Earth Processes Vocabulary
Sea-Floor Spreading –the process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge. / Geologist-
A scientist who studies the forces that make and shape Earth.
Transform fault boundary-
A plate boundary where two plates move past one another in opposite directions. / Ocean Trench-
deep underwater troughs created by one plate subducting under another plate at a convergent plate boundary.
Rift Valley-
A deep valley that forms where two plates move apart on continental crust . / Geology-
The study of the solid Earth.
Fault –
A break or crack in the Earth’s lithosphere along which rocks move. / Volcanic Arc –
a curved line of volcanoes that forms parallel to a plate boundary.
Pangea-
all of the continents were once part of the single landmass that broke apart 225 million years ago. It is now today’s continents. / Convergent boundary-
A plate boundary where two plates move toward one another.
Divergent boundary-
A plate boundary where two plates move away from one another. / Mid-ocean ridge-
The undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate boundary.
Theory of Plate Tectonics-
The theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle. / Subduction-
A process by which ocean crust sinks below a deep-ocean trench and into the mantle.
Plates-
A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere. It carries pieces of continental and oceanic crust. / Folded Mountain –
Mountains that are made of layers of rocks that are folded.
Theory of Continental Drift-
The hypothesis proposed by Alfred Wegener that says the continents slowly move across the Earth’s surface. / Uplifted Mountains –
Mountains formed when large regions rise up vertically with very little deformation.