Continental Drift Flash Cards
Who believed that the continents were once joined in a large landmass and gradually drifted apart?
Alfred Wegener
What were the three pieces of evidence Wegener had to support his theory of continental drift?
Fossils, climate, geology
What is the super-continent that was made of all the current day continents?
Pangaea
What was Wegener missing which caused others to reject his hypothesis?
How the continents moved
What are underwater mountain ranges?
Mid-ocean ridges
What is the process where new sea floor is made from molten rock rising through the crust?
Sea Floor Spreading
Where is the youngest sea floor located?
Closer to the mid ocean ridge
Where does old ocean crust sink back into the asthenosphere?
Deep ocean trench
What is the energy transfer by the movement of a material?
Convection
What is a convection current in the mantle?
Hot, soft rock in the asthenosphere rises, cools, and sinks, then is heated and rises again
What is the force that pulls crust back into the mantle?
Gravity
What does the theory of plate tectonics state?
The Earth’s lithosphere is made up of huge plates that move over the surface of the Earth
