| A | B |
|---|
| Alfred Wegener | proposed theory of continental drift |
| continental drift | hypothesis that continents were once a single landmass that broke up and drifted apart |
| fossil evidence | identical fossils on different continents to prove continental drift theory |
| rock formation evidence | matchin rocks on different continents to prove continental drift theory |
| climatic evidence | evidence to prove continental drift theory shoing glaciers in various locations |
| continents plowed through ocean basin | Wegener's theory that had no basis |
| mid-ocean ridges | long, undersea mountain chains formed from magma under ocean |
| sea-floor spreading | process where new ocean floor is created as magma rises and solidifies |
| paleomagnetism | study of magnetic alignment of mineral in rocks relating to earth's magnetic poles |
| continental plate | plate with a continent on it; contains part oceanic crust too |
| oceanic plate | plate containing only oceanic crust |
| evidence for plate techtonics part 1 | mid-ocean ridges;earthquake/volcano patterns; shapes of continents |
| evidence for plate tectonics part 2 | age of sea floor;patterns of magnetic reversals;heat from interior greatest along ridge |
| evidence for plate tectonics part 3 | fossil evidence;similiar rock and mountain ranges |
| lithosphere | solid, outer layer of Earth containing crust and rigid upper mantle |
| aesthenosphere | solid, plastic layer of mantle beneath lithosphere;slow moving liquid rock |
| techtonic plate | large pieces of lithosphere that are believed to move and change shape |
| divergent boundary | boundary between tectonic plates moving away from each other |
| convergent boundary | boundary between tectonic plates that are colliding |
| transform boundary | boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally |
| events occurring at plate boundaries | earthquakes and volcanoes |
| 2 features where plates move apart | mid-ocean ridge and rift valley |
| does not produce magma | transform boundary |
| causes of plate motion | convection currents |
| convection currents | movement of heated material due to differences in density caused by differences in temperature |
| ridge push | force at mid-ocean ridge where sinking lithosphere causes plate to move away |
| slab pull | plates pull away from each other at mid-ocean ridges forming new lithosphere |
| rifting | process where Earth's crust breaks apart; continental or oceanic |
| terrane | piece of lithosphere with unique geologic history |
| supercontinent cycle | process where large landmasses formed and broke apart over millions of years |
| Pangea | supercontinent formed 300 million years ago that began breaking up 250 million years ago |
| cratons | large areas of stable rocks; older than 540 million years |
| shields | rocks within cratons exposed at Earth's surface |
| effects of contintental change (moving continents) | changes in climate and changes in life forms |
| ocean fromed as American continent separated from Europe and Africa | Atlantic Ocean |
