Plate Tectonics Terms

Front

fault

Back

a break in Earth's crust where masses of rock slip past each other

Front

rift valley

Back

a deep valley that forms where two plates move apart

Front

divergent boundary

Back

a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other

Front

transform boundary

Back

a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions

Front

convergent boundary

Back

a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other

Front

tectonic plate

Back

a section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust

Front

plate tectonics theory

Back

the theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle