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Cards-(pg. 39-40)
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Tectonic plates | -Huge pieces of lithosphere that slowly move on the asthenosphere and consist of the crust and the rigid, uppermost part of the mantle. |
North American plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere that includes the continental crust of Greenland, North America, Siberia, and the surrounding oceanic crust. |
Eurasian Plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere, including most of the landmasses of Europe and Asia. |
African Plate | -A tectonic plate of the lithosphere that includes the continental crust of Africa and the surrounding oceanic crust. |
South American plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere that includes the continental crust of South America and the oceanic crust extending to the Mid-Atlantic ridge. |
Pacific Plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere that is composed entirely of oceanic crust and lies beneath the Pacific ocean. |
Indo- Australian plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere that includes the continental crust of India and Australia and the surrounding oceanic crust |
Crustal Rock Material | -Crust can be either oceanic, which is the thin dense, or continental, which is thick and less dense. |
Antarctic Plate | -A tectonic plate division of the lithosphere that includes the continental crust of Antarctica and the surrounding oceanic crust. |
Density of Plates | -The amount of matter in a given matter in a given space or volume; oceanic crust is thinner, but denser than continental crust. |
Plate boundary | -The place where two different plates have contact. |
Convergent Boundary | -Occurs when two tectonic plates move toward each other and collide |
Subduction | -The process in which a denser plate is pushed downward beneath a less dense plate when plates converge; occurs at continental to oceanic boundaries and oceanic to oceanic boundaries. |
Volcanic Eruptions | -Events in which molten rock spews out from the mantle to the surface of Earth as ash, lava, and gases; major geological events that occur when a dense plate subducts below a less dense plate |
Mountain Building | -Major geological event that occurs when continental plates of equal density converge, resulting in mountain chains. |
Divergent Boundary | -Occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. |
Spreading Ridges | -Ridges formed from new crustal material at diverging oceanic plate boundaries. |
Earthquakes | -Major geological events that occur when plates shift suddenly and release stored energy. |
Ocean Basin | -An area of crust covered by sea water and surrounded by areas of continental crust. |
Transform Boundary | -Occurs when two tectonic plates slide past each other. |