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Plate Tectonics
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Continental Drift | the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface |
Crustal Plate | a rigid layer of Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly |
Earthquake | the shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface |
Ocean Basin | a great depression occupied by the ocean on the surface of the lithosphere |
Pangaea | the name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continent |
Plate Tectonics | the theory that pieces of earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle |
Primary Waves | a type of seismic wave that compresses and expands the ground |
Second Waves | a type of seismic wave that moves the ground up and down or side to side |
Surface Waves | a type of seismic wave that forms when a primary wave and secondary wave reach Earth's surface |
Volcano | a weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the surface |
Convergent: continental to continental | Forms: Mountains Ex. Himalayans |
Convergent: ocean to ocean | Old plate sinks |