Tectonic Plates and Soil Properties

Front

Tectonic Plate (Lithospheric Plate)

Back

Sections of Earth's lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) that move and interact, forming seven or eight major plates and many minor plates.

Front

Lithosphere

Back

Outermost layer of Earth made up of the crust and upper mantle; behaves elastically over thousands of years.

Front

Tectonic Plate Theory

Back

Scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into plates that have been moving for billions of years, building on the idea of continental drift; supported by seafloor spreading evidence.

Front

Divergent Boundary

Back

Boundary where two tectonic plates move away from each other.

Front

Convergent Boundary

Back

Boundary where two tectonic plates move toward each other.

Front

Transform Boundary

Back

Boundary where two tectonic plates slide horizontally past one another.

Front

Subduction (Zone)

Back

Process where a denser oceanic plate sinks beneath a less dense plate into the mantle at a convergent boundary.

Front

Hot Spot

Back

Volcanic region fed by unusually hot mantle material; independent of plate boundaries (e.g., Hawaii, Iceland, Yellowstone).

Front

Solar Radiation

Back

Energy from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic waves (measured in W/m²).

Front

Climate

Back

Long-term average of weather patterns, typically measured over 30 years or more.