Plate Tectonics

4. the gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time.
5. process that changes preexisting rocks into new forms because of increases in temperature, pressure, and chemically active fluids.
7. The Earth's surface is cracked into large pieces called
9. tell us when and where plants and animals once existed and can be evidence for plate tectonics
10. the layer of the Earth that lies below the lithosphere.
12. a way for heat to move
14. break apart or become separated through faulting caused by plate tectonics.
15. an opening in the Earth's crust through which lava, ash, and gases erupt.
17. process in plate tectonics of the edge of one crustal plate descending below the edge of another.
18. a feature of convergent plate boundaries, where two or more tectonic plates meet.

1. the sudden movement of Earth's crust at a fault line.
2. a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth.
3. a line on a rock surface or the ground that traces a geological fault.
6. a hard, black volcanic rock
8. a small area or region with a relatively hot temperature in comparison to its surroundings.
10. the first person to formulate a complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis.
11. occurs along divergent plate boundaries, where new ocean floor is created as the Earth's tectonic plates spread apart.
12. tending to move toward one point or to approach each other
13. the solid, outer part of Earth.
16. commonly the sights of tectonic activity