CH 10:SEC 3 THE CHANGING CONTINENTS
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12 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 RIFTING | the process by which earths crust breaks apart |
| CRATONS | ALL OF CONTINENTS THAT EXIST TODAY CONTAIN LARGE AREAS OF STABLE ROCK |
| SHIELDS | ROCKS WITHING THE CRATONS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AT EARTH'S SURFACE |
| TERRANE | A PIECE OF LITHOSPHERE THAT HAS A UNIQUE GEOLOGIC HISTORY THAT DIFFERS FROM THE HISTORIES OF SUROUNDING LITHOSPHERE |
| ACCRETION | THE PROCESS IN WHICH A TERRANE BECOMES PART OF A CONTINENT |
| SEAMOUNTS | UNDERWATER MOUNTAIN |
| ATOLLS | SMALL CORAL ISLANDS |
| SUPERCONTINENT CYCLE | THE PROCESS IN WHICH CONTINENTS FORM AND BREAK APART OVER TIME |
| PANGAEA | THE SUPERCONTINENT THAT FORMED 300 MILLION YEARS AGO |
| PANTHALASSA | the single large ocean that covered earth's surface during the time the supercontinent pangaea existed |
| LAURASIA | a hypothetical continent that (according to plate tectonic theory) broke up later into North America and Europe and Asia |
| GONDWANALAND | a hypothetical continent that (according to plate tectonic theory) broke up later into India and Australia and Africa and South America and Antarctica |
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