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Plate Tectonics

Review of Vocabulary for Plate Tectonics

TermDefinition
Tectonic Plate A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere
Oceanic Crust The relatively thin part of the earth's crust which underlies the ocean basins. It is geologically young compared with the continental crust and consists of basaltic rock overlain by sediments.
Continental Crust The relatively thick part of the earth's crust that forms the large landmasses. It is generally older and more complex than the oceanic crust.
Volcanic Islands They are large volcanoes erupted on the seafloor whose tops have emerged above sea level.
Mountain Range A line of mountains connected by high ground.
Subduction Zone A convergent plate boundary where one plate subducts beneath the other, usually because it is denser.
Earthquake A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action.
Plate Boundary The edges where two plates meet.
Transform Boundary Locations where two plates slide past one another.
Himalayan Mountains A result of the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate which began 50 million years ago and continues today. 225 million years ago
Convergent Boundary Two plates are moving toward each other.
Divergent Boundary Two plates are moving away from each other and new crust is forming from magma that rises to the Earth's surface between the two plates.
Subduction Boundary One plate moves under another and is forced to sink due to high gravitational potential energy into the mantle
Mid-Ocean Ridge A long, seismically active submarine ridge system situated in the middle of an ocean basin and marking the site of the upwelling of magma associated with seafloor spreading. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Converging Moving towards and meeting
Diverging Moving away from
Volcano A mountain or hill, typically conical, having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are being or have been erupted from the earth's crust.
Sea Floor Spreading The formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side
Mid-Atlantic Ridge A north-south suboceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to Antarctica on whose crest are several groups of islands that was formed by a divergent boundary
Ring of Fire The area around the Pacific Ocean that has many volcanoes and earthquakes.
Convection Current The rising, spread, and sinking of gas, liquid, or molten material caused by the application of heat. These currents cause the movement of the tectonic plates that make up the earth's crust.
Trench Long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that form at the boundary of tectonic plates where one plate is pushed, or subducts, beneath another.
San Andreas Fault An active strike-slip fault in W United States, extending from San Francisco to S California
Cascades Volcanoes a chain of volcanoes at a convergent boundary where an oceanic plate is subducting beneath a continental plate.
Rift Valley in Africa A 6,000-mile crack (fissure) in the earth's crust, stretching from Lebanon to Mozambique formed from a divergent boudnary.
Created by: klstorie
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