Plate Boundaries
This type of plate boundary occurs where two or more plates move toward one another
What is a convergent boundary?
This German scientist first theorized that the continents move across the surface of the Earth
Who is Alfred Wegener?
This type of crust is relatively dense, and sinks in subduction zones
What is oceanic crust?
This process builds new oceanic crust as magma slowly erupts at mid-ocean ridges
What is seafloor spreading?
This is the name for when the orientation of the Earth's magnetic field flips its polarity
What is a magnetic reversal?
This type of plate boundary occurs where two or more plates slide horizontally past one another
What is a transverse plate boundary?
This supercontinent was formed when all of the Earth's continents were together in one land mass about 250 million years ago
What is Pangea?
This type of crust is relatively light, and cannot sink into the mantle
What is continental crust?
These long underwater mountain ranges form at divergent boundaries, where seafloor spreading takes place
What is a mid-ocean ridge?
This type of plate boundary is what formed the Himalayas, including Mt. Everest
What is a convergent boundary?
This type of plate boundary occurs where two or more plates move apart from one another
What is a divergent boundary?
This is the name for the theory that the continents move across the surface of the Earth
What is continental drift?
These deep canyons in the seafloor form when subducting oceanic crust pulls on the continental crust above, creating a depression
What is a trench?
This is the deepest feature on the Earth's entire seafloor, being deeper than Mt. Everest is tall
What is the Mariana Trench?
These swirling currents in the mantle help to drive tectonic plate motion
What is mantle convection?
A mid-ocean ridge would occur at this type of plate boundary
What is a divergent plate boundary?
These large, rigid slabs of rock make up the surface of the Earth
What are tectonic plates?
These features form behind subduction zones, where the subducting plate brings water down with it and changes the melting point of the rocks, creating magma
What is the volcanic arc?
This technology uses a pulse of sound (called the "ping") to gauge distances through water, and map the seafloor
What is SONAR?
Mt. Everest is being pushed in this direction by the Indian Plate, which is colliding with the Eurasian Plate
What is Northeast?
A subduction zone would occur at this type of plate boundary
What is a convergent plate boundary?
Scientists match the locations of these animal and plant remains across modern continents to reconstruct ancient continents
What are fossils?
This mound of sediment forms in front of subduction zones when continental crust scrapes soft sediment off of the subducting oceanic crust
What is the accretionary wedge?
This "notch" occurs at the top of mid-ocean ridges, or when a mid-ocean ridge extends on to dry land
What is a rift valley?
This American scientist discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and proved the theory of continental drift in the 1950s
Who is Marie Tharp?