Plate Tectonics

2. A place where two tectonic plates move toward each other. When they collide, one plate may be forced beneath the other, forming mountains, deep ocean trenches, or volcanoes.
4. The name of the supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago, when all of Earth’s continents were joined together before breaking apart into the continents we have today.
6. A place where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally. This movement can cause earthquakes along faults such as the San Andreas Fault in California.
10. The process where new ocean floor forms as magma rises at a mid-ocean ridge, cools, and pushes older rock away from the ridge.
11. A long underwater mountain chain where tectonic plates move apart and magma rises to create new ocean crust.
12. Clues from ancient climates (like tropical plants in Antarctica) that show continents have moved.

1. The place where two tectonic plates meet; movement along these boundaries causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation.
3. The theory proposed by Alfred Wegener that Earth’s continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have slowly moved, or “drifted,” to their current positions over millions of years.
5. The scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift.
7. Similar rock types and mountain ranges found on continents now far apart.
8. Fossils of the same plants and animals found on different continents, showing they were once connected.
9. A place where two plates move away from each other; new crust forms as magma rises between the plates.