Plate Tectonics Vocabulary
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The Earth's Layers
Mountain Formation
Volcanoes
100
Melted rock material found beneath the Earth's surface is called _______________ .
Magma
100
These are large fractures in rocks along which movement occurs.
Faults
100
This is the innermost layer of the Earth's interior. This part of the core is dense and composed mostly of solid iron.
Inner Core
100
When hot, molten lava flows onto the Earth's surface, these types of mountains can form. These types of mountains form over time, after layer upon layer of lava piles up and forms a cone-shaped feature.
Volcanic Mountains
100
When magma reaches the surface, it is called __________ .
Lava
200
When one of the Earth's plates sinks underneath another plate, it is called ________________ .
Subduction
200
This is the Earth's outermost layer. It is thin when compared the other layers of the Earth. This layer is thinnest under the oceans and thickest through the continents.
The Crust
200
This layer in the Earth's interior lies directly above the outer core. It is the largest layer of the Earth's interior. This layer is solid, but it flows slowly like putty.
The Mantle
200
These types of mountains are formed by the folding of rock layers and as a result of compression forces.
Folded Mountains
200
This is the bowl-shaped part of the volcano that surrounds the vent. Lava often collects here before it flows down the slope of the volcano.
The Crater
300
The study of earthquakes is called _______________ .
Seismology
300
These are plates that are locked against each other. An example is the San Andreas Fault in California.
Transform Faults
300
This layer of the Earth's interior lies directly above the inner core and is believed to be composed of mostly molten metal, which is a liquid.
Outer Core
300
The Hawaiian Islands are classified as these types of mountains.
Volcanic Mountains
300
In a volcano, magma flows through this nearly vertical crack in the rock.
The Pipe
400
Fill in the blanks: ________________ plates come together and _____________ plates move apart.
1. convergent 2. divergent
400
According to this principle, the Earth's Lithosphere floats on a plastic-like upper part of the Mantle, the Asthenosphere.
The Principle of Isotasy
400
This layer of the Earth's interior is the rigid upper part of the Earth's mantle and the crust. It is broken into about 30 sections or plates. It moves around if it were a part of the Earth's crust.
The Lithosphere
400
These types of mountains form from pulling forces. They are made of huge, tilted blocks of rocks that are separated from surrounding rocks by faults. When rock layers are pulled from opposite directions, large blocks slide downward, creating peaks and valleys.
Fault-block Mountains
400
As magma flows up the pipe of a volcano, it reaches the surface at an opening called the _____ .
The Vent
500
This is the theory that the earth was 1 massive supercontinent 300 million years ago instead of the 7 continents that we have today.
Pangaea
500
Based on the theory of Pangaea, this was the name given to the 1 and only huge ocean surrounding the earth when earth was just 1 huge continent.
Panthalassa
500
This interior layer of the Earth is located directly below the Lithosphere. It is plastic-like. The plates located in the lithosphere move around on top of this layer.
The Asthenosphere
500
These types of mountains form when forces inside the Earth push up the crust. With time, sedimentary rock layers on top will erode, exposing the igneous or metamorphic rocks underneath. The igneous and metamorphic rocks can erode further to form sharp peaks and ridges.
Upwarped Mountains
500
This is a large pocket underneath a volcano formed and filled by magma that has been forced upward.
The Magma Chamber
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