a service of Berkeley Undergraduate Geographers (BUGs) and is
intended for Grade School-aged and Middle School-aged kids.