Sea Floor Spreading

Front

What is sea floor spreading?

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and older crust moves away from the ridge.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Massive pieces of land that are part of the Earth's crust and upper mantle.

Front

What is a trench in oceanography?

Back

The deepest part of the ocean; long, narrow ditches formed by the subduction of one tectonic plate beneath another.

Front

Where is the oldest seafloor located?

Back

Farthest from the mid-ocean ridge.

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic boundary where two plates move away from each other.

Front

What is Pangea?

Back

The name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago, before the continents drifted apart.

Front

What happens at a convergent boundary?

Back

Two tectonic plates move towards each other, often causing one plate to be forced beneath the other.

Front

What is the mid-ocean ridge?

Back

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

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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