Plate Tectonics
The proposed supercontinent that 200 million years ago began to break apart and form the present landmasses.
What is Pangaea
The vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of energy.
What is Earthquake
The transfer of heat by the movement of a mass of substance. It can take place only in fluids.
What is Convection
A chain of volcanic islands generally located a few hundred kilometers from a trench where active subduction of one oceanic slab beneath another is occurring.
What is Volcanic island arc or island arc
The zone of active volcanoes surrounding the pacific ocean.
What is Ring of Fire
Where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other, new crust is created; such as in mid-oceanic ridges.
What is Divergent boundary
Part of Earth’s crust located under the ocean’s waters; more dense, younger, & thinner than continental crust.
What is Oceanic crust
Liquid layer of Earth’s core; composed of iron and nickel; located just below the mantle.
What is Outer core
Igneous activity that occurs within a tectonic plate away from plate boundaries.
What is Intraplate volcanism
A rather small volcano built primarily of pyroclastics ejected from a single vent.
What is Cinder cones
Forms when two continental plates collide, pushing up the Earth’s crust to form a series of peaks.
What is Mountain range
Hottest, innermost, solid, dense center of Earth; consists mainly of iron under great pressure.
What is Inner core
Part of Earth’s crust located under the continents; less dense, older, & thicker than oceanic crust.
What is Continental crust
A large depression typically caused by collapse or ejection of the summit area of a volcano.
What is Calderas
The volcanic rock ejected during an eruption, including ash, bombs and blocks.
What is Pyroclastic material
Where two tectonic plates slide against or past each other, crust is not created or destroyed; earthquakes result.
What is Transform boundary
A coherent unit of Earth's rigid outer layer that includes the crust and upper unit. Also known simply as a plate.
What is Lithospheric plates
Forms when two continental plates collide, pushing up the Earth’s crust to form a series of peaks.
What is Mountain range
A concentration of heat in the mantle capable of producing magma, which in turn extrudes onto Earth’s surface. The intraplate volcanism that produced the Hawaiian islands is one example.
What is Hot spot
A volcano composed of both lava flows and pyroclastic material. Also known as a stratovolcano.
What is Composite volcano (stratovolcano)
A theory that originally proposed that the continents are rafted about. It has essentially been replaced by the plate tectonics theory.
What is Continental drift
Solid/plastic layer in Earth’s interior between the crust and the outer core; separated into upper and lower regions.
What is Mantle
A subdivision of mantle situated below the lithosphere. Weak and rock within this zone is easily deformed.
What is Asthenosphere
A mass of hotter-than-normal mantle material that ascends toward the surface, where it may lead to igneous activity. These plumes of solid yet mobile material may originate as deep as the core-mantle boundary.
What is Mantle plume
The broad and extensive accumulation of lava from a succession of flows emanating from fissure eruptions.
What is Basaltic plateau