Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics Flashcard

Front

What is the whole-mantle model of mantle convection?

Back

It suggests that slabs of cold oceanic crust move down and into the lower mantle.

Front

What geological feature do the islands of Java and Sumatra represent?

Back

They are an example of a volcanic island arc.

Front

What is slab-pull?

Back

It occurs when oceanic crust sinks into the mantle.

Front

What is the primary driving force behind plate movement?

Back

The process of convection occurring in the mantle.

Front

What type of geological layers support the continental drift hypothesis?

Back

Layers of coal found in Africa, South America, India, and Australia.

Front

Define plate tectonics.

Back

The theory explaining the movement of the Earth's lithosphere which is divided into tectonic plates.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The hypothesis that continents have moved over geological time to their current locations.

Front

What is a tectonic plate?

Back

A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.

Front

What is a hot spot?

Back

A location where magma from deep within the mantle melts through the crust above it.