Tectonic Plate Boundaries and Hazards Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering types of Earth's crust, plate boundaries (destructive, constructive, conservative), and related geographical examples based on the lecture transcript.

Tectonic Plates

The broken pieces of the Earth's surface consisting of seven major plates alongside minor and micro plates, moving on average $2\text{ to }5\text{ cm/year}$.

Convection Currents

Movements of liquid molten rock located deep below the Earth's crust in the mantle layer that cause tectonic plates to move.

Continental Crust

An older layer of crust (much older than $200,000,000\text{ years}$) located under land material; it is less dense and made of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.

Oceanic Crust

A newer layer of crust (around $200,000,000\text{ years}$ old) located under large bodies of water; it is dense, heavy, and made primarily of igneous rock.

Tectonic Plate Boundary

The location where two tectonic plates meet, which commonly experiences tectonic hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis.

Destructive Plate Boundary

A boundary where two tectonic plates move toward each other, causing the denser plate to be dragged down into the mantle and destroyed.

Convergent Boundary

The phrase used in A-level geography to describe a destructive plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.

Subduction Point

The location where a denser oceanic plate is dragged down beneath a lighter continental plate into the mantle.

Nazca Plate

An oceanic tectonic plate that moves toward and subducts beneath the continental South American plate.

South American Plate

A continental tectonic plate that converges with the oceanic Nazca plate.

Constructive Plate Boundary

A boundary where two tectonic plates move away from each other, leaving a gap that allows liquid molten rock from the mantle to escape and create new crust.

Divergent Boundary

The term used in A-level geography for a constructive plate boundary where two plates diverge or move away from each other.

Mid Atlantic Ridge

A feature formed by liquid molten rock escaping at the constructive plate boundary where the North American plate and Eurasian plate diverge.

Conservative Plate Boundary

A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other in opposite directions or in the same direction at different speeds.

Transform Boundary

The term used in A-level geography for a conservative plate boundary where plates slide past one another.

San Andreas Fault Line

A famous conservative plate boundary located in Los Angeles where the Pacific plate and North American plate slide past each other.