Plate Tectonics and the Caribbean Region

Vocabulary flashcards covering the structure of the Earth, plate boundaries, tectonic processes, landforms, and the tectonic setting of the Caribbean region.

Tectonic Plates (Crustal Plates)

Large, irregularly shaped pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that carry the oceans and continents.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Plate Margin (Boundary)

The area in which two tectonic plates move and interact with each other.

Plate Tectonic Theory

A theory that explains the movements of crustal plates along with the resulting geological activities and landforms.

Layers of the Earth

The four structural layers that make up the Earth: the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.

Continental Plates

Tectonic plates that carry land masses; their crust is lighter and less dense than oceanic crust.

Oceanic Plates

Tectonic plates that carry the oceans and seas; their crust is denser and heavier than continental crust.

Divergent (Constructive) Plate Margin

A boundary where tectonic plates pull apart or move away from each other.

Sea Floor Spreading

The process at divergent oceanic boundaries where the quiet upwelling of magma rises between diverging plates, cools, and solidifies to create new sea floor.

Mid-Oceanic Ridge

A mountain chain that forms on either side of an oceanic spreading zone as plates diverge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Rift Valley

A valley formed on land when two continental plates move apart at a divergent plate margin.

Convergent (Destructive) Plate Margin

A boundary where tectonic plates move towards each other and collide.

Fold Mountain

A mountain formed when two continental plates collide at a convergent margin, causing the crust to buckle, fold, and break (e.g., the Himalayas in Asia and The Blue Mountains in Jamaica).

Subduction

The process occurring at a convergent boundary where a heavier, denser oceanic plate slides beneath a lighter continental plate and sinks into the mantle, where it melts.

Ocean Trench

A long, narrow depression formed at a subduction zone, such as the Peru-Chile Trench off South America or the Puerto Rico Trench.

Transform Plate Margin

A boundary where plates slide horizontally past each other; characterized by intense earthquakes and faults, but no volcanic activity.

Fault

A large fracture or crack that develops in the Earth's crust at a transform plate margin, such as the San Andreas Fault in California.

Caribbean Plate

The tectonic plate on which most Caribbean territories are situated, bordered by the North American, South American, Nazca, and Cocos plates.

Cocos and Caribbean Plate Boundary

A convergent subduction zone where the denser oceanic Cocos Plate subducts beneath the Caribbean Plate, forming the Middle America Trench, volcanic arcs, and seismic activity.

North American and Caribbean Plate Boundary

Primarily a transform (strike-slip) boundary where the plates slide horizontally past one another, generating earthquakes in locations such as Haiti.

South American and Caribbean Plate Boundary

An oceanic-continental convergent subduction zone where the denser oceanic portion of the South American Plate slides beneath the Caribbean Plate, forming the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc and the Puerto Rico Trench.