PLATE TECTONICS

4. a block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle
9. the solid, outer layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle
10. the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding away from one another
12. the sinking of regions of the Earth’s crust to lower elevations
13. the rising of regions of the Earth’s crust to higher elevations
14. the hypothesis that states that continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations
15. the strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and outer core

1. the boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates
2. the soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move
3. the theory that explains how large pieces of the Earth’s outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape
5. the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally
6. the layer of rock between the Earth’s crust and core
7. the thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle
8. the central part of the Earth below the mantle
11. the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies