Flashcards › Science › Earth Science
Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes and Earthquakes
How Earth's plates move and the quakes and volcanoes they cause.
0 of 59 known
59 cards
- Plate tectonicsTermThe theory that Earth's outer layer is broken into moving plates
- Tectonic plateTermA large slab of Earth's lithosphere
- LithosphereTermEarth's rigid outer layer: crust and top of the mantle
- AsthenosphereTermThe soft, slowly flowing layer of mantle below the lithosphere
- Continental driftTermThe idea that continents slowly move over time
- Who proposed continental drift in 1912?TermAlfred Wegener
- PangaeaTermThe supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago
- Seafloor spreadingTermNew ocean floor forming at mid-ocean ridges and moving outward
- Mid-ocean ridgeTermAn underwater mountain chain where new crust forms
- Convergent boundaryTermTwo plates moving toward each other
- Divergent boundaryTermTwo plates moving apart
- Transform boundaryTermTwo plates sliding past each other
- SubductionTermOne plate sinking beneath another
- Subduction zoneTermThe place where one plate dives under another
- Ocean trenchTermA deep, narrow valley in the seafloor at a subduction zone
- Mariana TrenchTermThe deepest known ocean trench
- Rift valleyTermA valley formed where plates pull apart
- FaultTermA crack in Earth's crust where blocks of rock move
- San Andreas FaultTermA famous transform fault in California
- EarthquakeTermShaking of the ground from sudden release of energy in Earth's crust
- Focus (hypocenter)TermThe point underground where an earthquake starts
- EpicenterTermThe point on the surface directly above the focus
- Seismic wavesTermVibrations that travel through Earth during an earthquake
- P wavesTermFast seismic waves that arrive first
- S wavesTermSlower seismic waves that arrive second
- Surface wavesTermSeismic waves that move along the ground and cause the most damage
- SeismographTermAn instrument that records earthquake waves
- SeismologistTermA scientist who studies earthquakes
- Richter scaleTermAn older scale of earthquake size
- Moment magnitude scaleTermThe scale scientists now use to measure earthquake size
- AftershockTermA smaller quake that follows a larger one
- TsunamiTermA giant sea wave usually caused by an undersea earthquake
- Ring of FireTermA belt of volcanoes and earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean
- VolcanoTermAn opening in Earth's crust where lava, ash and gas escape
- VentTermAn opening where magma comes out of a volcano
- CraterTermA bowl-shaped dip at the top of a volcano
- CalderaTermA large crater formed when a volcano collapses
- Magma chamberTermAn underground pool of magma
- Shield volcanoTermA wide, gently sloping volcano like those in Hawaii
- Composite (stratovolcano)TermA steep cone built from layers of lava and ash
- Cinder coneTermA small, steep cone of volcanic fragments
- Active volcanoTermOne that is erupting or may erupt
- Dormant volcanoTermA volcano that is quiet but may erupt again
- Extinct volcanoTermA volcano that is not expected to erupt again
- Hot spotTermA place deep in the mantle that feeds volcanoes, like Hawaii
- Pyroclastic flowTermA fast cloud of hot gas and ash from a volcano
- AshTermTiny rock and glass pieces thrown out by a volcano
- Mount St. HelensTermA volcano in Washington State that erupted in 1980
- Mauna LoaTermA huge shield volcano in Hawaii
- Mount VesuviusTermThe volcano that buried Pompeii in the year 79
- GeyserTermA hot spring that shoots water into the air
- Old FaithfulTermA famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park
- Fold mountainsTermMountains formed when plates push together and crumple rock
- HimalayasTermMountains formed where India's plate pushes into Asia's
- Convection currentsTermSlow movements of hot mantle rock that help move the plates
- Evidence for drift: fossilsTermThe same fossils appear on continents now far apart
- Evidence for drift: coastlinesTermSouth America and Africa fit together like puzzle pieces
- How fast do plates move?TermA few centimeters a year, about as fast as fingernails grow
- Strike-slip faultTermA fault where blocks slide sideways past each other
Download this deck
- CSVExcel, Google Sheets, Numbers
- Anki / Quizlet (tab-separated)Import straight into Anki or Quizlet
- JSONFor programmers and apps
- Plain textOne card a line, “front : back”, ready for Peabody's flashcard maker to print
Want paper cards? Paste the plain-text download into the flashcard maker.