Inside the Earth
Crust
The outermost layer of the lithosphere that we walk on.
Tectonic Plate
A chunk of lithosphere that floats on the mantle
The scientist credited with the idea that the continents all existed once upon a time as a single landmass.
Convergent Boundary
When two plates collide.
Compression
Mesosphere
The semi-solid liquid rock layer (magma)--part of the mantle.
The major plates
Pacific, North American, South American, African, Eurasian, Antarctic, Indo-Australian
Continental Drift
The hypothesis that states the continents once formed a single landmass.
Divergent Boundary
Where two plates separate
Tension
A kind of stress on rocks that stretches them.
Asthenosphere
The thin plastic-like layer that the tectonic plates float on.
The minor plates
Nazca, Cocos, Juan de Fuca, Scotia, Indian, Arabian, Carribbean, Caroline, Philippine
Pangea
The supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago.
Transform Boundary
Where two plates slide past eachother
Folding
The bending of rock layers due to stress.
Lithosphere
Contains the crust and the asthenosphere.
The theory of Plate Tectonics
The theory that explains how large pieces of the lithosphere move and change shape
Seafloor Spreading
The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies.
Fault
A break in a body of rock along which one block slides on an angle.
Uplift
The rising of regions of the Earth's crust to higher elevations.
Core
The liquid outer and solid nickel iron cores that play a role in Earth's magnetic fields.
Plate tectonics has how many kinds of boundaries?
3- Convergent, divergent and transform
Mid-Ocean Ridge
The place where sea-floor spreading takes place.
Normal, Reverse, Strike-Slip
Subsidence
The sinking of regions of Earth's crust to lower elevations.