GeoGeek Glossary

Salt Flat	shallow basin covered with salt deposits
Sand Dune	hill or ridge or loose, well-sorted sand shaped by wind
Sandspit	narrow, finger like mound of sand in the open water of a bay
Santa Ana	easterly wind, often hot and dry, that blows from the interior desert region of southern California and passes over the coastal mountain ranges to reach the Pacific Ocean
Savanna	a vegetation cover of widely spaced trees with a grassland beneath
Sea Breeze	local wind blowing from sea to land during the day
Sediment	finely divided mineral matter and organic matter derived directly or indirectly from rock
Sedimentary Rock	rock formed from accumulation of sediment
Seismic Waves	waves sent out during an earthquake by faulting and spread through the solid Earth
Semiarid	subtype of the dry climates exhibiting a short wet season supporting the growth of grasses and annual plants
Shearing (of Rock)	slipping motion between very thin rock layers
Shield Volcano	low, often large, dome like accumulation of lava flows
Shoreline	shifting line of contact between water and land
Shrubs	woody perennial plants, usually small or low to the ground
Smog	mixture of aerosols and chemical pollutants in the lower atmosphere, usually found over urban areas
Soil	natural surface layer containing living matter and capable of supporting plants
Solar Day	average time required for the Earth to complete on rotation with respect to the Sun
Solstice	either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator
South Pole	point at which the southern end of the Earth’s axis of rotation meets the Earth’s surface
Standard Time Zone	zone of the Earth in which all inhabitants keep the same time
Steppe	semiarid grassland occurring largely in dry continental interiors
Storm Surge	rapid rise of coastal water level accompanying a cyclone
Stratovolcano	volcano constructed of multiple layers of lava and tephra
Stream	long, narrow body of flowing water occupying a stream channel
Stream Channel	long, narrow trough like depression occupied and shaped by a stream
Stream Deposition	accumulation of transported particles on a streambed or floodplain
Stream Erosion	progressive removal of mineral particles from the floor or sides of a stream channel
Stream Load	solid matter carried by a stream
Subduction	descent of an edge of a lithospheric plate beneath the edge of the adjoining plate
Subsolar Point	point on Earth’s surface at which one is directly beneath the Sun
Summer Solstice	solstice occurring on June 21 or 22 when the subsolar point is located at 23 ¹/₂°N

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