Plate Tectonics Overview

Front

What is an earthquake?

Back

A vibration in the ground that results from the movement along breaks in Earth’s lithosphere.

Front

What is a fault?

Back

A fracture that occurs when rocks change their shape.

Front

Who proposed the theory of continental drift?

Back

Alfred Wegener, a German scientist, proposed the theory in 1912.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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

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 a divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.

Front

What is a convergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move towards each other, often causing one plate to be forced below the other.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The theory that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate is forced under another plate.