Plate Tectonics Vocabulary

Front

What does the theory of plate tectonics explain?

Back

The movement of continents and ocean floors.

Front

What is a mid-ocean ridge?

Back

A mountain range under the ocean.

Front

What is a hot spot in geology?

Back

An abnormally hot, stationary point below the lithosphere where melting of the mantle and crust generates volcanism at Earth's surface.

Front

What happens at a transform plate boundary?

Back

Two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

Which type of crust is less dense, oceanic or continental?

Back

Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact with each other.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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

Front

What is a convergent plate boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is a divergent plate boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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