Continental Drift
This scientist first proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912.
Who is Alfred Wegener?
This scientist proposed the theory of seafloor spreading in the 1960s.
Who is Harry Hess?
At this type of boundary, two tectonic plates move away from each other.
What is a divergent boundary?
This layer of the Earth, made of the crust and upper mantle, is broken into tectonic plates.
What is the lithosphere?
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What is pink?
Wegener suggested that all continents were once part of this supercontinent.
What is Pangaea?
In seafloor spreading, new oceanic crust forms at this underwater mountain range.
What is the mid-ocean ridge?
The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of this type of plate boundary where two plates slide past each other.
What is a transform boundary?
The edges where tectonic plates meet are known as these.
What are plate boundaries?
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One piece of evidence for continental drift is the discovery of these identical remains of ancient plants and animals on continents now separated by oceans.
What are fossils?
Magma rises from the mantle, cools, and forms new crust at mid-ocean ridges, pushing older crust away in this type of plate boundary.
What is a divergent boundary?
When two continental plates collide, they can form these massive landforms, like the Himalayas.
What are mountains?
The theory of plate tectonics combines the ideas of continental drift and this other geological process that creates new oceanic crust.
What is seafloor spreading?
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What is the University of Delaware?
This scientific theory, developed after Wegener's idea, explains how continents move due to convection currents in the mantle.
What is plate tectonics?
Where the oldest rocks would be on the seafloor.
What is furthest away from the mid-ocean ridge before being destroyed?
At a convergent boundary between an oceanic and continental plate, the oceanic plate sinks beneath the continental plate in this process.
What is subduction?
The study of plate tectonics has helped scientists understand the causes of these sudden, ground-shaking events.
What are earthquakes?
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What is Nyla?
One reason many scientists initially rejected Wegener’s continental drift theory was that he could not explain
What is the driving force of continental movement
Scientists discovered that rocks on the seafloor show patterns of this, which reverses over time and provides evidence for seafloor spreading.
What is magnetic striping (or magnetic reversals)?
At mid-ocean ridges, new crust is created by magma rising from this semi-molten layer of the Earth.
What is the asthenosphere?
The name of what causes the movement of tectonic plates
What is convection currents?
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What is 65 inches?