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Plate Tectonics
unit 7 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| asthenosphere | plasticlike layer of earth on which the lithospheric plates float and move around |
| continental drift | a hypothesis that all continents were once conected in a single large landmass that broke apart 200 MYA and drifted slowly into their current possitions |
| lithosphere | the crust and upper mantle of the earth |
| pangea | the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined, from about 300 to 200 million years ago |
| plate | a large section of earths crust that moves around on the asthenosphere |
| plate tectonics | a theory of global tectonics in which the lithosphere is divided into a number of crustal plates, each of which moves on the plastic asthenosphere more or less independently to collide with, slide under, or move past adjacent plates |
| seafloor spreading | a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out |
| earthquake | vibrations produced when rocks break along a fault |
| epicenter | a point, directly above the true center of disturbance, from which the shock waves of an earthquake apparently radiate |
| fault | a break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture |
| focus | the point of origin of an earthquake |
| magnitude | measure of energy being released during an earthquake |
| normal fault | break in rock caused by tension forces, where rock above the fault surface moves down relative to the rock below the fault surface |
| reverse fault | break in rock caused by compressive forces, where rock above fault surface moves upward |
| siesmic wave | a wave of energy that is generated by an earthquake or other earth vibration and that travels within the earth or along its surface |
| seismograph | any of various instruments for measuring and recording the vibrations of earthquakes |
| strike- slip fault | break in rock caused by shear forces, where rocks move past each other without much vertical movement |
| tsunami | an unusually large sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption |
| batholith | a large body of intrusive igneous rock believed to have crystallized at a considerable depth below the earth's surface; pluton |
| caldera | a large, basinlike depression resulting from the explosion or collapse of the center of a volcano |
| cinder cone volcano | steep sided, loosely packed volcano formed when tephra falls to the ground |
| dike | an embankment for controlling or holding back the waters of the sea or a river |
| hot spot | a region of molten rock below and within the lithosphere that persists long enough to leave a record of uplift and volcanic activity at the earth's surface |
| shield volcano | broad, gentely sloping volcano fromed by quiet eruptions of basaltic lava |
| sill | a tabular body of intrusive igneous rock, ordinarily between beds of sedimentary rocks or layers of volcanic ejecta |
| volcano | a mountain or hill, usually having a cuplike crater at the summit, formed around such a vent from the ash and lava expelled through it |
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