Plate Tectonics

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The theory that explains the structure and movement of the Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Front

What is a Tectonic Plate?

Back

A large, rigid piece of the Earth's lithosphere that moves and interacts with other plates.

Front

What is the Lithosphere?

Back

The outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle, which is rigid and brittle.

Front

What is the Asthenosphere?

Back

The semi-fluid layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere that allows tectonic plates to move.

Front

What is a Convergent Boundary?

Back

A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other, often resulting in one plate being forced beneath another.

Front

What is a Divergent Boundary?

Back

A plate boundary where two plates move apart, leading to the formation of new crust, such as rifts and ocean ridges.

Front

What is a Transform Boundary?

Back

A plate boundary where two plates slide past each other horizontally, causing earthquakes.

Front

What is Subduction?

Back

The process by which one tectonic plate is forced under another plate into the mantle.

Front

What is Sea-floor Spreading?

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as tectonic plates pull apart.

Front

What is Pangea?

Back

A supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, where all continents were joined together.