Platetectonics Vocab Flashcard

Front

Plate boundary where plates slide past each other, causing earthquakes.

Back

Transform Boundary

Front

Dividing line where tectonic plates meet:

Back

Plate Boundaries

Front

Driving force for plate tectonics; moves heat from Earth's interior to surface as cooler plates sink.

Back

Convection

Front

Plate boundary where plates move apart, causing trenches or valleys.

Back

Divergent Boundary

Front

Tectonic plate pushed beneath another, trapping magma.

Back

Subduction

Front

Plate boundary where plates collide and land rises (mountains, hills)

Back

Convergent Boundary

Front

Thinner and denser than continental crust

Back

oceanic

Front

A wave from an earthquake or explosion that travels along or through the Earth.

Back

seismic

Front

Point on Earth's surface above the earthquake.

Back

epicenter

Front

Sections of the Earth's surface that move, including continental and oceanic crust.

Back

tectonic plates