plate tectonics

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

A theory explaining how the tectonic plates (or lithosphere plates) on Earth's surface move.

Front

What is Pangaea?

Back

A supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, proposed by Alfred Wegener.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact with each other.

Front

What is a Deep-ocean Trench?

Back

A valley in the ocean created when one lithosphere plate subducts under another.

Front

What are plate boundaries?

Back

The edges where two tectonic plates meet.

Front

What happens at divergent boundaries?

Back

Tectonic plates move apart, leading to the formation of new oceanic crust.

Front

What happens at convergent boundaries?

Back

Tectonic plates collide, which can cause one plate to subduct beneath another.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The theory that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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