Earth's Structure Vocabulary
Plates
Earthquakes & Volcanoes Vocabulary
Faults, Earthquakes, & Volcanoes
Mountain Formation
100
Earth's innermost structure
What is the Earth's core?
100
crack in Earth's crust along which movement takes place
What is a fault?
100
As sections of the crust move apart, rocks are stretched until they snap, causing one lock to move down along a sloping crack.
What are faults occurring at diverging boundaries.
100
mountains that form when magma pushes up on Earth's crust but does not break through
What are dome mountains?
200
thin, nearly solid rock layer that is uppermost in Earth's structure
What is the Earth's crust?
200
melted rock below Earth's surface; called lava at the surface
What is magma?
200
Rocks are compressed as they come together, causing one block to move up along a sloping crack as the other moves down.
What are faults occurring at converging boundaries?
200
mountains that form where two plates collide and force layers of rock into folds
What are fold mountains?
300
thick layer of Earth's structure just below Earth's crust
What is the mantle?
300
point on Earth's surface directly above the focus of an Earthquake
What is epicenter?
300
Rocks grind against each other as they move horizontally past each other in opposite directions. Pressure builds up along the fault until the rocks break.
What are faults at sliding boundaries?
300
mountains that form along fault lines where blocks of rock fall, are thrust up, or slide
What are fault-block mountains?
400
idea that giant plates of rock are moving slowly across Earth's surface
What is plate tectonics?
400
Plates that consist almost entirely of dense ocean-floor material
What is oceanic plates?
400
point underground where the faulting in an earthquake occurs
What is focus?
400
Zone that borders the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its many volcanoes
What is the Ring of Fire?
400
Volcanic mountains that can also be shaped by erosion
What are dome mountains?
500
area where Earth's solid upper mantle and crust combine to form a shell
What is the lithosphere?
500
Plates that are made up of lighter continental rock 'riding' on top of denser rock
What is continental plates?
500
waves of energy sent through Earth's crust when plates move
What are seismic waves?
500
Type of volcano that forms when a lot of lava flows smoothly from a vent and spreads out to cover a wide area. This action creates a broad, low, dome-shaped volcano.
What are shield volcanoes?
500
Where most mountain formation takes place
What are plate boundaries?
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