Plate Tectonics Flashcard

Front

Features of Divergent Boundaries

Back

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, fissure volcanoes.

Front

What is weathering?

Back

The breakdown or dissolving of rock into smaller pieces.

Front

What type of plate boundary is characterized by plates colliding and interacting?

Back

Convergent.

Front

Why does the Indian Plate move under the Eurasian Plate?

Back

It is denser.

Front

What causes the alternating magnetic stripes in ocean-floor rock?

Back

Movement of ocean floor.

Front

What is a tectonic plate?

Back

A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere.

Front

What is the theory of plate tectonics?

Back

The theory that the Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle.

Front

What are transform boundaries?

Back

Boundaries where two plates slide past each other, causing earthquakes.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.

Front

What is a hotspot?

Back

A location where magma from deep within the mantle melts through the crust above it.