Plate Tectonics Vocabulary Worksheet

a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
His hypothesis was that the continents had once formed a single landmass, called Pangaea, before breaking apart and drifting to their present locations.
Founder of modern day geology. He explained the features of the Earth's crust by means of natural processes over geologic time.
The rocky opening at the top of the volcano that the magma flows from.
An underground pool that holds magma under the volcano.
Used to measure the energy an earthquake releases. Uses the numbers 1- 9. More commonly used.
An instrument that records earthquake waves. Has two main parts: paper-covered rotating drum and a pen. The more bigger, jagged the line, the more stronger the earthquake
The point underground where the movement of the earthquake first takes place.
Point on the surface that is above the focus of the earthquake. It is the center point. The closer you are to the epicenter the more damage and thus farther away the less damage.
A break in the crust along which rock moves.
are a type of mountain that formed when the plates moved together but one plate was pushed down below the other plate.
Formed by the moving of the Earth’s plates into each other and the plates wrinkle upward to form mountains. This is similar to cars crashing head-on into each other in slow motion. Mountain Building is a slow change in the Earth’s surface.
Ocean floor where plates have diverged.
Locations where two plates slide past one another causing earthquakes.
Locations where plates are moving away from one another; occurs above rising convection currents and causes rifts, volcanoes and mid-ocean ridges
Locations where lithospheric plates are moving towards one another; can produce earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain building
Theory that describes and explains the way that the continents separated into today’s land masses from one large ancestral land mass (Pangea) and how they are continuing to move today.
Major geological event that occurs when continental plates of equal density converge.
Major geological events that occur when plates shift suddenly and release stored energy; a frequent occurrence at transform boundaries.
Occurs when one plate is denser than another and is forced below as the two plates converge at their boundary.
Major geological events that occur when a dense plate subducts below a less dense plate as they converge.
Huge pieces of lithosphere that slowly move on the asthenosphere and consist of the crust and the rigid, uppermost part of the mantle.