Geological Concepts

The deepest parts of the ocean floor formed at convergent boundaries where old ocean floor is pushed down and destroyed, reaching over 6 miles deep below sea level.

• Deep-Sea Trench

• Mid-Ocean Ridge

• Continental Shelf

• Oceanic Plateau

The process where new ocean floor is created at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises from the mantle and solidifies to form new crust while older ocean floor moves away.

• Seafloor Spreading

• Plate Tectonics

• Continental Drift

• Oceanic Subduction

Plate boundaries where two plates move toward each other and collide, creating mountains, deep ocean trenches, and volcanoes.

• Divergent Boundaries

• Transform Boundaries

• Convergent Boundaries

• Passive Boundaries

A long, narrow valley formed where continental plates pull apart at divergent boundaries on land.

• Rift Valley

• Canyon

• Plateau

• Valley Floor

Plate boundaries where plates slide past each other horizontally, creating fault lines and frequently causing earthquakes.

• Divergent Boundaries

• Convergent Boundaries

• Transform Boundaries

• Subduction Zones

Earth's rigid outer layer that includes the crust and uppermost part of the mantle, forming a solid shell that "floats" on the more fluid layer below.

• Lithosphere

• Asthenosphere

• Mesosphere

• Hydrosphere

An underwater mountain chain formed at divergent plate boundaries where new ocean floor is created through seafloor spreading.

• Mid-Ocean Ridge

• Continental Shelf

• Ocean Trench

• Seamount

A zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the Pacific Ocean, formed by many plate boundaries surrounding the Pacific Plate and containing about 75% of the world's active volcanoes.

• Ring of Fire

• Mid-Atlantic Ridge

• Himalayan Belt

• San Andreas Fault

The edges where two tectonic plates meet and interact, including three main types: convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries where most earthquakes and volcanoes occur.

• Plate Boundaries

• Tectonic Plates

• Earthquake Zones

• Volcanic Regions

Cracks or breaks in Earth's crust where rocks have moved past each other, forming along plate boundaries and causing earthquakes when movement occurs.

• Fault Lines

• Plateaus

• Tectonic Plates

• Seismic Waves