Earth's Interior
The thick middle layer in the solid part of the Earth
What is the mantle?
The theory that Earth's crust is broken into rigid plates that move slowly over Earth's surface
What is plate tectonics?
A long, tall mountain range in the middle of the ocean
What is a mid-ocean ridge?
A curved line of volcanoes that forms parallel to a plate boundary
What is a volcanic arc?
What is compression?
The dense, metallic center of the Earth
What is the core?
The theory that continents are in constant motion on the surface of Earth
What is continental drift?
The area where one plate slides under another
What is a subduction zone?
Deep, underwater troughs created by an oceanic plate subducting under another plate at a convergent plate boundary
What are ocean trenches?
The pulling force at a divergent boundary?
What is tension?
The brittle, rocky outer layer of Earth
What is the crust?
When two plates sliding past each other build up pressure and release this pressure suddenly
What is an earthquake?
Where two plates move toward each other
What is a convergent boundary?
The process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge
What is seafloor spreading?
The side-by-side dragging force at transform boundaries
What is shear?
The cold and rigid outermost rock layer, including the upper layer of the mantle and crust
What is the lithosphere?
A spot in the Earth's crust where liquid rock comes to the surface
What is a volcano?
Where two plates slide horizontally past each other
What is a transform boundary?
Where blocks of crust slide horizontally past each other, often causing earthquakes
What are transform faults?
Area where magma flows up to the crust while the plate moves over it
What is a hot spot?
The "plastic" layer of soft rock in the mantle
What is the asthenosphere?
The type of heat transfer in the mantle responsible for the movement of plates
What is convection?
Where two plates move apart from each other
What is a divergent boundary?
Name given to a line of volcanoes that circles the Pacific Ocean plate
What is The Ring of Fire?
This is what causes plates to move
What are convection currents?