The former “supercontinent” on the Earth
What is Pangaea?
Where two tectonic plates move apart
What is a divergent plate boundary?
The scale we use to measure earthquakes
What is the Richter Scale?
The thinnest layer of the Earth
What is the crust?
Albert Wegener's continental drift hypothesis was initially rejected. This is mainly because Wegener could not describe this key factor.
What is how continents move?
Where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.
What is a transform plate boundary?
What is the name of the fault line we live on?
What is the Cascadia subduction zone?
The motion of plate tectonics is driven by convection in this layer
What is the mantle?
The theory that the lithosphere is broken into large plates that interact and cause geologic activities
What is the theory of plate tectonics?
New material pushes older material aside, causing tectonic plates to move apart
What is ridge push?

A large break in rock where movement happens during an Earthquake
What is a fault?
The upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere. This layer is described as being like "taffy" and tectonic plates float on this layer.
What is the Asthenosphere?
The process of magma rising to the surface at mid ocean ridges to form new crust. The discovery of this explained how continents could move.
What is sea floor spreading?
The denser crust goes below the less dense crust in a collision of plate tectonics.
What is subduction?
Tectonic plates move over these fixed areas of unusually hot regions of Earth's mantles. This is how Hawaii was formed.
What is a hot spot?
Outer layer of solid rock that is composed of crust and part of the rigid upper mantle
What is the Lithosphere?
One example of evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics?
What is....
- The shapes of continents fit together like a puzzle. -The matching coastlines show where the continents broke apart.
- Identical rocks that formed over 200 million years ago have been found on different continents.
- Identical fossils have been found in South America and Africa.
The plate movement that causes mid-ocean ridges.
What is two plates separating?
Seismic waves are detected and recorded by these scientific instruments
What is a seismograph?
The interaction of these two parts of the upper mantle and crust help explain the movement of plate tectonics.
What is the lithosphere and the asthenosphere?