Tectonic Plates Flashcards
Asthenosphere
Located below the lithosphere and is involved with convection and plate movement
Continental drift
Is the movement of plates across the ocean bed
Magnetic striping
Magnetic stripes on each side of the ridge had the same magnetic direction. If you went 23m both sides of the ridge it would have the same magnetic direction
Plate tectonics
Earths crust is split up into many different sections like a jigsaw puzzle and each of these sections are known as Tectonic Plates. They are around 100 km thick
Rifting
Crust cracks and moves away letting water in making an ocean or river
Seafloor spreading
New rocky crust being formed at ocean ridges, plates diverging and causing magma to come up and harden
Subduction
When two plates collide and the denser plate goes under the other plate
Converging boundary
Where the plates are colliding with each other
Diverging boundary
Where the plates are moving away from each other
Transform boundary
Where the plates are sliding against each other
Earthquakes
An earthquake is the sudden release of strain energy in the Earth’s crust resulting in waves of shaking that move outwards from the focus.
Epicentre
The place on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus
Focus
The point where the earthquake starts
Hot spots
Isolated places where a lot of hot magma is being created.
Lava
Molten rock that comes out of a volcano
