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Plate Tectonics
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Asthenosphere | the upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere, in which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur. |
| Continental Drift | the gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time. |
| Lithosphere | the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle. |
| Pangaea | a hypothetical supercontinent that included all current land masses, believed to have been in existence before the continents broke apart during the Triassic and Jurassic Periods. |
| Plate | a thin, flat sheet or strip of metal or other material, typically one used to join or strengthen things or forming part of a machine. |
| Plate Tectonics | a theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust and many associated phenomena as resulting from the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle. |
| Seafloor 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. |
| Abyssal Plains | an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3000 and 6000 m. Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface. |
| Trench | a long, narrow ditch. |
| Subduction Sone | the place where two lithospheric plates come together, one riding over the other. |
| Convection | the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat. |
| 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. |
| Epicenter | the point on the earth's surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake. |
| Fault | a crack in a rock along which slippage has occurred |
| Focus | the center of interest or activity. |
| Magnitude | the great size or extent of something. |
| Normal Fault | A geologic fault in which the hanging wall has moved downward relative to the footwall. Normal faults occur where two blocks of rock are pulled apart, as by tension. Compare reverse fault. |
| Reverse Fault | A geologic fault in which the hanging wall has moved upward relative to the footwall. Reverse faults occur where two blocks of rock are forced together by compression. Compare normal fault. See Note and illustration at fault. |
| P-Wave | type of body wave, called seismic waves in seismology, that travel through a continuum and are the first waves from an earthquake to arrive at a seismograph |
| S-Wave | a seismic body wave that shakes the ground back and forth perpendicular to the direction the wave is moving |
| Seismograph | an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration. |
| Strike-Slip Fault | a fault in which rock strata are displaced mainly in a horizontal direction, parallel to the line of the fault. |
| Tsunami | a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance. |
| Batholith | a very large igneous intrusion extending deep in the earth's crust. |
| Caldera | a large volcanic crater, typically one formed by a major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano. |
| Cinder Cone Volcano | A steep, conical hill consisting of glassy volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a volcanic vent. |
| Dike | a long wall or embankment built to prevent flooding from the sea. |
| Hot Spot | a small area or region with a relatively hot temperature in comparison to its surroundings. |
| Shield Volcano | a broad, domed volcano with gently sloping sides, characteristic of the eruption of fluid, basaltic lava. |
| Sill | a shelf or slab of stone, wood, or metal at the foot of a window or doorway. |
| 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. |
| Anticline | a ridge-shaped fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope downward from the crest. |
| Syncline | a trough or fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope upward from the axis. |
| Tension | the state of being stretched tight |
| Shear | break off or cause to break off, owing to a structural strain. |
| Uplife | lift (something) up; raise. |
| Fissure | split or crack (something) to form a long narrow opening. |
| Pyroclastic Flow | a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing downslope at great speed. |
| Geyser | a hot spring in which water intermittently boils, sending a tall column of water and steam into the air. |
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