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Earth's Plates & Plate Boundaries

Terms in this set (14)

convergent boundary
A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other.
divergent boundary
The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other
transform boundary
The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other
plate boundary type where new lithosphere forms
divergent plate boundary
sea-floor spreading
the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies at divergent plate boundaries
During an earthquake, this layer of the Earth shifts
lithosphere
Mountain ranges such as the Himalayan form at this plate boundary type
continental-continental convergent plate boundary
Ring of Fire location
along plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean's edge
Ring of Fire
An area of volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean.
Subduction
The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.
San Andreas Fault
A major geological fault in California formed by a sliding transform boundary; causes earthquake activity when pressure builds and the plates move
Plate Techtonic Theory
the Earth's outer shell, (lithosphere) is divided into eight relatively large plates and a number of smaller ones that are in constant motion due to the convection currents in the asthenosphere underneath the plates
Earthquakes occur at this type of plate boundary
convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries
When subduction occurs
more dense lithosphere (oceanic) goes under the less dense lithosphere (continental)
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