Plate Tectonics Vocabulary (4)

Front

continental drift

Back

hypothesis which suggests that continents are in constant motion on the surface of Earth.

Front

fossil

Back

the preserved remains or evidence of past living organisms.

Front

superposition

Back

the principle that in undisturbed rock layers, the oldest rocks are on the bottom.

Front

plate tectonics

Back

states that Earth's surface is divided into large plates of rigid rocks that move with respect to each other.

Front

seafloor spreading

Back

the process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge.

Front

mid-ocean ridge

Back

the mountain ranges in the middle of the oceans.

Front

magnetic reversal

Back

Earth's magnetic field reverses direction.

Front

asthenosphere

Back

the solid layer of Earth’s mantle below the lithosphere that is so hot it behaves like a plastic material.

Front

lithosphere

Back

the rigid outermost layer of Earth that includes the uppermost mantle and crust.

Front

divergent plate boundary

Back

the boundary between two plates that move away from each other.