Plate Tectonics Flashcards
Mantle
The layer of rock between the earths crust and core.
Core
The central parts of the earth below the mantle
Lithosphere
The solid outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and rigid upper part of the mantle.
Asthenosphere
The soft layer of he mantle on which the tectonic plates move.
Mesosphere
The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core.
Tectonic Plates
A block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the ridged, outermost part of the mantle.
Continental drift
The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present location.
Sea floor spreading
The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises towards the surface and solidifies.
Plate tectonics
The theory that explains how large pieces of the earths outermost layers, the Tectonic plates that move and change shape
Convergent boundary
The boundary formed by the collision of two lithosphere plates
Divergent boundaries
The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.
Transform boundary
The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally.
Crust
The thin and solid outer most layer of the earth above the mantle
