Plate Tectonics Vocab

Front

New oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, pushing older crust aside.

Back

Seafloor Spreading

Front

Outermost layer of Earth including upper mantle and crust

Back

lithosphere

Front

Boundary between plates moving apart

Back

Divergent boundary

Front

Location where one tectonic plate moves under another.

Back

subduction zone

Front

Partially melted mantle where convection currents occur

Back

asthenosphere

Front

Theory that Earth's surface is divided into large, moving pieces

Back

plate tectonics

Front

Circulation of particles in materials due to density and temperature differences

Back

Convection currents

Front

Boundary where plates move towards each other

Back

convergent boundary

Front

Fossilized plant used by Wegener to support his hypothesis

Back

glosopteris

Front

Boundary where plates slide horizontally past each other

Back

transform boundary