Plates Vocab

Front

Transform Plate Boundary

Back

Boundary between two tectonic plates that are sliding past each other.

Front

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Back

An underwater mountain chain where new ocean floor is formed.

Front

Asthenosphere

Back

The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move.

Front

Divergent Plate Boundary

Back

Where two plates are moving apart, magma comes up to create new crust.

Front

Convection

Back

The circulation of material caused by differences in temperature and density.

Front

Convergent Plate Boundary

Back

Boundary where two plates collide, often causing one plate to be forced below the other.

Front

Subduction

Back

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

Front

Seafloor Spreading

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as tectonic plates pull apart.

Front

Lithosphere

Back

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

Front

Plate Tectonics

Back

The theory that explains the movement of the Earth's plates and the processes that occur at their boundaries.