Plate Tectonics Vocabulary List
Word
Definition
plate
tectonics
The theory that explains how large pieces of the earth’s
outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move in a back-and-forth
direction.
tectonic/lithospheric
plate
A block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid,
outermost part of the mantle.
volcanic
eruption
When magma is pushed to the surface of the earth.
mountain
building
When tectonic plates undergo compression or tension to form
mountains.
earthquake
A shaking movement of a part of the Earth’s surface.
lithosphere
The solid, outer layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and
the rigid upper part of the mantle.
asthenosphere
The soft layer of the mantle on which pieces of the lithosphere
move.
crust
The thin, outermost layer of the Earth, or the uppermost layer of
the lithosphere.
convecting
mantle
The transfer of heat by movement within the mantle.
upper
mantle
The rigid lower part of the lithosphere.
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Word
Definition
inner
core
The solid, dense center of the Earth.
outer
core
The liquid layer of the earth’s core that lays beneath the mantle
and surrounds the inner core.
metallic
core
The core of the earth that is made of liquid metals and is above
the inner core.
continental
drift
The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a
single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations.
Pangaea
The name of the supercontinent that was split into other
continents by continental drift.
seafloor
spreading
The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma
rises toward the surface and solidifies.
convergent
boundary
The boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates.
divergent
boundary
A boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away
from each other.
transform
boundary
The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each
other horizontally.
subduction
zone
A plate with oceanic crust collides with a plate with continental
crust and goes under the asthenosphere.
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