| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Theory of Continental Drift | The theory hypothesized by scientist Alfred Wegener stating that "the continents once formed part of a single supercontinent that began breaking up into smaller continents about 200 million years ago (during the Mesozoic Era) |
| Mid-Ocean Ridges | Undersea mountain ranges through the center of which run steep, narrow valleys |
| Sea-floor spreading | The process by which new ocean lithosphere(sea floor) forms as magma and rises to Earth's surface and solidifies at a mid-ocean ridge |
| Paleomagnetism | The study of the magnetic properties inside rocks |
| Rift | a crack |
| Magma | Lava from within Earth |
| Theory of Plate Tectonics | The theory that explains why and how continents move and is the study of the formation of features in Earth's crust |
| Divergent boundary | The process in which two tectonic plates move away from each other |
| Convergent boundary | The process in which two tectonic plates move towards each other/collide with each other |
| Transform boundary | The process in which two tectonic plates slide towards each other horizontally |
| Fracture zones | Short segments of mid-ocean ridge are connected with these |
| Convection | The movement of heated material due to differences in density that are created by differences in temperatures |
| Convection cell | An area created when cooler, denser water sinks and the warmer water rises to the surface |
| Ridge push | A force exerted by the asthenosphere when it pushes on the rest of the plate |
| Slab pull | A force exerted when the lithosphere becomes dense and subducts into the asthenosphere. The edge pulls the rest of the plate with it. |
| Cratons | Large areas of stable rock |
| Shields | Rocks within cratons |
| Rifting | The process by which a continent breaks apart |
| Terrane | A piece of lithosphere that has a unique geologic history that differs from the histories of surrounding lithosphere |
| Accretion | The process in which a terrane becomes part of a continent |
| Sea-mounts | Small volcanic islands sometimes formed from terranes |
| Atolls | Small coral islands that may form terranes |
| Supercontinent cycle | The process by which supercontinents form and break apart over time |
| Pangaea | The supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago (during the Paleozoic Era) |
| Panthalassa | The giant ocean that surrounded Pangaea |
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