Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

Front

What is Continental Drift?

Back

The theory that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together as a single landmass called Pangaea.

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What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The scientific theory that explains the movement of Earth's plates and how they interact at their boundaries.

Front

What is Sea-Floor Spreading?

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and older crust is pushed away.

Front

What are the Earth's layers?

Back

The Earth is made up of the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.

Front

What is a Mid-Ocean Ridge?

Back

An underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics, where sea-floor spreading occurs.

Front

What is a Deep Ocean Trench?

Back

A deep, narrow depression in the ocean floor where one tectonic plate is being subducted beneath another.

Front

What is a Transform Boundary?

Back

A type of plate boundary where two plates slide past each other, causing earthquakes.

Front

What is a Converging Boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates collide, often forming mountains or causing subduction.

Front

What is a Diverging Boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates move apart, leading to the formation of new crust.

Front

What is Subduction?

Back

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