Plate Tectonics Plate Tectonics Vocabulary TermsVocabulary TermsEmily LeonardEmily Leonard
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Core1Core1
Inner CoreInner Core
A ball of hot, solid metalsA ball of hot, solid metals It is solid.It is solid. It is about 2400 km in diameter.It is about 2400 km in diameter. Intense pressure makes it solid.Intense pressure makes it solid.
Outer CoreOuter Core
A layer of liquid metals that surround the A layer of liquid metals that surround the inner core.inner core.
The pressure is lower than the inner The pressure is lower than the inner core.core.
The metal is liquid.The metal is liquid. It is about 2300 km thick.It is about 2300 km thick.
MantleMantle
Hot rock that is less dense than the Hot rock that is less dense than the metallic core.metallic core.
It is Earth’s thickest layer.It is Earth’s thickest layer. It measures nearly 2900 kilometers.It measures nearly 2900 kilometers. It is not solid.It is not solid.
CrustCrust
The thin layer of rock above Earth’s The thin layer of rock above Earth’s mantlemantle
It is the layer we walk onIt is the layer we walk on It is the thinnest layerIt is the thinnest layer It is solidIt is solid
LithosphereLithosphere
The layer in Earth made up of the crust The layer in Earth made up of the crust and the rigid rock of the upper mantleand the rigid rock of the upper mantle
It is the crustIt is the crust The very upper part of the mantle is solid The very upper part of the mantle is solid
rockrock It does not include the skyIt does not include the sky
AsthenosphereAsthenosphere
The layer in Earth’s upper mantle directly The layer in Earth’s upper mantle directly under the lithosphereunder the lithosphere
It lies below the lithosphereIt lies below the lithosphere It has a relatively low densityIt has a relatively low density Seismic waves pass slowly through this Seismic waves pass slowly through this
layer layer
Tectonic PlateTectonic Plate
One of the large, moving pieces into One of the large, moving pieces into which Earth’s lithosphere is broken and which Earth’s lithosphere is broken and which commonly carry both oceanic and which commonly carry both oceanic and continental crustcontinental crust
There are 10 different platesThere are 10 different plates They are part of the lithosphereThey are part of the lithosphere They are on top of the athenosphereThey are on top of the athenosphere
Continental DriftContinental Drift
The hypothesis that Earth’s continents The hypothesis that Earth’s continents move on Earths’ surfacemove on Earths’ surface
It was first put out by Abraham OrteliusIt was first put out by Abraham Ortelius It was first introduced in 1596It was first introduced in 1596 Plate tectonics helped the theory of the Plate tectonics helped the theory of the
continental drift.continental drift.
PangaeaPangaea
A hypothetical supercontinent that once A hypothetical supercontinent that once included all of the landmasses on Earthincluded all of the landmasses on Earth
The name comes from Ancient GreekThe name comes from Ancient Greek They say it formed 300 million years agoThey say it formed 300 million years ago They say it began to break up about 200 They say it began to break up about 200
million years agomillion years ago
Convection CurrentConvection Current
A circulation pattern in which material is A circulation pattern in which material is heated and rises in one area, then cools heated and rises in one area, then cools and sinks in another areaand sinks in another area
Convection is caused by them.Convection is caused by them. They circle throughout Earth’s layersThey circle throughout Earth’s layers They are very importantThey are very important
Divergent BoundaryDivergent Boundary
A boundary along which two tectonic A boundary along which two tectonic plates move apartplates move apart
It is related to plate tectonicsIt is related to plate tectonics It is part of the process of two plates It is part of the process of two plates
moving apartmoving apart It occurs in the lithosphereIt occurs in the lithosphere
Convergent Boundary Convergent Boundary
A boundary along which two tectonic A boundary along which two tectonic plates push togetherplates push together
In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary, also known as a destructive plate boundary (because of subduction), is an actively deforming region where two (or more) tectonic plates or fragments of lithosphere move toward one another and collide. As a result of pressure, friction, and plate material melting in the mantle, earthquakes and volcanoes are common near convergent boundaries
Transform BoundaryTransform Boundary
A boundary along which two tectonic A boundary along which two tectonic plates scrape past each otherplates scrape past each other
A transform fault or transform boundary, also known as conservative plate boundary since these faults neither create nor destroy lithosphere, is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction
Magnetic ReversalMagnetic Reversal
A switch in the direction of Earth’s A switch in the direction of Earth’s magnetic field so that the magnetic north magnetic field so that the magnetic north pole becomes the magnetic south polepole becomes the magnetic south pole
A geomagnetic reversal is a change in the Earth's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are interchanged.
Hot SpotHot Spot
An area where a column of hot material An area where a column of hot material rises from deep within a planet’s mantlerises from deep within a planet’s mantle
Subduction Subduction
The process by which an oceanic The process by which an oceanic tectonic plate sinks under another platetectonic plate sinks under another plate
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones