Plate Tectonics

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What is Plate Tectonics?

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A scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth's subterranean movements.

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What are tectonic plates?

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Large slabs of Earth's lithosphere that move and interact at their boundaries, causing seismic activity.

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How do tectonic plates move?

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They move due to the heat from the Earth's interior causing convection currents in the mantle.

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What is a convergent boundary?

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A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other, often causing one plate to slide beneath the other.

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Asthenosphere

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a portion of the Earth's mantle that flows like molten plastic despite being solid

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Divergent Boundary

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occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other.

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What is a transform boundary?

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A type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal, in either sinistral or dextral direction.

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What causes earthquakes?

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Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves, often due to tectonic plate movements.

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What is the lithosphere?

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The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, which is divided into tectonic plates.

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Geoscience Process

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any natural phenomenon or series of events that shape and transform the Earth's surface