Geologic Processes Vocabulary Review

Front

What is the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other?

Back

Transform boundary.

Front

What is the layer of rock that forms Earth's outer surface?

Back

Crust.

Front

What is the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary?

Back

Subduction.

Front

What is a block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle?

Back

Tectonic plate.

Front

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

Back

Plate tectonics.

Front

What is the layer of the Earth located beneath the crust?

Back

Mantle.

Front

What is the process by which new oceanic crust is created at divergent boundaries?

Back

Seafloor spreading.

Front

What type of boundary occurs when tectonic plates move away from each other?

Back

Divergent boundary.

Front

What is the term for the movement of tectonic plates caused by heat from the Earth's interior?

Back

Convection currents.

Front

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago?

Back

Pangaea.