Plate Tectonics Vocabulary

Front

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other.

Back

convergent plate boundary

Front

The name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents.

Back

Pangaea

Front

A current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid.

Back

convection current

Front

Definition: the boundary between two plates that slide past each other

Back

transform plate boundary

Front

Boundary between tectonic plates in which the two plates move away from each other, and new crust is created between them

Back

divergent plate boundary

Front

extremely deep areas in the ocean that are created by a subducting plate.

Back

trench

Front

An underwater mountain chain where new ocean floor is formed.

Back

mid-ocean ridge

Front

a convergent boundary where a denser oceanic plate is plunging beneath another plate

Back

subduction zone