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.

Front

How far do tectonic plates move each year?

Back

Centimeters per year.

Front

What is the driving force behind the movement of tectonic plates?

Back

Convection currents in the mantle.

Front

What are ocean trenches?

Back

Deep depressions in the ocean floor formed at convergent boundaries where one tectonic plate is subducted under another.

Front

Where are the youngest rocks on Earth found?

Back

Along mid-ocean ridges.

Front

What type of boundary forms mountains?

Back

Continental-Continental Convergent boundaries.

Front

What are transform boundaries?

Back

Boundaries where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates move away from each other, often creating new crust.

Front

What is an example of a transform boundary?

Back

The San Andreas Fault in California.