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Plate Tectonics

Word List with 26 words
*By Dictionary.com

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Words in This List

asthenosphere
noun
region below the lithosphere, variously estimated as being from fifty to several hundred miles thick
compression
noun
degree to which a substance has decreased in size after being or while being subject to stress
conduction
noun
transfer of heat between two parts of a stationary system
continental crust
noun
part of the earth's crust that underlies the continents and continental shelves
continental drift
noun
lateral movement of continents resulting from the motion of crustal plates
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convection
noun
vertical transport of atmospheric properties, esp. upward
convection cell
noun
volume of circulating fluid that is heated from below and cooled from above
elastic rebound theory
noun
sudden freeing of the strains that amass at plate boundaries on the earth's lithosphere
epicenter
noun
directly above the true center of disturbance from which the shock waves of an earthquake radiate
focus (hypocenter)
point of origin of an earthquake
folding
noun
bend in a layer of rock or in another planar feature such as foliation or the cleavage of a mineral
hot spot
noun
region of molten rock below and within the lithosphere that leaves a record of volcanic activity
inner core
noun
solid sphere in the middle of the fluid core such as the iron-nickel core of the Earth
lithosphere
noun
solid portion of the earth
magnitude
noun
greatness of size or amount
mantle
noun
portion of the earth between the crust and the core
mid-ocean ridge
noun
submarine mountain ranges that extend through the Atlantic, Indian, and South Pacific oceans
ocean floor spreading
noun
new oceanic lithosphere is created at oceanic ridges
oceanic crust
noun
outer layer of the earth deep under the continents and six miles deep under the oceans
outer core
noun
layer located directly under the mantle composed of liquid nickel and iron
rift
noun
shallow or rocky part in a stream
seismic waves
noun
shock waves in solid rock generated by earthquakes or underground explosions
subduction zone
noun
collision of the earth's crustal plates results in one plate's being drawn down by another
subsidence
noun
gradual sinking of landforms to a lower level as a result of earth movements
tectonic plate
noun
two sub-layers of the earth's crust that move and whose interaction causes earthquakes, volcanoes
trench
noun
long, steep-sided, narrow depression in the ocean floor

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