Plate Tectonics Vocabulary

Earth’s crust

The outermost solid layer of the planet

Lithosphere

The solid, outer part of Earth

Oceanic crust

Part of Earth’s crust that makes up the seafloor

Continental crust

The thick part of Earth’s crust; forms large landmasses

Mantle

Thick solid layer of rock between the crust and the core

Asthenosphere

The weak layer of earths surface of the upper mantle

Convergent boundaries

When two plates collide

Density

Mass of a unit of volume of a material substance

Heat distribution

Transfer of heat for distance

Convection currents

A current in a fluid that results from convection

Slab-pull

A geophysical mechanism

Ridge-push

The pushing force that plates experience

Subduction zone

A spot where two tectonic plates collide

Continent to continent

When two continental plates collide

Oceanic to continent

Oceanic crust is forced down into earths mantle and melts

Divergent boundary

When two plates move away from each other

Continental divergence

When two plates move away from each other

Ocean crust divergence

When two ocean crust plates move away from each other

Transform fault boundary

When two plates pass eachother

Hot spots

Hot mantle material rising from the earth

Volcanoes

Form when two divergent plates rip apart causing volcanic activity

Earthquakes

A sudden violent shaking in the ground caused by divergent plate boundaries moving apart

Tsunamis

A series of large and long waves caused by ocean plates